Associate head coach Corey Gipson will begin his seventh season on the Missouri State staff in 2021-22.
The native of Sikeston, Mo., first came to MSU on July 2, 2015 and was promoted to associate-level duties on June 2, 2016.
During his time at MSU, Gipson has been heavily involved in recruiting and player development, including All-MVC first-teamers Tulio Da Silva and Alize Johnson, both of whom earned the league’s Newcomer of the Year honors.
Prior to coming to Springfield, Gipson spent three seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at his alma mater, Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tenn. While at APSU, he helped coach Chris Horton, the program’s all-time leader in blocked shots and one of only 13 players in Division I history to score 1,500 points, grab 1,000 rebounds and block 300 shots.
He was named Austin Peay’s Young Alumnus of the Year in 2012.
He also spent two seasons as associate head coach at UNC Greensboro (2010-12) after one year (2009-10) there as assistant coach. He earned his promotion to associate head coach at UNCG primarily due to his exceptional recruiting skills. His coaching history also includes a stop at Division II Virginia State University in Petersburg, Va., where he coordinated the Trojans’ recruiting efforts for head coach Tony Collins from 2005-09. Collins was a longtime assistant at APSU and recruited Gipson out of junior college. Gipson was on the staff for a 2007 conference championship run that included a standout effort by Avis Wyatt who was named first-team all-conference and defensive player of the year.
As a player at Austin Peay, Gipson was a two-year starter at point guard for coach Dave Loos, helping the Govs become the top defensive team in the OVC in both of his seasons. APSU went 45-18 in that span and never lost a home game (27-0) in two seasons. Gipson averaged 7.7 points, 2.1 assists and 2.3 rebounds per game during his career. He also made 94 three-pointers, shooting 34.1 percent from long range. He was also part of consecutive Ohio Valley Conference championships in 2002-03 and 2003-04 and an NCAA Tournament run in 2003.
He has served as an adjunct professor at both Austin Peay and Virginia State and made several guest appearances on the BET reality series College Hill while at Virginia State.
Gipson, 38, earned both his bachelor’s (2004) and master’s degrees (2005) from Austin Peay. He also earned an associate’s degree from Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff, Mo., where he played two seasons for legendary coach Gene Bess before transferring to Austin Peay.
As a prep standout at Richland High School, near Sikeston, he was a Missouri Mr. Show-Me Basketball nominee as a senior, averaging 30.9 points per contest in 1998-99. He also earned consensus all-state honors that season.
He and his wife, April, have three children – Jordan, Tanner and Frankie.
