Meet the WVU Basketball Staff: Kory Barnett Brings Success from UCLA, Nevada

Head coach Darian DeVries welcomed Kory Barnett to the staff in April, and his defensive expertise will gel well with the WVU fanbase. Barnett has spent his coaching career along side Steve Alford, focusing on the defensive side of the ball for the UCLA Bruins and Nevada Wolfpack.

Coach Barnett started his coaching career in 2013 at UCLA with Coach Alford.  Barnett served as an assistant coach, director of operations, player development and scouting, and the video coordinator. While at UCLA, Barnett helped lead the Bruins to four NCAA tournaments along with two Sweet 16 appearances.  The 2015-2016 year is when Barnett was elevated to director of player development and scouting for the Bruins. The ensuing years, the Bruins saw future NBA players and All-Americans go through their program.

WVU Basketball Makes Addition of Kory Barnett as Assistant Coach Official

Aaron Holiday saw an eight point increase in his PPG in the 2017-2018 campaign, earning himself an Pac-12 First Team honor, All-Defensive team honor, Third-Team All American, and a First-Team NABC Division 1 All-District Selection.

Lonzo Ball joined the UCLA Bruins in the 2017-2018 campaign, becoming a one-and-done player. Ball was a consensus All-American, earned first team All-American status from numerous outlets, Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, a finalist for the Bob Cousy award, a member of the Pac-12 All-Defensive team, and the 2nd overall pick in the NBA draft.

Barnett’s arrival to Nevada is when he was able to showcase his defensive IQ. Last year, Barnett led his defense to the second best scoring defense in the Mountain West, allowing only 66 PPG.  The Wolfpack also had a +9 point differential, also second best in the MWC.  His defensive strategy at Nevada helped lead the Wolfpack to NCAA tournament appearances, and 26 victories.

“He has worked his way up during his career and really did a great job at Nevada, especially working with their defense and having them ranked at the top nationally. Kory is an incredible person and family man”, DeVries said of Barnett.

Although, Barnett is now leading the offense, Mountaineer fans should expect some of the hard-nosed defense that this program has been built off of in recent memory.

Barnett led the offensive side of the ball at UCLA, but says coaching defense at Nevada helped him grow as a coach, “Now offensively I have a a whole different point of view… I really learned what’s hard to guard.”

For a related story about the WVU Basketball staff, learn about Tom Ostrom who has over 25 years of coaching experience.