BY DARRYL SLATER AND TIM PEARRELL
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITERS

Virginia Commonwealth men’s basketball assistant coach Bill Courtney is expected to leave after less than two months on the job to become an assistant at Virginia Tech.

VCU head coach Shaka Smart said the move wasn’t official but that “it was probably going to happen.”

Courtney, a career assistant, would replace Stacey Palmore, who left last month after five seasons for an assistant job at Georgia, citing family reasons.

Courtney spent the previous three seasons as an assistant at Virginia. Cavaliers coach Dave Leitao resigned under pressure after the season, and Smart hired Courtney on April 15.

Prior to working at Virginia, Courtney spent one season at Providence, eight seasons at George Mason and one season at Bowling Green, where he worked under Jim Larranaga before following him to George Mason. Courtney began his coaching career in 1995-96, the season before he went to Bowling Green, when he worked at American.

Courtney, who is from Springfield, Va., played at Bucknell and was inducted into the school’s sports hall of fame in 2007.

Tech head coach Seth Greenberg said he could not comment on the situation.

Courtney, who spent the previous three seasons at Virginia, would replace Stacey Palmore.