Tristan Spurlock completed his first season on the Iowa basketball staff as director of player development in 2023. He was promoted to assistant coach, player development in Oct. 2023, which allows him to provide on court instruction.
In his first season on staff, Spurlock helped the Hawkeyes qualify for the NCAA Tournament with 19 wins and place fifth in the Big Ten. He worked with Iowa’s roster of 15 players on and off the court, helping five achieve postseason recognition, including third team consensus All-American Kris Murray. Other Hawkeyes earning honors include Filip Rebraca (third team all-conference); Payton Sandfort (Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year); Tony Perkins and Connor McCaffery (honorable mention all-conference).
Spurlock joined the Hawkeye staff after playing professionally for nine years, mostly overseas in over 10 different countries. He concluded his playing career last year, averaging 12 points and six rebounds in Uruguay.
After graduating from Central Florida, Spurlock worked out for several NBA teams where he earned a spot on Detroit’s 2015 NBA Summer League roster. He averaged 10 points, three rebounds and three assists for the Pistons.
A native of Woodbridge, Virginia, Spurlock received college scholarship offers from a number of Power 5 conference schools. Ultimately, he chose the University of Virginia (2010) before transferring and starting for three seasons at the University of Central Florida (2012-14). He averaged 9.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 92 games with the Knights.
Spurlock earned his bachelor’s degree in communications from UCF in 2014.
Spurlock was named Mr. Basketball in the state of Virginia and earned All-MET accolades after averaging 23 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three blocks as a senior at Word of Life Christian Academy in 2009. He also participated in the Capital Classic, an All-Star Game, which featured such players as Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and former Hawkeye Luka Garza.
Spurlock is engaged to Madison Rae McGriff. He is the father of Alaya Rae Annette Spurlock and Tahj Tristan Leslie Spurlock.