Murray State University Athletics
Al Grushkin - Staff Directory
- Title:
- Defensive Analyst
An experienced leader and a three-time coach of the year honoree, Grushkin has built an extensive coaching résumé spanning the NBA and collegiate levels, including NCAA Division I and Division II. Throughout his career, he has worked with 11 successful collegiate programs and two NBA organizations, serving as head coach at five nationally ranked programs. Twelve times during his career, he helped lead teams to conference or postseason championships within his first two seasons of arriving on staff.
A defensive specialist, Grushkin has served as defensive coordinator at four NCAA Division I programs, with three of those teams capturing league championships.The majority of his career has worked with building team defenses and in player development. Most recently before joining the Racers, Grushkin worked at High Point, helping the Panthers reach their first NCAA Tournament appearance while elevating the program's defense to the top of the Big South Conference in both scoring defense and field goal percentage defense.
Grushkin was also part of the coaching staff at Kansas State that guided the Wildcats to an Elite Eight appearance and coached at Arkansas under Hall of Fame head coach Nolan Richardson, along with former Racer coaches Kenny Roth and Scott Edgar. Grushkin collegiate coaching stops have also included Arkansas State, UTSA, Idaho State, Western Illinois, Indiana Tech and Tulsa.
In 10 seasons as head coach, all 10 teams finished in the nation’s Top 25 in scoring defense, and in four seasons at Indiana Tech, three of his teams ranked in the nation’s top 15 in total team defense, including having the No. 1 computer ranked defense in the nation in the 2010-11 season.
In professional basketball, Grushkin has served as head coach of the St. Louis River Sharks and as an assistant with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and Erie BayHawks. He also worked as a scout for the NBA's Indiana Pacers and Marty Blake Associates.
