Arizona picks Gonzaga assistant over Pacific’s Damon Stoudamire

For now, Damon Stoudamire will stay as University of the Pacific men’s basketball coach.

Stoudamire, considered a rising coach in college hoops, has had his name linked to numerous open head coaching vacancies since the end of Pacific’s season. Most recently, the fifth-year Pacific head coach was considered one of the favorites to land the head coach position at the University of Arizona, which fired Sean Miller after 12 seasons.

However, Arizona decided to go another direction, picking Gonzaga assistant coach Tommy Lloyd as Miller’s replacement.

Stoudamire, 47, was considered one of the top candidates due to his connection with the school. The former NBA guard played his collegiate career at Arizona from 1991-95, before being drafted seventh overall by the Toronto Raptors in the 1995 draft.

Since the end of his 13-year NBA career in 2008, Stoudamire has held coaching jobs with Rice University, the Memphis Grizzlies, Memphis University and two years as an assistant at Arizona from 2013-15, before taking the Pacific job. Since taking over in Stockton, Stoudamire had seen an increase in win total in three of his first four seasons, including a 23-10 record in 2019, and was named West Coast Conference Coach of the Year.

Last season, Pacific finished just 9-9, with its schedule hit hard by numerous COVID-19 quarantines. Before this season, Stoudamire also signed a contract extension to keep him in Stockton through the 2025-26 season.