Gregory Bean has experienced two dynamics of teams in his 13 years of coaching basketball prior to arriving at Waynesburg University, but his two previous stints at the high school and collegiate level ended in the same result: winning.

Bean was announced as Waynesburg’s men’s basketball new assistant coach Sept. 13, replacing Ben Altmeyer, who held that title for the previous five seasons.

From 2010 to 2015, Bean helped build Redbank Valley High School’s basketball program from a team that hadn’t reached a PIAA AA District IX title game in 23 years to one that made it to the championship game two seasons in a row, including his 2014-15 team that took home the title.

“I was fortunate to be able to turn around a struggling program at Redbank Valley,” Bean said. “The commitment level of some of the guys we had there was unmatched. Being able to guide that program to levels it has never seen before is something that I will always carry with me.”

Following his stint at Redbank Valley, Bean landed his first collegiate position as an assistant coach at Medaille College from 2015 to 2017.

Last season, he moved into the associate head coach position at Medaille as the Mavericks went 19-11 overall, and 13-5 in the Allegheny Mountain Conference. The team won one game in the AMCC tournament before rolling to the ECAC DIII championship game, where it fell 89-85 to Neumann University.

While under Bean’s guidance, Meadville won the AMCC conference championship in his second year as an assistant during the 2016-17 season. The Mavericks then moved to the NCAA Tournament, where they lost in the first round.

“One of the biggest things that stands out is how hard some guys work for their goals and how close knit the best teams are,” he said. “It was a lot of fun to be in the gym with our 2017 NCAA Tournament team at Medaille to see the preparation it takes to accomplish some really neat things. Being able to see the growth of young mean towards a common goal is one of the main reasons that I coach.”

Bean’s experience at the high school and college level is something that Waynesburg head coach Mark Christner said stood out in the search for a new assistant coach.

“I think the advantage for coach Bean is that he’s not [new to coaching], he’s done it before,” Christner said. “…not only does he have the background where he has run his own program, but he has also been around, recently, a team that won a conference championship—and that’s what we’re aspiring to do…I always admire people that have been a few different places that can bring some of that to wherever they are.”

According to Christner, he and Bean had met and established a relationship while Bean was still at Redbank Valley, and the two kept in touch over the years. Once the assistant coach position opened up, Bean was immediately a candidate Christner wanted to potentially join his staff.

For Bean, the appeal of Waynesburg didn’t just lie in his friendship with Christner, but also the atmosphere that surrounds the university and its people.

“I think when you talk about Waynesburg, you talk about the people here,” said Bean. “My prior relationship with coach Christner stands out as one of the things that led me to Waynesburg, but also the type of institution and the type of people involved in the campus community are big draws. It’s an opportunity for me to grow and hopefully make a positive impact on the campus community and our student athletes.”

When it comes to team play on the court, Bean’s coaching style revolves around establishing connections with his players and making sure everyone is on the same page.

“I am much more about relationships than the X’s and O’s,” Bean said. “I think your relationships within the team dynamic determine your outcome much more than your plays. Trust and accountability are big parts of allowing a team to accomplish those things.”

Going into his first season this winter, Bean is eager to get started at Waynesburg and see if he can help build the Yellow Jackets into a perennial contender in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference.

“Waynesburg as an institution is top notch. Combine that with the people involved and you have a community that is one of a kind,” said Bean. “I am looking forward to my time at Waynesburg and whatever path it leads me to…I am focused on making a positive impact to this community and helping elevate the basketball program.”