Gassmann Hired as Basketball Assistant Coach

Andrew Wilson, VMI head basketball coach, announced the hiring of Caanan Gassmann as an assistant coach to his staff just in time for the 2024-25 season Oct. 4, 2024.

Gassmann is a versatile and motivated basketball professional skilled in player development, coaching, and basketball operations. Throughout his coaching career, he has demonstrated success in establishing and maintaining a winning mindset through fundamental skills development, increasing basketball intelligence, and enforcement of a strong work ethic.

“I’m very excited about the addition of Caanan to our coaching staff,” said Wilson. “He will bring great value to our program and has earned this opportunity early in his coaching career. Caanan has great energy and is very passionate about player development. He will quickly build meaningful relationships on post, and we are fortunate to have him join us at VMI.”

Since 2019, he has served as the owner and head trainer of Gassmann Training, where he is a specialized shooting coach and responsible for developing athletes through game-specific training and mental training.

He comes to VMI after serving as an assistant coach and scout for the University of Fort Lauderdale, where he was tasked with leading preseason workouts, player development, and NCAA eligibility on top of other coaching responsibilities. He took pride in building community engagement with local restaurants and sponsors.

This past summer, he served as the Miami Pro Summer League assistant coach and scout. Among many duties, he recruited top players for NBA-level competitions, headed player practice and development, and prepared and tracked winning metrics.

From 2022–24, he served as a coach and operations manager for the CYM Undiscovered Pro Showcases League, where he assembled teams for professional showcase events, NBA-level player skill development, scouting, and creating marketing and corporate partnership plans.

During the 2022-23 season, he was an assistant coach at Mount Aloysius College (D-III) in Pennsylvania, responsible for player development, strength and conditioning, and leading individual and team meetings.

Gassmann earned increasing responsibilities as Orlando/Lakeland Magic team attendant from 2018–22. In this role, he oversaw player care and equipment management and assisted with pre-game workouts.

Other coaching responsibilities over the years include serving as Clermont Crocs (ABA) assistant coach, Athletes in Action assistant coach, UCF men’s basketball team student manager under Johnny Dawkins, head coach, and as Drake University women’s basketball team student manager, which went undefeated in conference 2 years straight.

Gassmann earned a bachelor’s degree in exercise science from the University of Central Florida in 2019 before going on to earn a master’s degree in exercise physiology from UCF in 2021.

Editor’s Note: This article was first published at vmikeydets.com.