NASHVILLE – The Tennessee State University's men's basketball team welcomes Erik Buggs to the coaching staff for the upcoming 2024-25 season. Head coach Brian "Penny" Collins has added Buggs who brings eight years of coaching experience from the high school level to college.
"We are excited to add Coach Buggs to our staff," stated Coach Collins. "He comes in with a ton of experience from his playing days at Valpo, all the way to his last job at UT Martin. His relationship with players and ability to make our young men better on and off the court will be second to none. Big Blue fans will enjoy what he will bring to Nashville!"
Buggs is no stranger to the Ohio Valley Conference as he has spent the last three seasons at UT Martin (2021-24). He joined the Skyhawks staff before the 2021-22 season and was promoted to the program's recruiting coordinator in June 2022.
Buggs comes to Nashville after helping lead UT Martin to an OVC regular season championship and 21 victories in 2023-24. The Skyhawks advanced to the OVC Championship semifinals for the second consecutive year. They equaled the program record with 14 OVC victories and once again defeated every league team at least once. UT Martin set the all-time school record in rebounding and free throw percentage while ranking in the top 25 in the country in five different categories.
The Memphis native has been a member of championship squads as a collegiate student-athlete and as a coach at the high school, and collegiate level. In 2020-21, he was the associate head coach under two-time NBA champion Mike Miller at Houston High School in Germantown, Tenn. The Mustangs ranked as high as No. 8 in the national prep polls on their way to a 26-3 record and state, sectional, regional, and district championships. As the lead assistant at Houston, Buggs handled the player development of multiple collegiate prospects while overseeing academics and college recruitment.
Before his stint at HHS, Buggs also spent time in his hometown of Memphis, Tenn. as the head coach at Kingsbury High School (2018-20) and Memphis Catholic High School (2016-18).
Buggs jumped into the coaching ranks in 2016 after a brief professional career where he spent time in Switzerland and Chile from 2013-16. He helped guide the Club Deportes Universidad Catolica squad to a playoff berth during his tenure in Santiago, Chile.
In 2016, Buggs served as the head coach and recruitment coordinator for Hoop City Basketball Club, an Adidas Gauntlet organization based out of Memphis. He established direct relationships with NCAA, NAIA, and junior college coaches and successfully placed players at every level of collegiate basketball – most of which went on to enter the NBA Draft pool and sign professional contracts overseas.
Buggs transitioned to the collegiate level before the 2021-22 season as he joined the UT Martin staff. In Buggs' first season, the Skyhawks did not return a single player from the previous season - marking the first time an NCAA Division I squad could say that since 2014-15. UT Martin wasted no time showcasing its talent as the program combined to win seven of the 16 Ohio Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week awards.
The Skyhawks were matched up against a tough 2021-22 schedule as eight of their nine non-conference NCAA Division I opponents combined for a 175-126 record (.581 winning percentage). UT Martin wound up playing 12 games against opposition who played in the 2022 postseason.
The 2022-23 season saw the Skyhawks reel off the second-largest turnaround in school history, accumulating 19 victories - the fifth-most for the school in the NCAA Division I Era (since 1992). UT Martin equaled its third-most Ohio Valley Conference wins (10) in school history, defeating every OVC school at least once (including a season sweep of eventual NCAA Tournament participant Southeast Missouri). The Skyhawks advanced to the OVC Championship semifinals for only the fifth time in school history while tying for the most home wins (14) since the program transitioned to the NCAA Division I ranks in 1992.
UT Martin ranked second in school history in scoring (2,658 points) and rebounding (1,293) in 2022-23. The Skyhawks also found themselves in the top-15 in NCAA Division I men's basketball ranks and atop the OVC in defensive rebounding per game (28.7, seventh), fast break points (15.09 per game, ninth), scoring offense (80.5 points per outing, 14th) and rebounding per game (39.18, 15th). UT Martin additionally topped the OVC in scoring margin (+5.1), field goal percentage (.459), and field goal percentage defense (.422).
The Skyhawks shattered a school record for most single-season All-OVC performers (three) a season ago in Parker Stewart (first team), Jordan Sears (first team and All-Newcomer), and KJ Simon (second team). UT Martin was one of only a dozen NCAA Division I schools to boast multiple National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District honorees in 2022-23 as Stewart and Simon collected those awards.
Buggs carved out a remarkable collegiate career on the hardwood, as he is the all-time leader in games played (138) while ranking fourth in assists (425) and sixth in steals (157) at Valparaiso University. Playing under head coaches Homer Drew (2008-11) and Bryce Drew (2011-13), Buggs was a part of 95 wins, a pair of Horizon League regular season championships, one Horizon League tournament title, and three postseason appearances (2013 NCAA Tournament, 2012 National Invitation Tournament, 2011 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament).
Starting in 122 games during his career, Buggs shined in the biggest moments. He was named Horizon League Tournament Most Valuable Player after scoring a career-high 22 points (on 9-of-13 shooting) with four steals in the championship victory over Wright State. He followed that with 14 points (on 7-of-11 shooting) and a career-best five steals against Michigan State in the first round of the 2013 NCAA Tournament. That same season, he was also named to the Horizon League All-Defensive Team after swiping 55 steals (ranking in the top-10 for a single season in Valparaiso history).
In high school, Buggs captured all-state honors and was a McDonald's All-American nominee as a senior at Mitchell High School, helping lead the Tigers to a berth in the state championship game with a 30-5 record. He was a four-time All-Region 16 AA and All-District 16 honoree, garnering Region MVP status as a junior while spending his first three seasons at White Station High School.
Buggs is married to the former Destiny Corbin from Chicago, Ill. and the couple has four children - Kyleigh, Elias, Egypt and Emery. He earned his bachelor's degree in sports management from Valparaiso in 2013 before obtaining his Master's degree in education from Memphis in 2020.
