Emanuel Dildy has been promoted to Duke basketball’s associate head coach, the school and head coach Jon Scheyer announced on Monday. A Chicago native, Dildy was hired on the Blue Devils staff as an assistant coach in August 2023 and is regarded as one of the nation’s top recruiters with a decade-plus coaching résumé across the college ranks.
Dildy began at Kennedy-King College, serving as an assistant from 2008-10 before leading the program as head coach from 2010-12, guiding his teams to a 35-27 record in two seasons along with a trip to the 2012 NJCAA Region IV Tournament championship game. He then held assistant roles at Eastern Illinois (2012-13), Loyola Chicago (2013-16), Missouri (2016-17) and Valparaiso (2017-18).
He also served as an assistant under coach Chris Collins at Northwestern from 2018-21, helping assemble the program’s highest-rated recruiting class in 2021, which included two top-100 signees. Following his time at Northwestern, Dildy went on to be associate head coach on coach Peter Moser’s staff at Oklahoma, playing a pivotal role in the Sooners signing four ESPN 100 prospects across two years.
“I’ve had the privilege of working alongside Emanuel the past two seasons, and his impact on our program has been tremendous,” Scheyer said in a school issued statement. “He’s an elite recruiter, a detailed teacher of the game and someone whose tireless work ethic sets the tone for our staff and players. Emanuel’s leadership, energy and passion embody what Duke Basketball is all about, and I’m excited to elevate him into this well-deserved role as associate head coach.”
Dildy spent two seasons playing at New Mexico State before transferring to Eastern Illinois where he earned All-Ohio Valley Conference honors during his senior season. He spent time playing professionally overseas, playing in Germany for two years and in the International Basketball League for one before he began his coaching career.
Duke basketball hosts Countdown to Craziness on Oct. 4 and plays exhibitions against UCF (Oct. 21) and Tennessee (Oct. 26). It officially gets its 2025-26 season underway on Nov. 4 against Texas as the Spectrum Center in Charlotte.
