Celtics head coach Ime Udoka continues to build up his assistant staff, and long-time fans of both the NBA and college basketball should be familiar with his latest addition. As first reported by Stadium’s Jeff Goodman, Damon Stoudamire will be joining Udoka in Boston. Stoudamire had been rumored to be a Celtics target in recent weeks.
Stoudamire spent the last five seasons as the head coach at University of the Pacific, where he compiled a 71-77 record and was named his conference’s coach of the year in 2020. He had previously spent time as an assistant with Rice, Memphis, and Arizona. As far as NBA experience, he was an assistant coach for the Memphis Grizzlies from 2009-2011.
Before getting into coaching, Stoudamire played 13 seasons in the NBA from 1995-2008. He was the NBA Rookie of the Year in 1996, and averaged 13 points and six assists per game in 878 career games between the Toronto Raptors, Portland Trail Blazers, Memphis Grizzlies, and San Antonio Spurs.
The seventh overall pick in 1995, Stoudamire played his college ball at Arizona. He was a consensus All-American and the Pac-10 Player of the Year in his final season, as well as a three-time first-team All-Pac-10 guard.
There is an already-existing Pacific Northwest bond between Stoudamire and his new boss – both he and Udoka grew up in Portland, Oregon. Stoudamire is four years older than Udoka. The two were teammates in San Antonio in 2008.
Stoudamire is Udoka’s second hire since coming to Boston – he added his former Spurs coworker Will Hardy to his staff last week. More turnover on the staff is expected, as the majority of last year’s assistants working for Brad Stevens have either left the team for other jobs or not had their contracts renewed.
MORE: Udoka’s Staff To Be Almost All New
Alex Barth is a writer and digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Looking for a podcast guest? Let him know on Twitter @RealAlexBarth or via email at abarth@985TheSportsHub.com.
