VALLEY SUNS ANNOUNCE HEAD COACH JOHN LITTLE’S COACHING STAFF

PHOENIX – The Valley Suns, the Phoenix Suns G League affiliate, today announced the coaching staff for head coach John Little, naming Paul Jesperson, Jordan Ash and Ben Sanders as assistant coaches and Stephen Howard as the video coordinator.

Jesperson joins the Valley Suns after spending last season as the director of player development/assistant coach for the University of Oklahoma’s men's basketball team. Prior to his time with the Sooners, he spent three years with the Atlanta Hawks, serving as a player development coach for two seasons (2021-23) and an assistant video coordinator during the 2020-21 campaign. Before joining the coaching ranks, Jesperson played collegiately at the University of Virginia (2011-13) and the University of Northern Iowa (2013-16), appearing in 127 career games and making 69 starts.

Ash arrives in Phoenix after spending last season as the player development coordinator for the Chicago Bulls. Before his time in Chicago, he began his coaching career as a graduate assistant for the University of Texas men’s basketball team during the 2021-22 season. Ash played collegiately for Northwestern University for four seasons (2015-19) before playing a fifth season at Wright State University during the 2019-20 season.

Sanders returns to the G League as an assistant coach after serving as the head coach for Ostioneros de Guaymas in Mexico last season. Before his first head coaching position in Mexico, Sanders was an assistant coach at the G League level for six seasons, seeing stints with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Long Island Nets, Windy City Bulls and the Wisconsin Herd, where he coached alongside Little. He played collegiately at Southwestern University before taking his first college assistant coaching position at Alfred University, followed by video coordinator roles at the University of New Mexico and Rice University.

Howard joins Little’s staff as a video coordinator after serving as an assistant coach for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore men’s basketball team last season. He also makes a return to the G League level, having spent two seasons with the Wisconsin Herd as a player development assistant and video coordinator from 2021-23. Prior to joining the Herd, Howard coached at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida following assistant coaching positions with Nyack College and Elizabethtown College.