University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Men's Basketball
Levine, Justin
Justin Levine
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- jlevine2@unca.edu
- Phone:
- 251-6826
Justin Levine finished his fourth season as a member of the Bulldog coaching staff in 2024-25. UNC Asheville Head Men’s Basketball Coach Mike Morrell announced the hiring of Levine as assistant coach on June 15, 2021. Levine joins the Bulldog staff after spending two years as an assistant with the Columbia University Men’s Basketball team.
“We are really excited to have Justin on our staff,” Morrell said. “He comes from a strong basketball background having worked at both Columbia and VCU. There’s nobody I respect more than Coach Mike Rhoades from my time at VCU, so I feel fortunate to add a former member of his team to ours. Justin’s energy and experience will fit right into our program here at UNC Asheville.”
The Bulldogs earned their third consecutive 20-win season in Levine's fourth season with the program. Over the last three seasons, Asheville has compiled a program-record 70 wins. In the last four seasons of Big South Conference play, the team has a league-best .712 winning percentage and is 47-19 against Big South opponents. The Bulldogs went 13-1 inside Kimmel Arena during the 2024-25 season. Asheville has a .926 winning percentage and a 38-3 record in Kimmel Arena over the last three seasons, the third-highest home winning percentage in the nation. The 2024-25 season also saw the men's basketball program set a new school record for most Big South Conference Awards received and most individuals recognized, as five Bulldogs earned seven league awards at the completion of the regular season. Asheville went 21-11 and 11-5 during the 2024-25 season.
During his third year with the Bulldogs, Levine helped guide the program to its second consecutive appearance in the Big South Conference Championship contest. Asheville finished its season 22-12 after falling in the conference championship. The Bulldogs’ 22 wins and the team’s 27 wins the previous year set a new program record for the best two-year winning stretch in school history with 49 wins. The Bulldogs’ two-year record of 49-20 is the second-best record in the state of North Carolina, and they are tied for 27th in the country for most wins over two years. Among mid-major schools, Asheville checks in at No. 17 for most wins in the last two years.
Levine coached Drew Pember to becoming the most decorated player in program history. He was the first back-to-back Big South Men's Basketball Player of the Year honoree since 2008-09 and the seventh multiple-winner in league history. He is a two-time Defensive Player of the Year and two-time Preseason Player of the Year. He is the fifth back-to-back recipient of the Howard Bagwell Male Athlete of the Year Award since the award began in 1999-00, but the first basketball player to earn the honor in consecutive years.
Pember earned Lou Henson All-America Team honors for the second year in a row, NABC All-District honors for a second time, and was named to the Big South All-Tournament team in 2024. Pember became the first Bulldog in program history to play in the NABC Reese's All-Star Game and competed in the prestigious Portsmouth Invitational Tournament.
Pember became the first player in program history to record two triple-doubles in a season, as Pember recorded his first triple-double of his career against App. State on Dec. 21, before earning one against Gardner-Webb in the Bulldogs’ overtime win against Gardner-Webb in the Big South Championship semifinal contest.
Against App. State on Dec. 21, Josh Banks set a new program record for most 3-pointers in a single game with 10. The record was held previously by Fletcher Abee, who recorded nine 3-pointers on Nov. 18, 2023. Banks earned Big South Honorable Mention honors for his effort during the season.
In his second season in Asheville, Levine helped the Bulldogs to one of their best seasons in school history. Asheville not only posted a school record 27 wins on the season but also captured both the Big South Regular Season and Tournament Championships. It marks Asheville's fourth outright regular season championship and eighth overall. The tournament title for the Bulldogs is their sixth in program history and with it earned the Big South's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, their first appearance since 2016.
The Bulldogs' 27 victories were tied for the fourth-most in Division I men's basketball and were tied for the most by any Division I school in the State of North Carolina. Furthermore, the 2022-23 Bulldogs matched the school record with 16 Big South regular season victories and set a new single-season program record with 25 wins against Division I opponents. Additionally, Asheville posted an 18-2 record during the 2023 calendar year.
Although the IVY League did not compete in 2020-21 due to COVID-19, Levine gained valuable experience as a part of Jim Engles’ staff.
Prior to his time at Columbia, Levine was a part of the Virginia Commonwealth University staff, beginning as a graduate assistant in 2015 and working his way up to video coordinator in 2017-18. Levine played a crucial role in video, scouting and recruiting for the rams, helping VCU go 94-43 with three NCAA Tournament appearances during that time.
During the summer of 2018, Levine gained valuable experience, serving as the head coach of Ram Nation, a team comprised mainly of VCU alumni, in The Basketball Tournament. The native of Highland Mills, New York, guided the squad to the quarterfinals of the event.
“I have known Coach Morrell for a long time and have a tremendous amount of respect for his passion, work ethic & relentless care for the people around him,” Levine said. “I am grateful & excited to be a part of this great University and basketball program. Go Bulldogs!”
As an undergraduate student, Levine worked for the Cornell men’s basketball program from 2013-15 while studying at nearby Ithaca College. Levine graduated with a degree in Business Administration in 2015, earning his master’s degree from the VCU Center for Sport Leadership in 2017.
