Head Coach: Jeff Charney (2nd Year)

Charney had the interim tag removed from his title at the end of the 2008 season and was thusly appointed the full-time head men’s basketball coach at Purchase College.

A longtime local baseball, football and basketball coach, Charney turned around a poor year for the Panthers in the second half of last season, using his success in previous coaching endeavors to spark that turnaround.  

In his last five seasons coaching high school basketball, the Rye Brook, NY native sports a 106-10 record. His Port Chester H.S teams won a Federation Championship game, a State Championship, and made 5-of-5 County Center Final Four appearances. Overall, Charney boasts a 238-85 record in 15 seasons.

For his success on the hardwood, Charney received numerous accolades, including Madison Square Garden Tri-State Coach of the Year in 2002, presented by Mike Quick of the MSG Network.

Charney has also been recognized for his success on the diamond and the gridiron. On the baseball field, Charney received coach of the year honors from both the NY Daily News and The Journal News. In 1992, he was named Junior College National Coach of the Year after coaching Westchester Community College to the Junior College World Series. He’s also enjoyed success at the high school level where he won a Section 1 record six sectional championships, four regional championships, 10 league championships and made four State Final appearances in 16 years.

In 21 years of coaching football, Charney never had a losing season at the JV level at Rye High School.

Assistant Coach: Nat Harris (1st Year)

Harris enters his first season behind the bench with coach Charney. He is an educator and clinical social worker who is well-known for implementing those skills in a very fundamental approach to coaching basketball. Harris has lectured and run clinics for boys, girls, men and women on all performance levels from youth through pro.

Harris is the former head coach of the New Rochelle High School varsity team where he recorded an astounding 247-66 mark. His teams were consistently seen at the Westchester County Center, playing in zLeague IA classics. He was named Coach of the Year twice by the Westchester Basketball Coaches Association, Section I, League I. He also served as this association’s vice president and president-elect.

On the pro level, Harris was a former player-evaluator for the Orlando Magic and was also an assistant coach for the United States Basketball League’s Westchester Stallions (USBL). That team went to the USBL Finals in its first year under the tutelage of Harris.

The New Rochelle native is also an established on the AAU circuit. He has coached teams that have won several tournament championships throughout the greater metropolitan area.

Harris played basketball at DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx, but a near fatal car accident cut short his potential collegiate career at St. John’s University. However, he managed to get back into basketball, enjoying a solid hoop career in several notable pro-am tournaments, including West 4th, Dyckman and Rucker Park.   

Coach Harris resides in New Rochelle with his wife, Joanne, and daughters, Jhanay and Tiahna. Basketball certainly runs in the Harris family. Jhanay is captain on the Central Connecticut State University’s women’s basketball team and Tiahna is captain of her New Rochelle High School girl’s varsity team.

“I’m delighted to add coach Harris to my staff here at Purchase,” Charney said. “He has a tremendous coaching record. His experiences in the game and his teaching methods are a valuable addition to our program.”