For Immediate Release: August 15 2005
Contact: John Hartrick (hartrick@binghamton.edu)
Phone: 607-777-6800

Binghamton basketball hires former Davidson standout Ali Ton as assistant

VESTAL, N.Y. - Binghamton University head men's basketball coach Al Walker has rounded out his coaching staff by adding a former Division I standout point guard with international coaching experience. Ali Ton, a former Davidson College all-star who has just completed a coaching stint with the Turkish 20 & Under National Team, will join the BU program as an assistant coach in 2005-06. Ton, who will report to campus this week, joins associate head coach Lawrence Brenneman and assistant coach Marlon Sears on Walker's staff.

"Ali brings a wealth of international playing and coaching experience to our program," Walker said. "We feel like we can tap into a very special group of student-athletes under his leadership and guidance. In addition, he was a great point guard at Davidson and his ability to teach and mentor our young guards will be invaluable for the upcoming season."

Ton was a Division I all-conference player for Davidson (N.C.), steering the Wildcats to the 2004 Southern Conference South Division regular-season title and graduating as the school’s all-time assists leader. At Davidson, Ton ranked among the nation’s top 10 in assists twice and ranked third on the Southern Conference career list. He was starting point guard for three of his four collegiate seasons, accumulating 646 career assists. As a senior, Ton dished out 7.6 assists per game to rank third in the country. He finished his career with 222 steals to rank second all-time at Davidson and fifth in the SoCon. He also holds the single-game steals mark with 11, set against Tufts during the 1997-98 season.

He led Davidson to an NIT berth in 1996 as well as a SoCon tournament title and NCAA tournament berth in 1998. Ton was a first team all-conference selection as a senior and was given the Tommy Peters Award as the top senior male athlete at Davidson.

Prior to his coaching career, Ton played four years of professional basketball in his native Turkey. He started his professional career in the first division’s Mydonose Kolej in Anakara. After being among the league’s top 10 in assists and steals, Ton remained in Anakara, but moved to another team, Turk Telekom. After the team placed ninth the previous year, Ton led Turk Telekom to the championship game of the Turkish Cup and moved on to the semifinals in the first division. The next season, Turk Telekom placed fourth and reached the semifinals of the Turkish Cup. Ton’s final year of professional ball was spent with Galatasaray, one of the biggest sports clubs in the world. There, he had the opportunity to participate in the European tournaments such as the Korac and Saporta Cups. He played against teams from numerous countries, challenging former NBA players like David Rivers, Keith “Mister” Jennings and J.R. Reid.

He coached one year at Davidson before serving as a graduate manager at Western Carolina University last season while completing his Master of Business Administration degree.

TRANSACTIONS -- Binghamton University (N.Y.) hired Ali Ton as an assistant men's basketball coach