Eric Powe was named assistant men's basketball coach at Mercy College in the fall of 2008. He assists with the day-to-day operations of the program, scheduling, team practice sessions and general instruction.

"I see Eric much like a versatile player in basketball because he is a proven recruiter, excellent tactician, and very strong with player development," Staffiere said. "Eric and I have similar coaching backgrounds in that we both coached men's and women's basketball at the collegiate level so I think our philosophies blend well together."

Powe has significant coaching experience and was also a star athlete in his playing days. His most recent coaching position was with the Morris County Outlaws U16 AAU team. In 2007, he was the head women's basketball coach for the Sussex County Community College program.

Powe coached the Garden State Sharpshooters U14 AAU team to the league championship in 2006. He has also coached at Randolph High School (NJ), the William Paterson Basketball Camp, and the Wayne, NJ Boys and Girls Club Basketball League.

As an athlete, he played basketball, baseball and football while attending Paterson Catholic High School (NJ). At Ramapo College he played all three sports and was a member of the Atlantic Coast Club Football Champions.

He received a bachelor's degree in psychology from Ramapo in 1981. Powe currently works for the Randolph Board of Education. He is also the cousin to Leon Powe of the 2008 NBA Champion Boston Celtics