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Former Arizona star Damon Stoudamire is now the head coach at Pacific. Stoudamire, who was co-Pac-10 Player of the Year and averaged over 20 points per game as a senior at Arizona, was an assistant coach at Memphis from 2011 to 2013, at Arizona from 2013 to 2015, and at Memphis again this past season.
It's no secret that Stoudamire wanted to be a head coach - he was in the mix for the Oregon State job a couple of years ago - and this job will give him the opportunity to showcase his talents. Stoudamire even wrote a letter to his younger self on The Players' Tribune talking about his journey from high school to Arizona to the NBA and now to the head coaching position at Pacific.
Pacific was 8-20 last season, including a 79-61 loss at Arizona, so Damon has some work to do. But he trained under some of the best (Lute Olson and Sean Miller), so he is well-positioned to succeed. Here's hoping that he does.