May 26, 2011

University of South Carolina head men’s basketball coach Darrin Horn announced on Thursday that Cypheus Bunton, who served as the director of player development for the 2010-11 season, will fulfill the role of assistant coach, which was vacated by Orlando Early’s appointment as assistant coach at NC State last month. Additionally, Justin Phelps has been named the team’s director of basketball operations.

“After assessing the needs of our coaching staff and our team, I feel that Cypheus is the best fit for our assistant coach position. He provides continuity for our players; he is someone who believes in our system and in the University of South Carolina. Those are the things we most needed in that role moving forward.”

Bunton served as an assistant coach at Western Kentucky under Horn from 2004-08, and in the same role at South Carolina from 2008-10. He assumed the role of director of player development prior to last season.

Phelps moves to South Carolina after most recently serving as the founder and director of the All-American Junior College Showcase in Las Vegas, Nev., since January 2010. Phelps, a 2006 graduate of Kent State University, created the July event, which was attended by over 200 NCAA Division I coaching staffs. While in Las Vegas, he also served as the vice president of marketing and expansion for National Youth Sports, an organization that helped with all facets of youth sports leagues across Nevada, California, Arizona, Georgia, New Mexico, Texas and Oregon.

While at Kent State, Phelps assisted the University’s men’s basketball staff with several duties, including team travel, film exchange, mailings, organizing the student staff members, both in the office and on game day, and also with summer camps. The Golden Flashes advanced to the NIT twice (2003, 2004) and the NCAA Tournament (2006) during his time with the team.

“Justin will be a great addition to our staff,” Horn said. “He has great organizational and administrative skills and a wealth of experience in those areas. “