Gardner-Webb hired former Armstrong Atlantic and Newberry head coach Jeremy Luther as an assistant coach and promoted Paul Hemrick to assistant coach. The pair joins assistant coach Takayo Siddle, who is entering his fourth season on the GWU coaching staff.

"I am excited to get our coaching staff in place, and feel very good about this group moving forward," said Craft. "Jeremy Luther has been successful as a Division I assistant coach and as a head coach on the Division II level, and brings a wealth of experience in all areas of the business to our program. Paul Hemrick made a strong impression on everyone associated with the GWU program during his time handling operations. He understands the landscape of this campus and has great feel for the makeup of our current roster."

Luther has 14 seasons of experience on the college sidelines, including the past six seasons as a head coach at a pair of NCAA Division II programs. The Tallahassee, Fla., native forged an 82-80 overall record in those two head coaching stops. He spent 2007-2009 rebuilding a Newberry program that had not won more than 12 games in a season since 2003-2004. In just his second season at the school, Luther led the Wolves to a record-setting campaign, posting a 21-8 overall record and a second-place finish in the South Atlantic Conference. The overall and league win total (10-6) both established new school records for Newberry.

Luther directed Armstrong Atlantic to a pair of winning campaigns during his time in Savannah, including a 15-12 mark in 2012-2013. Senior guard Aric Miller was named NABC Division II All-American and Daktronics/CoSIDA All-Southeast Region after leading the Peach Belt in scoring at 23.7 points per game. The Pirates won 11 games in the ultra-competitive Peach Belt Conference. The 2012-2013 season also included a win over No. 20 St. Leo (Fla.) in November.

Luther spent 2001-2007 as an assistant coach at Mercer, helping the Bears to an Atlantic Sun Conference regular season title in 2002-2003. Mercer finished that season with a 23-6 record, the most wins in school history at that time and the first winning season at the school since 1996. The season also marked the Bears' first season with more than 15 wins since 1985-1986 and included an impressive 14-2 mark in the Atlantic Sun Conference.

During Luther's time in Macon, 10 Bears student-athletes went on to play professionally. Luther also spent time as head coach at Windsor Academy in Macon, Ga. (2000-2001) and as an assistant at North Greenville (1998-2000). Luther started his playing career at Robert Morris (1992-93) before playing two seasons at Liberty and Covenant College. In is final two seasons at Covenant, Luther netted 1,300 points. He was named to the NAIA Division II All-America team following his senior season, when he pumped in 26.0 points per game.

Luther graduated from North Greenville in 1999 with a degree in english. He and his wife, Ginny, have two children - Bryson (6) and Kendall (3).

Hemrick enters his third season overall at Gardner-Webb University, including the past two as Director of Basketball Operations. The John's Creek, Ga., native has performed at a high level in that role, which included video editing and exchange and daily operations. Hemrick helped the Runnin' Bulldogs to a record-setting campaign in 2012-2013, with Gardner-Webb posting a 21-13 record and finishing just a game out of first place in the Big South Conference regular season standings. After advancing to the league tournament semifinals, Gardner-Webb earned its first Division I postseason berth - hosting Eastern Kentucky in the first round of the CollegeInsiders.com Postseason Tournament.

Hemrick spent two seasons as head coach at Westminster Christian Academy in Watkinsville, Ga., where he led the team to a 17-8 record in his first season. He directed the Lions to a pair of state tournament appearances during his time on the sidelines and developed five All-Region selections.

Hemrick spent 2005-2009 as a student manager at the University of Georgia, coordinating film exchange and assisting with equipment and game filming. He graduated from Georgia in 2009 with degrees in business administration-management and education-sports management. He was married in August 2013 to former Gardner-Webb volleyball player Melissa Richie.

Gardner-Webb opens the 2013-2014 season on Friday, November 8 at Xavier. GWU returns three starters from its 21-win squad - wing Donta Harper, forward Jerome Hill and point guard Tyler Strange - in addition to several talented letterwinners. Gardner-Webb also welcomes a talented recruiting class that is headlined by transfer guard Naji Hibbert and freshman post player Tyrell Nelson.