Marty Gross

Marty Gross, one of the most highly respected assistant coaches in the country, completes his fifteenth season at Rice University. Gross has been at Rice for 13-consecutive seasons and earlier in his 28-year coaching career he served two seasons with the Owls from 1983 to 1985.

In addition to Rice, the 49-year-old Gross also coached at his alma mater, Jacksonville University, for two different periods. His first stint at Jacksonville was from 1981 to 1983. Gross returned to the school in 1985 where he spent the next seven years, including five seasons as the associate head coach.

Gross coached teams are no strangers to success. In 1985-86 Jacksonville was 21-10, won the Sun Belt Conference Tournament and played in the NCAA Tournament. In 1986-87 the Dolphins were 20-10 and received an NIT postseason bid.

At Rice, Gross directs the Owls recruiting efforts as well as assists Head Coach Willis Wilson in the day-to-day operation of the basketball program. Rice has enjoyed its greatest success during the Gross years and the teams’ signature has been excellent student-athletes with a 97 percent graduation rate to match. For the Owls Gross has helped develop fifteen all-conference selections, a two-time Academic All American, a Freshman All-American and the WAC Freshman Player of the Year, two WAC All Newcomers and fifteen pros in thirteen years.

In 1992-93, the Owls finished 18-10 and earned a trip to the NIT. Rice defeated Wisconsin on the road in the first round before losing to Boston College on the road in the second round. Since 1942, the past three years has been the most productive in Rice Basketball history, winning a total of 60 games. Over the last five seasons, Rice has averaged 17 wins a year.

Gross began his collegiate coaching career at Birmingham-Southern College immediately after graduation from Jacksonville University in 1977. During his four years in Birmingham, the Panthers were 103-27, captured three Southern States Conference championships, competed in two national tournaments, and achieved four national rankings, the highest being second in the NAIA poll.

While at Jacksonville, Gross helped nurture the careers of six Dolphins selected in the NBA draft and two others that played professionally.

Gross was a four-year letterman for Jacksonville, serving as the team’s captain as a senior in 1977. He also played on a 1974 Jacksonville NIT team, which featured four future NBA draft selections. He received a B.S. in management from Jacksonville in 1977, and a M.A.T. from UAB in 1979. Gross is a native of Yankton, South Dakota, where he was an all-state basketball player as a senior in 1973. He is a member of the NABC, TABC, FCA, and Saint Martin’s Episcopal Church.

Fast Facts on Marty Gross

Coaching Experience:
Assistant Coach, Birmingham Southern College, 1977-81
Assistant Coach, Jacksonville University, 1981-83
Assistant Coach, Rice University, 1983-85
Assistant Coach, Jacksonville University, 1985-87
Associate Head Coach, Jacksonville University, 1987-92
Assistant Coach, Rice University, 1992-Present

Personal:
Birth date: August 5, 1955, (Yankton, South Dakota)
Full Name: Martin Christopher Gross.
Wife’s Name: Mary Pat (nurse and aspiring artist)

Education:
High School: Yankton Senior High School, Yankton, South Dakota, 1973.
College: B.S. in management, Jacksonville University, 1977.
Graduate School: M.A.T. University of Alabama-Birmingham, 1979.

Recruiting Success

Birmingham-Southern College (4 Years):
Alan Gruman, C, First Team All American, NAIA Student Athlete of the Year
James Harmon, F/C, First Team All American
Willie Williams, G, Second Team All American
James Patton, G, Honorable Mention All American

Jacksonville University (9 Years):
One Top 25 Recruiting Class, Bob Gibbons, 1988
One Top 35 Recruiting Class, Bob Gibbons, 1992
One Top 75 Recruiting Class. Bob Gibbons, 1986

Rice University (15 Years):
Two Top 30 Recruiting Classes, Van Coleman, 1992, 1993
Two Top 40 Recruiting Classes, Bob Gibbons, 1994, 1995