Latest southern Colorado news, weather and sports from FOX21 News

AIR FORCE ACADEMY, COLO. -- U.S. Air Force Academy men’s basketball coach Jeff Reynolds announced Tuesday that Drew Long will join his staff as an assistant coach, effective immediately.

Long, who spent the last three seasons on the basketball staff at the University of Colorado (CU), replaces Kevin Carroll, who left the Falcon program in April to become head coach at Maryville University-St. Louis.

Long was one of three assistant coaches at Colorado under Jeff Bzdelik last season, responsible for recruiting, player development and game preparation. Before becoming an assistant coach, Long was CU's coordinator of men's basketball operations and video coordinator. During his time in Boulder, the Buffaloes improved from seven wins during the 2006-07 campaign to 15 last season.

“Drew brings a high energy level and will be a great fit for our staff,” said Reynolds.“His insight as a player at Northwestern and coaching experience at the Division I level under Coach Bzdelik will be a great asset to our program. We are very excited to have him join our staff.”

The 29-year-old native of Houston, Texas graduated from Northwestern University in 2004 with a bachelor of arts degree in communication and earned two letters with the Wildcats' basketball team under head coach Bill Carmody. Long returned home shortly after graduation to serve as the Director of Operations for the Houston Swoosh AAU organization. He also coached a variety of youth basketball teams and instructed clinics across the state of Texas.

Prior to joining the CU staff, Long was the assistant coach at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas from 2006-07. As the sole assistant, he was in charge of numerous duties including recruiting, on-court workouts, game preparation and video editing.

Long and his wife, the former Melissa Schau, have a 1-year-old daughter.

Information provided by USAFA Athletics.