Bulldog Basketball Camp LC
Coaching Staff

Mike Gibson
Assistant Coach

Mike Gibson is in his fourth season as an assistant coach at Drake, and is one of the original members of head coach Mark Phelps' staff who has helped shape the direction and tone for the Bulldogs' program. He came to Drake after spending two seasons (2006-08) on the Arizona State staff where Phelps had been the associate head coach under Herb Sendek.

"Mike's ability to identify and recruit student-athletes nationally that fit the Drake way has been a tremendous asset to our coaching staff and its recruiting efforts. He has made a significant contribution in helping our staff sign two consecutive top-ranked recruiting classes in the MVC (according to Hoopmasters and ESPN for 2009-10 and '10-'11). Mike's work ethic and attention to detail has also enabled him to do a tremendous job when scouting opponents during the season and helping with day- to-day program duties throughout the year."

"It has been an honor to work with Coach Phelps and the rest of the coaching staff here at Drake University," said Gibson. "In working with Mark, I have been impressed by his knowledge of the game and his ability to oversee all facets of a basketball program. He pushes our coaching staff to be the best recruiters and coaches we can possibly be and the experience has been invaluable. The future of Drake Basketball is extremely bright under the leadership of Coach Phelps."

Gibson joined Herb Sendek's coaching staff at Arizona State in the summer of 2006 as Coordinator of Basketball Technology and was promoted in the summer of 2007 to Director of Basketball Operations.

Prior to working for Coach Sendek at Arizona State, Gibson worked on Tom Izzo's staff at Michigan State for the 2005-2006 season as a Graduate Assistant.

"In working with Mike the past five years, I continue to be impressed by his intelligence, organization and work ethic," said Phelps. "His high academic achievements as a college student-athlete certainly reflect these qualities."

Gibson graduated with a 3.97 grade-point average (summa cum laude) from Carnegie Mellon University (Herb Sendek's alma mater) in Pittsburgh, Pa., in 2005, with a degree in business administration.

At Carnegie Mellon, Gibson earned a spot on the Dean's High Honor List every semester, while playing four years for the men's basketball team, the last of which he served as team captain.

At Carnegie Mellon, he was part of five national academic honor societies (National Dean's List, Beta Gamma Sigma Business Honor Society, Mortar Board Honor Society, Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars). He also was on the NABC Academic Honor Roll.

While in college, Gibson worked at several basketball camps including Five-Star, Michigan State, North Carolina State, Louisville, Northwestern, Dayton and Providence.

Stan Johnson
Assistant Coach

Stan Johnson was named an assistant coach for the Drake men's basketball program on June 20, 2011, after spending the previous three years at the University of Utah as an assistant coach for the Utes.

"I am excited to welcome Stan and his family to our Drake family," said Phelps in welcoming Johnson. "He is a man of character and integrity with outstanding experience as a high-level recruiter and excellent on-floor coach. He shares our philosophy of making the players on campus the most important part of our program. Stan is committed to excellence from the smallest detail to the most involved project, and is a perfect fit with our players, staff and the entire Drake community."

Johnson brings eight years of experience as an assistant coach to his new position with the Bulldogs men's program.

"I was really impressed with the vision of (Athletics Director) Sandy Hatfield Clubb and the direction of Coach Phelps with his program," Johnson said. "The eagerness of the staff at Drake and the character and talent of the guys within the program was amazing to me. Drake is a big-time place and I'm excited about the big-time things we can accomplish with Drake basketball."

During his three-year stay at Utah Johnson was part of a staff that coached the Utes in 2008-09 to a 24-10 record, a share of the Mountain West Conference Championship and the postseason conference tournament title. Utah finished the season ranked No. 25 in the AP poll and earned a No. 5 seed in the Midwest Region, at the time the highest seed ever given to a Mountain West team.

The 2008-09 Utes also ranked No. 1 in the MWC in opponent field-goal percentage and recorded a school-record 166 blocked shots. In 2009-10 Utah led the MWC in opponent three-point field-goal percentage, set another school record for blocked shots (186) and recorded 172 steals.

Johnson came to Utah after a one-year stint as an assistant coach at Cal State Northridge in 2007-08. The Matadors finished 20-10 overall and earned a share of their first Big West Conference regular season championship with Johnson on the staff.

