CALGARY – University of Calgary Dinos men's basketball head coach Dan Vanhooren has a new right-hand man.

Kyle Landry returns to the Dinos' sideline, where he served in 2019-20, now taking over the role of Lead Assistant Coach. He replaces Dan Pearson, who joined the Reading Rockets as the head coach of their Division 1 men's team and academy director.

Landry brings a wealth of basketball experience to the Dinos that Vanhooren knows can help the players both during their playing career at UCalgary and well beyond. 

"Kyle is an excellent addition to our coaching staff," said Vanhooren. "His maturity around the game and contacts will allow him to continue to grow as a coach while he provides extraordinary value to our team.  Kyle has recruitment contacts around the globe and will be an asset to our graduating players with the ability to play at the next level."

Not only does the 35-year-old have connections around the world, but he also has deep ties to Calgary. Landry graduated from Bishop Grandin High School in 2004 and was also a member of Team Alberta in both 2001 and 2003. 

After high school, Landry went south of the border to Northern Arizona University where he played from 2004 to 2008. During his senior season, he was named First Team All-Big Sky and Northern Arizona University male athlete of the year after averaging 17.5 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. 

The Calgary native would go on to have a long pro basketball career in Europe, including stops in Poland, Czech Republic, Russia and Montenegro. Landry finished his overseas career with the ninth-most rebounds in EuroCup Basketball history. 

Landry has represented Team Canada at the international level on multiple occasions. He made his debut in 2009 when he competed on the senior men's national team at the Americas, helping them qualify for the 2010 Basketball World Cup in Turkey. He also helped Canada make it to the 2019 World Cup, playing in seven of 10 qualifying games. 

Most recently, the six-foot-ten forward has represented Canada on the 3x3 basketball stage, including at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic qualifying tournament. 

The men's basketball team will open up their Canada West 2021-22 regular season on Oct. 29 when they head to Lethbridge to take on the Pronghorns. The Dinos will play their first home game on Nov. 26 when they host the Alberta Golden Bears.