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Swarm Finalize Coaching Staff

By Greensboro Swarm Staff /September 26, 2016

Dale Layer, Corsley Edwards And Jaime Vathielil Join Team As Assistant

Coaches, Aaron Karkow As Strength Coach And Athletic Trainer

September 26, 2016 – The Greensboro Swarm, the NBA Development League affiliate of the Charlotte Hornets, today announced the coaching staff for the team’s inaugural season. Dale Layer, Corsley Edwards, and Jaime Vathielil will join Head Coach Noel Gillespie’s staff as assistant coaches with the Swarm for the 2016-17 season. Aaron Karkow will fulfill the role of strength coach and athletic trainer.

“Layer brings a great wealth of knowledge from his years of experience as a head coach and his close ties to the North Carolina basketball community,” said Swarm Head Coach Noel Gillespie. “Edwards has a unique background as both an NBA player and coach, and Vathielil has worked for esteemed college programs and in the NBA. All of them really excel in player development.”

First Assistant Dale Layer joins the Swarm after 22 years of head coaching experience at the Division I and II levels. From 2009-15 he was the head coach at Liberty University where he led the Flames to an NCAA tournament appearance in the 2013 season. In addition to his time at Liberty, Layer’s background includes Marquette University (assistant coach, 2008-09), Colorado State (head coach 2000-07, assistant coach 1998-2000) and Queens University (head coach 1988-98). During his tenure at Queens University in Charlotte, Layer also served as the school’s athletic director and started the first men’s basketball program in school history. Layer received his bachelor’s degree from Eckerd College and his master’s degree from Eastern Kentucky University.

Second Assistant Corsley Edwards comes to Greensboro after his time as an assistant coach with the Denver Nuggets. A graduate of Central Connecticut State University, Edwards played for the Blue Devils all four years of college and earned Northeastern Conference All-Rookie Team honors in 1999 and NEC First-Team honors in 2000, 2001 and 2002. He graduated as Central Connecticut State’s second all-time leading scorer with 1,731 points. In the 2002 NBA Draft, he was selected by the Sacramento Kings with the 58th pick. In addition to his time in Sacramento, he played for the then New Orleans Hornets during the 2004-05 season. In total, Edwards has over 12 years of professional playing experience, competing in the NBA D-League, the Continental Basketball Association and overseas.

Third Assistant Jaime Vathielil joins the coaching staff from the University of Miami (FL) where he had been the associate director of basketball operations since 2011. He was also the Hurricanes’ graduate manager for men’s basketball from 2007-09 while finishing his masters in sports administration. In addition to his time in Coral Gables, Vathielil has previous experience at the professional level, serving as a video intern for the Miami Heat during the 2010-11 season and a basketball operations intern for the Maine Red Claws in 2010. Vathielil’s background also includes time with ATTACK Athletics in Chicago where he was a player development assistant.

Strength Coach and Athletic Trainer Aaron Karkow was most recently the assistant athletic trainer for the University of Mount Olive in North Carolina. There he oversaw the training needs for several sports including men’s basketball. Karkow is a former player and graduate of Endicott College in Massachusetts where he was a two-year captain for the Division III Gulls.

The Swarm will tip off its season on November 12 and Coach Gillespie and his staff will be in Greensboro Sunday, October 2, for the team’s open tryout. The tryout will be held at the UNC Greensboro Kaplan Center for Wellness and will give participants the chance to compete for an NBA D-League contract and spot on the Swarm’s training camp roster.