Prior to his year at Cal State Northridge, Johnson spent three seasons (2004-07) on the bench at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Mo. The Bearcats were 50-30 in that period, with three consecutive winning seasons for the first time in school history. The 2005-06 squad posted a 27-5 record, including a school-record 14 wins in a row to open the season. Southwest Baptist captured the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association title that year and made a trip to the NCAA Division II Tournament, finishing No. 6 in the national rankings.

Johnson started his coaching career at Bemidji (Minn.) State University in 2003-04. In his lone season at Bemidji, Johnson helped coach the Beavers to a 20-10 mark and their first-ever 20-win season. Bemidji State was 14-2 in conference play that season, earning a berth to the NCAA Division II Tournament and leading the nation in 3-pointers per game, with 11.7.

As a player, Johnson was a three-year letterman at Southern Utah University. He was a team captain and starter in 2000-01 and helped lead the Thunderbirds to the Mid-Continent Conference (now Summit League) title and a berth in the NCAA Tournament, where they dropped a close, 68-65 decision to No. 3 seed Boston College. Johnson was a three-time member of the Mid-Continent Conference All-Academic Team and earned a bachelor's degree in communications from SUU in 2003.

Johnson played his senior season of college basketball at Bemidji State (2002-03), where he served as a team captain and earned honorable mention all-conference accolades. He averaged 13.5 points and distributed a team-high 114 assists during his one season with the Beavers. Johnson is a graduate of Taylorsvlle (Utah) High School.

Stan and his wife Brittany have a two-year-old daughter, Brooklynn, and a one-year-old son, Myles.

Brett Nelson
Assistant Coach

Brett Nelson was named assistant men's basketball coach at Drake on May 26, 2011. Nelson enters his seventh season in the coaching ranks after an All-America playing career at Florida.

"Brett is a talented and experienced basketball coach with a commitment to excellence and high-level integrity and character," said Drake head coach Mark Phelps. "He excels in all aspects of the profession, including on-the-floor coaching and skill instruction, scouting and game preparation, mentoring and recruiting. Brett's high-level playing experience, instinctive basketball savvy and IQ, and his terrific all-around personality will serve our players and our program extremely well. We are very happy to welcome Brett, Jamie and Eli into the Drake family."

Nelson joins Phelps' staff at Drake after spending the 2010-11 season at Arkansas. With Nelson on staff in his sixth coaching season and fourth as a bench coach, the Razorbacks finished 18-13, tied for third place in the SEC Western Division.

"I'm very excited to be part of the family of Drake University," Nelson said. "Coach Phelps has a vision and a clear plan for Drake basketball. The future is very bright under his direction, and that of (Athletic Director) Sandy Hatfield Clubb. The commitment is there to do some special things and take the Bulldogs to the next level."

In his one season at Arkansas, Nelson played a strong role in the recruitment of one of the nation's top 10 incoming classes. The 2011-12 Razorbacks class includes five players ranked in the top 106 in the country by ESPN.

Nelson was hired at Arkansas May 20, 2010, after a two-month stay at Central Florida, where he was to continue working under head coach Donnie Jones, with whom he coached at Marshall from 2007-10.

In the final season of his three-year run with the Thundering Herd, Nelson helped lead the team to a 24-10 finish in 2009-10 and a postseason win in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament.  The post-season appearance was the first for a Marshall team in 22 years and its 11-5 record and third-place finish in Conference USA, was the best since 2000-01.

The time at Marshall also developed Nelson's skills as gifted recruiter. He was instrumental in the recruitment and development of Marshall's Hassan Whiteside, who was named C-USA freshman and defensive player of the year. Whiteside led the nation in blocked shots in his one season at Marshall with 182, the fourth-best single-season total in NCAA history. Whiteside was selected after his freshman year 33rd overall by the Sacramento Kings in the 2010 NBA Draft. Nelson's tutelage also attracted multiple All-C-USA players and a sixth-man of the year award winner.

Prior to coaching at Marshall, Nelson served as Director of Operations at Virginia Commonwealth (2006-07) and Colorado State (2005-06).  His VCU tenure included a 28-7 record and first round NCAA Tournament victory over Duke while working with current Alabama head coach Anthony Grant.

As a player, Nelson made himself into one of the best in Florida's history, leading the Gators to a Final Four and placing himself in the record books numerous times. A three-year starter, Nelson completed his career as Florida's school record-holder in three-point baskets made and attempted and ranked second on the all-time charts in steals, fifth in steals per game, sixth in assists and assists per game and 14th in scoring with 1,416 points.  He was a two-time winner of Florida's Most Improved Player Award and was second in the voting for the conference's most valuable player his freshman year.

