Updated: Steve Lutz to Hire George Mason Assistant Mike Ekanem
STILLWATER – Oklahoma State head coach Steve Lutz has found a fourth assistant. On Friday, Cowboy basketball confirmed a report from May 1st that Lutz has officially hired George Mason assistant coach, Mike Ekanem (pronounced ee-CON-em).
“Mike is a rising star in the coaching world,” Lutz said. “He understands the hard work and daily habits that build successful people and programs because he’s been around them his entire career. We are excited that he, his wife Hannah and his sons, Major and Tye, will be joining us in Stillwater.”
Ekanem joined the George Mason staff in April 2023 following a season as an assistant at Sam Houston State. This past season, George Mason went 20-12 overall, 9-9 in A-10 conference play. In the 2022-23 season with the Bearkats, Ekanem helped coach them to a 26-8 overall record, which included two wins against P5 opponents, Utah and OU, as well as 14-4 in WAC play. The two P5 wins marked the first in school history.
Prior to his time in Huntsville, Ekanem was on Eric Musselman’s staff at Arkansas as the director of player development in 2021-22. Before that, he served on Musselman’s staff at Nevada and was the director of scouting under Buzz Williams at Texas A&M before that.
He also served as a special assistant, video coordinator and recruiting assistant during a four-year stint at Memphis.
A native of Houston, TX, Ekanem graduated from Texas Lutheran in 2005, following a four-year playing career with the Bulldogs, where he was a four-year letterwinner, as well as earning All-Conference honors. He then spent six seasons working for Spurs Sports and Entertainment as a basketball operation assistant under Gregg Popovich for the San Antonio Spurs from 2017-13. He also served as the director of video and athletic performance for the San Antonio Stars in the WNBA.