Gene Granger has served in roles at a variety of levels for over two decades as a player, coach, a general manager & athletic director of a successful post-secondary preparatory basketball program, and as the director of a grassroots basketball event management company.
Over the course of the last 15 years, Granger has served as the director of his own grassroots basketball management company hosting events primarily in the Southeastern United States, but also in locations such as Ohio, Nevada, and the Cayman Islands. He has also been a member of the Junior NBA since 2020.
Prior to joining the coaching staff at Florida A&M under Head Coach Charlie Ward, Granger, whose educational certification is in secondary mathematics, worked at Maclay School, a private college preparatory institution in Tallahassee, Florida. While at Maclay, he coached boys’ basketball for eight seasons; the team won two district championships and were district runner-up another five seasons. During his tenure as Maclay’s head coach, it was the first time in the school’s history the boys’ program won a district 3-A Title. In 2023, Granger was named Big Bend Coach of the Year. Part of the competitiveness of boys’ basketball in north Florida included facing tough competition against Charlie Ward, who was the head coach at Granger’s alma mater - Florida State University High School.
Before moving back to Tallahassee with his family, Granger worked with co-founders to establish DME Academy in Daytona Beach, Florida during its inaugural years. DME has become a widely recognized and sought after post-secondary basketball preparatory program. His role there included everything from facility planning to scouting, coordinating player training, and overseeing coaches. While at DME, Granger worked alongside Mike and Dan Panaggio. Dan Panaggio is a former assistant NBA coach who has coached with the Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns and Portland Trailblazers.
Granger’s other secondary coaching experiences have included head coaching at Florida State University High School, West Gadsden, & FAMU Developmental Research School (DRS). While at FAMU DRS, Granger led the Baby Rattlers to appear at the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) Final Four State Championship three out of four seasons.
Granger served as an assistant coach at Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida, where the team made an NCAA Tournament appearance in his time with the program.
As a player, Granger graduated from Florida State University High School in 1999, where he scored over 1,300 points during his high school career. His high school team appeared in two final four championships while being State runner-up one season. He was a McDonald’s All-American nominee, before going on to play at Tallahassee State College (formerly TCC) for one season. During that season, TCC never fell under the top three teams per NCAA Division I Junior College national rankings.
After that season with TCC, Granger played the next three seasons at Charleston Southern University, participating in the Big South Conference. He served as CSU’s team captain and was a leading scorer during his final two seasons. He graduated from CSU with a degree in Business Management in 2003.
Granger has also completed the majority of his coursework toward a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership at FAMU.
Granger and his wife, Lindsey, met at CSU and have been married since 2009. The Grangers have two sons - Carter (12) and Cameron (8). Granger’s mother, sister, and her two children are all proud Rattlers alumni.
