Jean Prioleau

Jéan-Edúard Prioleau
Born	(1970-03-30) March 30, 1970 New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Basketball coach, former player
Years active	1992–present
Known for	Head coach of San Jose State men's basketball (2017–2021)

Jéan-Edúard Prioleau (born March 30, 1970) is an American collegiate basketball coach who currently serves as an assistant coach at Stephen F. Austin State University. Between 2017 and 2021, he was the head coach for the men's basketball program at San Jose State.

Raised in Teaneck, New Jersey, Prioleau completed his high school education at Teaneck High School. His collegiate playing career took place at Fordham University, where he earned two all-Patriot League distinctions and played a pivotal role in guiding the team to its first NCAA tournament appearance in more than two decades. Following college, from 1992 until 1999, he competed professionally in the Continental Basketball Association and various European leagues.

Prioleau began his coaching journey at Fordham in 1999 and subsequently held assistant coaching positions at several programs: Wichita State under Mark Turgeon, Marquette with Tom Crean, Iowa State under Greg McDermott, TCU guided by Jim Christian, and finally at Colorado with head coach Tad Boyle. After accumulating 18 years of experience as an assistant coach, Prioleau earned his first head coaching role at San Jose State in 2017.

Early life and collegiate playing career

Born in New York City and raised in Teaneck, New Jersey, Prioleau distinguished himself during his tenure at Teaneck High School by achieving all-state third team honors as well as first team selections for both all-league and all-county categories.

During his time at Fordham University, he played as a guard for the Fordham Rams from 1988 through 1992. Notably, in the championship game of the 1991 Patriot League men's basketball tournament, Prioleau sank a buzzer-beating three-pointer that secured an 84–81 victory over Holy Cross. In his senior year, he averaged 12.8 points per contest and led Fordham to its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in 1992. He received second-team All-Patriot League honors in both 1991 and 1992, ranked second all-time in career steals and fifth in total points at Fordham, and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in physics. In recognition of his achievements, Prioleau was inducted into the Fordham Athletics Hall of Fame in 2000.

Professional playing career

Following his collegiate career, Prioleau spent two seasons competing in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), representing the Yakima Sun Kings, Grand Rapids Hoops, and Sioux Falls Skyforce. Over 55 games, he averaged 3.7 points along with 1.8 assists per game.

In addition to his CBA tenure, Prioleau played professionally abroad, including stints in Switzerland during the 1994–95 season, Turkey for the 1995–96 season, and Italy with Sicc BPA Jesi from 1997 until 1999.

Initial Coaching Roles (1999–2010)

Prioleau launched his coaching journey in 1999 as an assistant at Fordham under Bob Hill, contributing to the team's improvement to a 14–15 overall record and 7–9 within the Atlantic 10 conference.

Between 2000 and 2005, he worked as an assistant coach at Wichita State under Mark Turgeon. During this tenure, the Shockers secured three consecutive appearances in the National Invitation Tournament from 2003 to 2005 and developed highly regarded recruiting classes.

In the 2005–06 season, Prioleau served on Tom Crean’s staff at Marquette, where the team achieved a 20–11 record and advanced to the NCAA tournament.

Following this, he joined Iowa State as an assistant under Greg McDermott from 2006 to 2008, with the team posting records of 15–16 and 14–18. He then spent two seasons at TCU alongside Jim Christian, where the Horned Frogs finished with records of 14–17 and 13–19.

Assistant Coach at Colorado (2010–2017)

Prioleau was appointed assistant coach at Colorado by head coach Tad Boyle on May 12, 2010. After several challenging seasons, the Buffaloes rebounded to a 24–11 record in 2011, earning a berth in the National Invitation Tournament. Elevated to associate head coach in 2013, he remained with Colorado through the 2016–17 season. During this period, the program posted winning records and made four NCAA Tournament appearances (2012–14, 2016).

Head Coach at San Jose State (2017–2021)

On August 4, 2017, Prioleau took over as head coach of San Jose State following Dave Wojcik’s resignation after a 14–16 season. Soon after his arrival, leading scorer Brandon Clarke transferred to Gonzaga. Prioleau’s debut season concluded with a disappointing overall record of 4–27 and a Mountain West Conference mark of 1–17. The year ended with three starters leaving the program. The subsequent season mirrored this outcome with an identical win-loss tally.

The 2019–20 campaign began positively with an upset victory on the road against Hofstra, the reigning Colonial Athletic Association regular-season champion. San Jose State commenced Mountain West play with a 2–3 record that included wins over New Mexico and defending Mountain West regular-season champion Nevada. Nonetheless, the team finished slightly better overall at 7–24 and went 3–15 in conference play.

In Prioleau’s final season (2020–21), San Jose State posted a 5–16 overall record and went 2–12 in Mountain West games amid numerous disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 12, 2021, Prioleau was relieved of his duties as head coach.

External links

• Profile at San Jose State
• Profile at Colorado