Men's Basketball
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- cpardue@tulane.edu
Claude Pardue enters his sixth season as the assistant coach for Tulane men’s basketball after joining the staff in April of 2019.
Pardue served as assistant coach for all eight years of Ron Hunter’s tenure leading the Georgia State program, helping guide the Panthers through their most successful stretch in program history, which included six-straight winning seasons and three NCAA Tournament appearances in a five-year span from 2015-19.
In his role, Pardue oversaw workouts with the team’s guards and wings, assisting in the development of four all-conference guards: Ryan Harrow, Devonta White, Sun Belt Player of the Year D’Marcus Simonds and two-time Sun Belt Player of the Year R.J. Hunter.
Georgia State won back-to-back Sun Belt Conference Tournament titles in 2018 and 2019, recording consecutive NCAA Tournament bids for the first time in program history.
In 2014-15 Georgia State won its second-straight Sun Belt regular season title and then added a tournament title before upsetting No. 3-seed Baylor in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. That came one year after the Panthers won 25 games, the second most in school history, as they also captured the Sun Belt regular-season title and advanced to the Postseason NIT.
The 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons garnered Georgia State two of the three winningest seasons in program history. By securing back-to-back 25-win seasons, the Panthers became one of just 20 programs in the country to accomplish the feat over the two-year stretch.
Pardue guided nine newcomers ahead of the 2012-13 campaign, including freshman R.J. Hunter who earned Kyle Macy Freshman All-America honors. As a sophomore and junior, Hunter earned AP All-America Honorable Mention recognition.
Pardue spent the 2010-11 season as a program coordinator for at UTEP under head coach Tim Floyd. While at UTEP, he was responsible for planning, coordinating and executing all team travel. He acted as the liaison between the men’s basketball team and the compliance department.
Pardue was also a graduate assistant at Georgia State where he was responsible for recruiting operations, including the planning and coordination of official visits and the recruiting database. He also assisted with all aspects of the team’s video editing, including postgame film breakdown, opponent scouting, and player development. Pardue also helped track student-athlete academic progress and was responsible for planning and directing team camps.
Pardue was the founder and head coach of Grand Strand’s Finest AAU Basketball Program in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Working with players 17 and under, Pardue directed the squad to the semifinals of the South Carolina State Championships during summer 2006 and 2007.
He has also served as a counselor at several colleges’ summer camps, including NC State, Davidson, Northwestern, Texas, South Carolina, Florida, Florida State, VCU, and 5-Star.
A native of Myrtle Beach, S.C., Pardue attended Carolina Forest High School before spending his junior and senior years at The Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, N.J. Playing for coach Ron Kane, he helped Lawrenceville to the Prep-A state championship as well as the Mid-Atlantic Prep League regular season and tournament title.
He continued his playing career at Emory in Atlanta, Ga. A four-year letterman for coach Jason Zimmerman, Pardue served as team captain his senior year and was an academic all-conference honoree. He earned his bachelor’s degree in economics in 2008 and added a master’s degree in sports administration from Georgia State in 2010.
Pardue has also played in China during the summer of 2008 as a member of the Athletes in Action squad and coached for the organization in the Philippines in the summer of 2015.
He married the former Stephanie Martin in May 2018 and the couple have four children together.
