Greenville, S.C. - Furman assistant coach James Strong has been elevated to the position of associate head coach and Blake Williams, son of former Paladin coach Joe Williams, has joined the staff as an assistant coach, it was announced this week by head coach Jeff Jackson.

Strong recently completed his fourth season as an assistant at Furman following a six-year tenure with the Vanderbilt basketball program. The Huntsville, Ala., native was a standout guard for the Commodores leading the Southeastern Conference with 77 steals as a junior and ranking third in Vanderbilt history with 209 career thefts. He helped Vanderbilt to three winning seasons and three postseason appearances as a player.

Williams joins the Furman coaching staff after spending four seasons as an assistant coach at NCAA Division II Florida Southern College where he helped the Moccasins to three consecutive Sunshine State Conference regular season titles and three straight NCAA Regional appearances.

A three-year guard for FSC from 2003-06, Williams averaged 6.1 points and a team-leading 7.5 rebounds per game as a senior. He earned his bachelor's degree in history from Florida Southern in 2006 and received his master's degree in teaching in 2008.

Williams' father, Joe Williams, guided the Paladins to five Southern Conference Tournament titles and NCAA appearances as head coach of the program for eight seasons from 1971-78.