JENSEN MAKES FIRST STAFFING MOVE NAMING RAPHAEL CHILLIOUS ASSISTANT COACH
Runnin’ Utes head coach Alex Jensen makes his first hire with the addition of Raphael Chillious.
Runnin’ Utes head coach Alex Jensen makes his first hire with the addition of Raphael Chillious.
SALT LAKE CITY – Newly minted Utah head men’s basketball coach Alex Jensen makes the first addition to his staff with the hiring of a veteran collegiate coach in Raphael Chillious (chilly-us) as an assistant coach on Friday.
“Raphael has an established track record in player development and recruiting that will be integral to our program,” Jensen said. “We’re excited to welcome him and his family to Salt Lake City and the University of Utah.
A veteran in the collegiate circles known as a top-level developmental coach and recruiter, he coached 17 players to NBA rosters, 10 NBA first-round draft picks, 4 NBA lottery picks and a No. 1-overall draft selection. Additionally, he also coached two players that were drafted straight out of high school.
“I’m truly excited for the opportunity to join [Alex] Jensen’s staff at the University of Utah,” Chillious said. “Alex is a tremendous coach and great person/friend. We’ve coached together on trips to Europe over the last few years so I’ve gotten to know him beyond the court. So many colleagues have asked me if I would ever go back to college coaching and I always said it would only be with someone I truly know, trust and respect at a place that has a rich basketball tradition. I hit the jackpot with both by joining his staff. I look forward to getting to Salt Lake City, the place where we will develop high-level student-athletes who want to work hard, play tough and who aspire to play basketball well beyond college! Go Utes!”
Chillious comes to Salt Lake City from the Memphis Grizzlies – where he started as a personnel evaluator this season.
Prior to joining the Grizzlies, Chillious spent four years (2020-24) at South Kent School – his second stint at the South Kent, Conn., boarding school. He returned to the Cardinals in a dual role as the associate athletics director and head coach for two seasons before taking over as the director of athletics in 2022. He went on to lead South Kent School to the 2023 NEPSAC Class AAA championship.
Before returning to South Kent School, Chillious spent two seasons (2018-20) with the Pirates of East Carolina as an associate head coach. He accomplished a lot his first season in Greenville, helping ECU rookie forward Jayden Gardner earn AAC All-Freshman Team honors. Gardner was unanimously selected to the all-freshman team after averaging 16.3 points and 8.5 rebounds during the regular-season his rookie year. He also became the first freshman in conference history to score 30-plus points and 20-plus rebounds when he dropped 35 points with 20 rebounds against UCF on Jan. 13, 2019.
Additionally, Chillious helped ECU put together the No. 10-ranked recruiting class in 2019 after signing four top-50 junior college prospects.
Chillious served as an associate head coach his lone season at UConn (2017-18) under Kevin Ollie and helped assemble the 22nd-ranked recruiting class for the Huskies. He would later be named the interim head coach for UConn (March-April) before joining the East Carolina staff.
Prior to his time in Storrs, Conn., Chillious spent seven seasons between two stints at the University of Washington on Lorenzo Romar’s staff. He first stop in Seattle went from 2009-12 before heading to Philadelphia for a season under Jay Wright at Villanova (2012-13). He then returned to the Emerald City for his second stint from 2013-17.
Washington enjoyed success during his first stint, playing in the postseason all three years – including a Sweet 16 appearance in 2010 before advancing to the second round in 2011. UW had a successful campaign in 2010, not only did it advance to Sweet 16 for the third time in six seasons but also claimed its first of two-consecutive Pac-10 Tournament Championships (2010-11).
The 2010 season culminated with the 30th-ranked recruiting class in the country for Washington while Quincy Pondexter was selected No. 26-overall in the NBA Draft that June. Meanwhile, Isaiah Thomas raked in first-team honors and his first of two-straight Pac-12 Tournament MVP awards. Justin Holiday also had a solid year for Huskies that season, garnering all-defensive first-team honors.
Thomas would go on to be drafted 60th-overall in the 2012 NBA Draft while Holiday and freshman C.J. Wilcox hauled in Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year by NetScouts Basketball and Pac-10 All-Freshman First-Team accolades, respectively. That 2011 recruiting class for Washington ended up being 29th in the country with the help of Chillious.
The 2012 campaign for UW was just as strong, winning the regular-season title in the newly formed Pac-12 Conference and made a semifinal appearance in the NIT. Washington had not one, but two first-round draft picks at the conclusion of that year. Terrence Ross, who was a first-teamer, was selected No. 8-overall by the Toronto Raptors and was followed by Tony Wroten with the 25th-overall pick by the Memphis Grizzlies after being named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year.
His one and only season at Villanova between stints at UW saw the Wildcats make a seven-win improvement while also making a seven-place improvement year-over-year in the Big East standings. That 2013 squad under Jay Wright would earn a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament and pull in the recruiting class that was ranked No. 45 in the country. That season saw Villanova take down three top-5 ranked opponents – including a 73-64 win over eventual national champion, Louisville.
In his first season back at Washington, Chillious helped mentor Nigel Williams-Goss to the all-freshman team before Wilcox was selected No. 28-overall by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2014 NBA Draft. Wilcox remains No. 2 on the all-time scoring list at UW with 1,880 career points (14.4 ppg) and still the program leader with 301 career made 3-pointers.
Chillious closed out his first season back with the Huskies by helping them haul in the No. 6 recruiting class in the country that included Matisse Thybulle (20th-overall), Dejounte Murray (29th-overall) and Marquese Chriss (8th-overall) – who were all first-round draft selections.
He was also integral in the signing of Markelle Fultz for the 2016-17 season – who was sixth in the country in scoring his freshman year (23.2 ppg) to not only be the nation’s leading freshman scorer but also the Pac-12’s overall leading scorer. Fultz went on to be top pick in the 2017 NBA Draft and was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers.
Chillious started his first stint at South Kent School in 2003 and spent five seasons (2003-08) there helping the Cardinals become a national powerhouse. During his time there, he coached Thomas, Dorrell Wright (the older brother of Delon Wright), Andray Blatche and Dion Waiters. All four would eventually be drafted in the NBA – three of which were first-round selections.
A native of Mt. Zion, Md., Chillious played basketball at Lafayette College (1992-92 and 1994-96) in Pennsylvania. He spent a season at Pfeiffer (1993-94) before returning to Lafayette College where he earned his degree in psychology in 1996. Chillious was named team captain his senior year and went on to receive the President’s Silver Award while also being a two-time academic honor roll recipient.
Chillious will be joined in Salt Lake City by his fiancé, Carrie, whom he is raising five children with.
