Juan “Chico” Urbina joined Jacksonville men's basketball as its Director of Player Development in the summer of 2023.
He brings a wealth of coaching experience in coaching at a variety of levels, including elite high school programs, the AAU circuit, junior college in Florida and Maryland and an NAIA HBCU. He returns to the state of Florida, where he has strong ties to south Florida, after successful years in the talent-rich DMV area as well.
Prior to JU, Urbina was an assistant coach at Montgomery College in Rockville, Maryland. There, he helped the Raptors finish in the junior college Elite Eight in Maryland last season.
Previously, he served as an assistant coach at Florida Memorial, where he played a key role in scouting, game and practice planning, player devolvement, and acted as the recruiting coordinator.
Over the course of his 13-year coaching career, Urbina has been a part of several nationally-ranked programs.
His coaching career began at his high school alma mater, Fort Lauderdale Dillard High School (Fla.), where he was an assistant coach under seven-time state champion and Hall of Fame coach Darryl Burrows.
Urbina went on to be the first of a very few Dillard alumni to have won a state championship as player and coach. During Urbina’s tenure at Dillard, he was responsible for spring, summer and fall player development as well as strength and conditioning. At Dillard, Urbina helped to develop several Division-I student-athletes and professional players, many of whom he still has relationships with today.
He also honed his coaching skills on the AAU circuit, as he spent eight seasons as a head coach and assistant for the South Florida Panthers, Team MOAM (Adidas) and Team Knight (Adidas). These coaching platforms allowed him to help dozens of high school players attain their dreams of becoming collegiate student-athletes. Some of the notable players that Urbina has helped develop include: Kori White (University of South Florida), Bo Reliford (Florida State University), Nigel Spikes (Marshall), Robert Burger (Savannah State), Fred Landers (Lynn University), Jeremiah Eason (Southern Mississippi University), Stephon Blair (University of Central Florida), Kyle & Kevin Pharod (UCA), Mikon Hewitt (Saint Thomas University), Brion Whitney (Murray State University), Davonta Jordan (University of Buffalo), Jonathan Bryant (Tampa) Shaquille Carter (Rutgers University), Justin Brown (Saint Thomas University), and Brent Holcombe (Loyola-Marymount University). Most recently, he spent time as a coach with Team Durant, Nike's flagship AAU program.
In 2013, Urbina accepted the head coach position at Mater Lakes Academy, in Miami, Florida. During his five seasons at the helm, he led Mater Lakes to one district runner-up, three straight district championships, and four constructive regional playoff berths. In the 2016-17 season, Urbina was nominated by the Miami Herald for Dade County Coach of the Year. At Mater Lakes, Coach Urbina was responsible for developing 2016-2017 Miami- Herald third-team All-County Player Jurik Morales (MDC) and 2018 Miami-Dade Basketball Pre-Season Player of the Year candidate Cyrus Largie (FGCU). Remarkably, these successes came with the disadvantage of not having a gymnasium at Mater Lakes.
Urbina has also spent time coaching abroad, as the head coach of a South Florida Select Team that competed against Italian League D1 Club Tezenis. This amazing experience took place in the Spring of 2016 in Verona, Italy.
Shortly after the 2018-2019 season, Urbina accepted a position as recruiting coordinator and assistant coach at Broward College under Anthony Anderson. Broward College competed in the Southern Conference, one of the top junior college conferences in the country. Urbina assisted Coach Anderson and the Seahawks to a runner-up conference finish and a berth in the FJCAA Elite 8. In addition, several players such as DeAndre Pickney (Southern Mississippi), Daruis Jenkins (Texas State University) and Landon Kirkwood (Barry University) signed to four-year universities.
Juan Urbina is a 2007 graduate of Florida International University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education K-12. In addition, Urbina has a Master’s Degree in Coaching Education and Athletic Development, from Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio.
He and his wife Thalia have two children, son Xavier and daughter Alvani.
