Damon Stoudamire is returning to Tucson. Arizona coach Sean Miller announced Friday that Stoudamire, a former UA standout who spent 13 seasons in the NBA, has been added to the staff as an assistant coach.
Stoudamire, who played for the Wildcats from 1991-95, most recently worked as an assistant at Memphis, where he spent two years under former Miller aide Josh Pastner. The Tigers went 31-5 this past season, won the Conference USA regular-season title and postseason tournament and went on to reach the round of 32 of the NCAA tournament.
Prior to joining Pastner's staff, Stoudamire spent two years in the NBA as an assistant coach for the Memphis Grizzlies.
“We are thrilled to welcome back Damon Stoudamire to the University of Arizona to become a part of our coaching staff,” Miller said Friday. “Damon is an immensely talented recruiter and is also very comfortable teaching and coaching the game.
"More importantly, his credibility in all aspects of our game is unmatched -- he simply has been there and done that at the highest level. I believe strongly that he will be invaluable in helping many of our current and future student-athletes do the same.”
In addition to his assistant coaching duties the last four years, Stoudamire also coached the Grizzlies' summer league team in Las Vegas in 2010. Previously, he was the the director of player development for Rice under coach Ben Braun for the 2008-09 campaign.
One of the most dynamic guards in Arizona history, Stoudamire led
Arizona to a 101-24 record from 1991-95, two Pac-10
championships (1993 and 1994) and a Final Four appearance in '94. He
received All-America honors in 1994, then earned consensus
All-America recognition as well as co-Pac-10 Player of the Year honors in 1995, when he was also a John R.
Wooden Award finalist.
He finished his career ranked fifth on Arizona's career scoring list with
1,849 points and still ranks sixth on that list, and his 663
career assists were the second most in the Lute Olson era. Stoudamire
is the only player in Arizona history to score 40 points in a single
game twice and one of only three Wildcats to score more than 600 points
in a season twice, finishing his career as the school's all-time leader in 3-pointers with 272, which now ranks third. Stoudamire
still ranks in the program's all-time top 10 in eight statistical
categories 18 seasons after his college career ended.
“Damon is one of our all-time great players and is a distinguished
member of our Ring of Honor in McKale Center,” Miller said. "He also
enjoyed an illustrious 13-year NBA career before entering the coaching
profession. Most recently, Damon was a part of a great two-year run at
the University of Memphis, where he helped guide their program to two
conference championships and two NCAA appearances
"What made Damon such
a great player is what makes him a talented coach – his passion for the
game and his ability to connect with people.”
Stoudamire, nicknamed "Mighty Mouse," was the seventh overall pick in the 1995 NBA draft by the Toronto Raptors and spent 13 seasons in the NBA for Toronto, Portland, Memphis and San Antonio. He earned the 1995-96 Rookie of the Year award, and for his career, the 5-foot-10 guard averaged 13.4 points, 6.1 assists and 3.4 rebounds in 878 career appearances.
