Suns Promote Noel Gillespie To Assistant Coach

The Suns replace John Shumate with Noel Gillespie as the guy who gets to sit behind the bench and work his butt off without much recognition.

From the official release:

PHOENIX - The Phoenix Suns have signed Noel Gillespie as the team's assistant coach/advance scout, the club announced.

"Noel is an important member of our coaching staff," said Suns Head Coach Alvin Gentry. "In the NBA today it is vital to have someone as diligent as Noel studying and scouting opponents to better prepare our coaches and our team. We appreciate all of his hard work the last two seasons and are thrilled to have him back."

Entering his eighth season overall with the organization, Gillespie earns the promotion after serving the last two seasons as the team's advance scout, a role in which he aided the coaching staff in their game preparation for upcoming opponents. A native of Milwaukee, Wis., Gillespie had previously served as the team's video scouting coordinator for four seasons after joining the franchise in 2003 as assistant video coordinator.

A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Gillespie got his start with the Indiana Pacers in 2001, assisting the video, scouting and coaching staffs. He then worked as a graduate assistant at Florida State University in 2002 before joining the Suns.