University of Dayton Athletics

James Kane, who has worked with Grant at every one of his head coaching stops, has returned to the Dayton coaching staff as an assistant coach. Kane was on Grant’s first staff at UD in 2017-18. He returns to the Flyers after three seasons as an assistant coach at Iowa State.

Kane first met Grant while Grant was on the coaching staff at the University of Florida, and Kane was an undergraduate student there. Grant gave Kane the opportunity to begin his career in college basketball when he hired Kane as a graduate assistant at VCU in 2006-07. Kane moved up to video coordinator at VCU for two years, and then went to Alabama with Grant for two more seasons as video coordinator in 2009.

Kane then moved into coaching on the court at Murray State where he spent six seasons with the Racers, including four on Steve Prohm’s staff. Kane played a major role in Murray State’s success from 2011-17. The Racers had a 151-52 record in those six seasons. Murray State advanced to the postseason three times, including the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2012.

The Oakland Park, Fla. native first came to Dayton when Anthony Grant was named the Flyers’ head coach in 2017-18. Kane made an immediate impact when he was an integral part of recruiting Jalen Crutcher to UD. After the initial year at Dayton, Kane rejoined Prohm at Iowa State.

In Kane's first season in Ames, Iowa State went 23-12 overall and won the Big 12 Tournament. They advanced to the NCAA Tournament and were led by All-American Marial Shayok, the son of former Dayton Flyer Makor Shayok.

Kane has worked with 12 NBA players, including Shayok, Tyrese Haliburton and NBA All-Star, Ja Morant.

Kane’s origins as a video coordinator under Grant at VCU and Alabama gave him a unique skill set for using technology in the college game. Since then, he has gained a reputation for being outstanding in player development, a tireless recruiter, and exceptional at game planning.

Kane graduated from the University of Florida in 2005 as a merit scholar with a degree in sport management and a minor in business administration. He spent the 2005-06 season interning for the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats in basketball operations and scout analysis. In 2006, he earned a master’s degree in sport management from VCU’s Center for Sport Leadership. He attended the Top Connect Assistant Coaches Conference in 2019, 2020 and 2021.

A Colombian-American, Kane is a member of the Latino Association of Basketball Coaches. He and his wife, Allie, have two children.