“We are really excited to have Justin on our staff,” Morrell said. “He comes from a strong basketball background having worked at both Columbia and VCU. There’s nobody I respect more than Coach Mike Rhoades from my time at VCU, so I feel fortunate to add a former member of his team to ours. Justin’s energy and experience will fit right into our program here at UNC Asheville.”
The Bulldogs earned their third consecutive 20-win season in Levine's fourth season with the program. Over the last three seasons, Asheville has compiled a program-record 70 wins. In the last four seasons of Big South Conference play, the team has a league-best .712 winning percentage and is 47-19 against Big South opponents. The Bulldogs went 13-1 inside Kimmel Arena during the 2024-25 season. Asheville has a .926 winning percentage and a 38-3 record in Kimmel Arena over the last three seasons, the third-highest home winning percentage in the nation. The 2024-25 season also saw the men's basketball program set a new school record for most Big South Conference Awards received and most individuals recognized, as five Bulldogs earned seven league awards at the completion of the regular season. Asheville went 21-11 and 11-5 during the 2024-25 season.
During his third year with the Bulldogs, Levine helped guide the program to its second consecutive appearance in the Big South Conference Championship contest. Asheville finished its season 22-12 after falling in the conference championship. The Bulldogs’ 22 wins and the team’s 27 wins the previous year set a new program record for the best two-year winning stretch in school history with 49 wins. The Bulldogs’ two-year record of 49-20 is the second-best record in the state of North Carolina, and they are tied for 27th in the country for most wins over two years. Among mid-major schools, Asheville checks in at No. 17 for most wins in the last two years.
Levine coached Drew Pember to becoming the most decorated player in program history. He was the first back-to-back Big South Men's Basketball Player of the Year honoree since 2008-09 and the seventh multiple-winner in league history. He is a two-time Defensive Player of the Year and two-time Preseason Player of the Year. He is the fifth back-to-back recipient of the Howard Bagwell Male Athlete of the Year Award since the award began in 1999-00, but the first basketball player to earn the honor in consecutive years.
Pember earned Lou Henson All-America Team honors for the second year in a row, NABC All-District honors for a second time, and was named to the Big South All-Tournament team in 2024. Pember became the first Bulldog in program history to play in the NABC Reese's All-Star Game and competed in the prestigious Portsmouth Invitational Tournament.
Pember became the first player in program history to record two triple-doubles in a season, as Pember recorded his first triple-double of his career against App. State on Dec. 21, before earning one against Gardner-Webb in the Bulldogs’ overtime win against Gardner-Webb in the Big South Championship semifinal contest.
Against App. State on Dec. 21, Josh Banks set a new program record for most 3-pointers in a single game with 10. The record was held previously by Fletcher Abee, who recorded nine 3-pointers on Nov. 18, 2023. Banks earned Big South Honorable Mention honors for his effort during the season.
In his second season in Asheville, Levine helped the Bulldogs to one of their best seasons in school history. Asheville not only posted a school record 27 wins on the season but also captured both the Big South Regular Season and Tournament Championships. It marks Asheville's fourth outright regular season championship and eighth overall. The tournament title for the Bulldogs is their sixth in program history and with it earned the Big South's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, their first appearance since 2016.
The Bulldogs' 27 victories were tied for the fourth-most in Division I men's basketball and were tied for the most by any Division I school in the State of North Carolina. Furthermore, the 2022-23 Bulldogs matched the school record with 16 Big South regular season victories and set a new single-season program record with 25 wins against Division I opponents. Additionally, Asheville posted an 18-2 record during the 2023 calendar year.
Although the IVY League did not compete in 2020-21 due to COVID-19, Levine gained valuable experience as a part of Jim Engles’ staff.
Prior to his time at Columbia, Levine was a part of the Virginia Commonwealth University staff, beginning as a graduate assistant in 2015 and working his way up to video coordinator in 2017-18. Levine played a crucial role in video, scouting and recruiting for the rams, helping VCU go 94-43 with three NCAA Tournament appearances during that time.
During the summer of 2018, Levine gained valuable experience, serving as the head coach of Ram Nation, a team comprised mainly of VCU alumni, in The Basketball Tournament. The native of Highland Mills, New York, guided the squad to the quarterfinals of the event.
“I have known Coach Morrell for a long time and have a tremendous amount of respect for his passion, work ethic & relentless care for the people around him,” Levine said. “I am grateful & excited to be a part of this great University and basketball program. Go Bulldogs!”
As an undergraduate student, Levine worked for the Cornell men’s basketball program from 2013-15 while studying at nearby Ithaca College. Levine graduated with a degree in Business Administration in 2015, earning his master’s degree from the VCU Center for Sport Leadership in 2017.
Highlights || Men's Basketball || #2 UNC Asheville vs #5 Longwood (Big South Tournament)
Monday, March 18
Highlights || Men's Basketball || #2 UNC Asheville vs #3 Gardner-Webb (Big South Tournament)
Monday, March 18
Highlights || Men's Basketball || #2 UNC Asheville vs #7 Charleston Southern (Big South Tournament)
Thursday, March 14
Highlights || Men's Basketball || UNC Asheville at Radford
Monday, March 04
