Byron Rimm II begins his 10th season as the head men’s basketball coach at Prairie View A&M University Rimm, who has a vast coaching background that spans from the junior college ranks to the NCAA Division I level, assumed the head coaching reigns at Prairie View after spending the 2005-06 campaign as the team’s assistant coach.
Armed with the task of rebuilding a program that has had only two winning seasons since moving up to the NCAA Division I ranks in 1980, Rimm has slowly put his touch on the program in his first three seasons at the helm. In his first season after accepting the head job in 2006, Rimm guided the team to a three-game improvement in the win column and narrowly missed the SWAC Tournament as the Panthers fell short in the final week of the regular season. Individually, the SWAC also took notice and selected Brian Ezeh as the league’s newcomer of the year. During the 2007-08 campaign, the Panthers began to make strides under Rimm as they made national headlines for their performance against nationally ranked Tennessee. In addition, the Panthers also captured their first NCAA Division I win since 2005 with a win over Norfolk State and defeated Jackson State on the road for the first time in two decades.
After two seasons of rebuilding, everything fell into place for Rimm during the 2008-09 campaign as the Panthers got over the hump and made a big splash as they finished with their best record and finish since 2002-03 with a 17-16 record and third-place finish. Led by SWAC Newcomer of the Year and All-SWAC First-Teamer Darnell Hugee, the Panthers advanced to the second round of the SWAC Basketball Tournament for only the third time since 1998 with an opening round win over Mississippi Valley State.
In 2009-10, Rimm continued to build on his previous accomplishments as he became the first head coach at Prairie View A&M since 2002 to make consecutive SWAC Tournament appearances. In addition, Rimm held a four-game winning streak over Texas Southern which marked the longest winning streak over the Tigers prior to 1980. As a result of the team’s success, three Panthers also earned the opportunity to play professional basketball overseas in Darnell Hugee, Dorian McDaniel and point guard Chris Jones. Hugee inked with Saint Vallier Basketball Drome of France while McDaniel played in Germany with Duesseldorf. Jones ventured to Slokavia as he signed a contract with BC Prievidza.
During the 2010-11 campaign, Rimm earned the program’s third SWAC Tournament appearance as the Panthers were the top-ranked offensive rebounding team in the SWAC. Two members (Trant Simpson and Brandon Webb) earned All-SWAC honors with Webb posting career highs in field goal percentage, points and rebounding.
Rimm had the task of meshing a roster which featured 10 newcomers entering the 2011-12 campaign. Despite the large amount of newcomers present, Rimm guided the Panthers to their best finish in three seasons and the program’s fourth consecutive SWAC Tournament Appearance. Under Rimm, the Panthers were the SWAC’s top rebounding team as they led the league in rebounding margin, rebounding offense, offensive rebounds and defensive rebounding. The Panthers also improved their offensive production last season as they finished second in scoring offense and third in scoring margin. Defensively, Prairie View A&M ranked second in three-point field goal percentage defense and third in field goal percentage defense, steals and scoring margin.
Three seasons ago, the program turned a huge corner under Rimm as the Panthers advanced to the finals of the SWAC Tournament Championship for the first time since 1998 en route to falling in the closing seconds of the tournament. The Panthers also had a memorable season as they defeated a pair of teams from Conference USA and the Patriot League while also dominating the glass as they finished 17th nationally in total rebounds, 24th in three-point field goal defense and 47th in field goal percentage defense. Individually, senior guard Jourdan DeMuynck earned Second Team All-SWAC honors for his play during the regular season while DeMuynck and guard Carl Blair received All-Tournament honors. DeMuynck also received an opportunity to play professionally as he inked with Keravnos Strovolou in the Republic of Cyprus.
In the 2013-14 campaign, the Panthers came within minutes of making history once again as they fell in the finals of the SWAC Tournament for the second straight season. Junior guard Montrael Scott had a career season as he emerged as a team leader while the Panthers were deadly from beyond the arc as they led the SWAC in three-pointers made.
Last season, Rimm led the Panthers on a historic run which included a seven-game winning streak that marked the team's longest winning streak since the 1972-73 season under former coach Bill Cofield. In addition, PVAMU defeated Conference USA member North Texas in the first meeting between both schools while also leading PVAMU past the first round of SWAC Tournament play for the third consecutive season. Individually, senior guard Montrael Scott surpassed the 1,000-point career while finishing fourth in the SWAC in scoring en route to signing a professional contract with KB Golden Eagle Ylli in Kosovo. Senior guard Tre Hagood was an all-around threat as he ranked in the top 10 in four statistical categories while senior guard John Brisco also averaged double figures. In the paint, Reggis Onwukamuche was named the SWAC's Defensive Player of the Year while also earning a spot on the All-SWAC Second Team as he signed a contract with the Sheffield Sharks of the British Basketball League.. Junior post Karim York also saw his role expand as he averaged a career-high 9.1 points per game along with 5.1 rebounds. York tripled his scoring average in 2014-15 and averaged nearly four times more rebounds than the previous season with the Panthers.
In the classroom, Rimm also made news as the men’s basketball program posted the top score amongst men’s basketball teams in the SWAC during the annual Academic Progress Report (APR) released by the NCAA two years ago. The team posted its highest APR in program history with a score of 944. Only three basketball teams in the SWAC posted scores of 900 or higher with a 27-point difference separating the Panthers from the closest institution.
A native of Pensacola, Fla., Rimm played junior college ball on the West Coast at Ventura College in Ventura, Calif. He was team captain on the school’s 1995-96 state championship team before wrapping up his playing career at California State University, Los Angeles. He remained on the West Coast and began his ascension up the coaching ladder by serving as an assistant coach at Pasadena City College and Chaffey Community College from 1997-2000. After several years on the junior college level, Rimm moved to California State University, San Bernardino in 2000 and helped guide the team to a No. 3 ranking in NCAA Division II He spent only season at UCB before assuming the reigns as the head women’s basketball coach at Texas College in Tyler, Texas.
Heading a program that didn’t offer athletic scholarships, Rimm rolled up his sleeves and posted a 20-12 record in his inaugural season – the best record in school history. After one season at Texas College, Rimm returned to the men’s side and accepted a position as head coach of Jarvis Christian College in nearby Hawkins, Texas.
While at Jarvis, Rimm made an immediate impact in his first season and guided the Bulldogs to a second place finish in the Red River Athletic Conference and their first NAIA National Tournament appearance in more than three decades. As a result of JCC’s success on the court that season, Rimm was selected as co-coach of the year and had two players earn all-conference honors in addition to earning votes for the NAIA national poll.
Rimm capped off his career at JCC by leading them to two appearances in the Red River Athletic Conference Tournament and recorded victories over two nationally ranked programs before moving on to Prairie View A&M as an assistant coach for the 2005-06 campaign.
A 1999 graduate of California State University, Los Angeles, Rimm received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Studies and also obtained a master’s degree in education from American InterContinental University in 2005. He also holds memberships in the National Association of Basketball Coaches and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.
Rimm is single and has one daughter, Jaya Nicole (8). He currently resides in Houston, Texas.
