The Pacific Tigers went through quite a bit this season, as their head coach Ron Verlin was suspended just seven games into the season. At that time, Pacific was just 1-6, but things did not get much better from there, as they finished the season 8-20 and were second-to-last in the WCC standings.
Verlin was told earlier this month that he would not return to the sidelines next season for Pacific, and that meant a head coaching search was on. Pacific moved forward quickly with the process of hiring a new coach and has named Damon Stoudamire as Verlin's replacement.
It was reported Tuesday night that Pacific had offered the vacant position to Stoudamire and he was expected to accept. Stoudamire has done just that and will get his first chance at being a head coach after several years as an assistant at both the college and NBA levels.
Stoudamire was an assistant coach on Josh Pastner's staff this season, but before that, he spent two seasons as an assistant at Arizona, two years at Memphis again and two years as an assistant coach for the Memphis Grizzlies. Before getting into coaching, Stoudamire was the director of player development for Rice.
Stoudamire played in the NBA for 13 seasons with four different franchises. In his career, the point guard averaged 13.4 points, 6.1 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game before retiring in 2008. Stoudamire was never an All-Star at the NBA level, but he was very good and very popular. "Mighty Mouse" should bring some credibility to a program that hasn't had any over the past few years.
Verlin was only in his third season with Pacific this year, but he was suspended by the school in December after an NCAA investigation into allegations of academic misconduct. Verlin hadn't shown any progress with the program anyway, as the team's record got worse each year he was there. In his first year, they won 18 games, but the next season, they only won 12, and this season, they had just the one win before his suspension.
Stoudamire will now take over a program that hasn't been to the NCAA tournament since 2013 and hasn't won a tournament game since 2005. He has served his time as an assistant coach under some good head coaches though and should do a great job with the Tigers.
