GREENSBORO  - As he heads into his first season as the North Carolina A&T men's basketball coach, Cy Alexander will have staff that consists of one associate head coach and two assistant coaches.

Jay Joyner will step in as Alexander's associate head coach. Darren "Mike" Corbett and Odell Witherspoon III will work under Alexander as his assistants.

"We have a group of guys who are really going to work hard to put A&T on top," said Alexander. "I know these gentlemen and I know how determined they are to be successful both as coaches and as positive male role models."

Joyner is no stranger to working with Alexander, having played for him as a student-athlete, worked for him as a professional and Alexander served on Joyner's staff as an assistant coach at Columbia State Community College during the 2011-12 season.  Their time together has produced championships and postseason appearances. 

Joyner spent the past three seasons as the head men's basketball coach at Columbia State Community College, leading them to two Tennessee Community College Athletic Association regular-season titles and their first national tournament appearance in 34 years in 2012.  He also served as an assistant coach at Cumberland University for a season, at Rutgers University for two seasons, as an assistant at Columbia State Community College from 2005-06, and at Tennessee State in 2003.  He was a part of the S.C. State championship team under Alexander in 1995-96. 

Alexander credited Joyner for having wonderful recruiting contacts throughout the East and Southeast regions of the United States. Joyner will work with the Aggie point guards and coordinate the Aggies offense.  

"I've known Jay for some time now," said "Alexander. "His growth and development as a man and as a coach have been tremendous. It was a great privilege to work for him last year as an assistant, and I look forward to working with him here. I know he is going to do a great job of teaching and running the day-to-day operations of the Aggies program."

The Corbett name is synonymous with A&T men's basketball. Corbett's father is Don Corbett, the legendary men's basketball coach who led A&T to seven straight NCAA Tournament appearances in the 80's. Darren Corbett served as an assistant men's basketball coach at A&T under former head coach Roy Thomas during the 1996-97 season. A&T advanced to the MEAC Tournament Championship game that season-their last trip to the title game.  Corbett has been a fixture in the Guilford County high school basketball scene for more than 15 years.

 He has taught and coached at Southern Guilford, Page and Grimsley High Schools.  He spent the last 10 seasons as the head coach of the varsity boys basketball team at Grimsley, where he compiled a 130-118 record, and led the Whirlies to two regular-season conference championship titles, seven Class 4A playoff appearances and four sectional finals.

Corbett is also a descendant of Ellis F. Corbett, the former A&T public relations and alumni affairs director to whom the home facility of the A&T men's basketball team (Ellis F. Corbett Sports Center) is named for.