Nelson was named a preseason semifinalist for the Naismith Award as a senior in 2002-03 and was an ESPN.com third-team and Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American in 2000-01.  He was recognized as an all-region player by both the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and the United States Basketball Writer's Association (USBWA) during the 2000-01 season and repeated the honor with the NABC/Pontiac in 2001-02.  He is also just one of three Florida players to earn back-to-back SEC Player of the Week awards on Feb. 26 and March 4, 2001, and was named to the 2000 NCAA Tournament All-East Regional team.

Nelson completed his collegiate eligibility in the winter of 2003 and stayed at Florida to finish his bachelor's degree in sociology in 2004. He played one season of professional basketball in Sweden in 2005 before returning to the United States to start his coaching career.

Nelson and his wife Jamie gave birth to their first child, Eli in September 2010.

Jamelle McMillan
Director Of Basketball Operations

Jamelle McMillan is in his first year as Director of Basketball Operations at Drake after a standout playing career at Arizona State. A former team captain for the Sun Devils, McMillan finished his career having played in 122 games and tied a school record by winning 80 of those contests over his four-year career.

"I have known Jamelle since his grade-school years when he attended basketball camp at North Carolina State," said head coach Mark Phelps. "Jamelle is a man of character and excellence who is the beneficiary of life-long exposure to the game at the highest level. He is a young star in our profession who has consistently demonstrated and modeled high achievement in every part of his life, including basketball. These attributes and experience, along with a great work ethic, passion for the game and for people, and advanced maturity make him a terrific addition to our staff."

McMillan's 122 games tie for sixth-most by an Arizona State player. He was part of a trio of 2010-11 seniors, along with Rihards Kuksiks and Ty Abbott, who were first in Sun Devils history to record 80 wins over the course of their careers. McMillan started 78 games at ASU and played a crucial role as the team's floor leader in each of his four seasons. His importance to the team was reflected in its 74-48 (.607) record with him in uniform and 6-5 (.545) ledger without him, as he recorded an impressive 321-153 assist-to-turnover ratio (2.10).

"I feel very fortunate and blessed to have the opportunity to accept such a great position at Drake University," McMillan said. "With the quality of the people and their dedication, as well as the support staff I've met, Drake seems like the best fit for me. It's a place where I feel I can get a successful jump-start on my career. I'm excited to get started and looking forward to a great season ahead."

A full-time starter over his final two seasons (2009-10, '10-'11), McMillan led the Pac-10 in assist-to-turnover ratio as a senior and finished 14th nationally at 2.68 (110 assists and 41 turnovers). He finished his career ranked 10th in ASU annals for three-point shooting percentage at 37.3%.

The captain and team leader played much of his senior season with a nagging groin injury that caused him to miss three games, yet he averaged 11.0 points in the final 11 games and was 23-of-50 (.460) from three-point range. McMillan posted three of the top scoring games of his career in the final 11 contests with a career-high 17 at Stanford (2/5/11), 14 at California (2/3) and 13 vs. UCLA (1/29).

McMillan had six steals vs. Long Beach on Dec. 21, 2011, most by a Sun Devil since James Harden had seven vs. USC on March 13, 2008, in the Pac-10 Tournament. McMillan led the team in scoring twice in 2010-11 and four times in his career, and shared the lead or led ASU in assists 17 times in 2010-11, 33 times in career.

The son of Portland Trail Blazers head coach and former NBA player Nate McMillan, Jamelle in the summer of 2008 spent 16 days in China for the Olympics with Team USA, for whom his father was an assistant coach.

McMillan was one of the top point-guard recruits on the west coast his senior year (2006-07) at O'Dea High School in Seattle, Wash., after leading his team to three state titles (2004, '05 and '07). In his four years he gained a reputation as a great lockdown defender and a terrific distributor.

Rivals.com gave McMillan its best defender award entering his freshman year, in its "Best of the Pac-10" with regards to recruiting classes. He also was ranked as the top point guard on the west coast by Rivals and the No. 99 player overall by Scout.com after a senior season that saw him named Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Washington.

Jamelle McMillan was born Dec. 30, 1988 in Seattle. He received his bachelor's degree in communication from Arizona State in May 2011.