Damon Stoudamire

Damon Stoudamire enters his fifth season as Pacific men's basketball's head coach in 2020-21 on the heels of one of the most successful seasons in program history. Stoudamire was officially named Pacific's 22nd head coach on March 16, 2016.

The 2019-20 season marked a major stepping stone in the growth of the Pacific men's basketball program, as Stoudamire led the Tigers to their best season since the 2012-13 campaign, UOP's final go-around in the Big West. Overall, he guided the 19-20 Orange and Black to new heights with a 23-10 record, All-West Coast Conference awards and a thrilling four-overtime victory against rival Saint Mary's that paved the way for Stoudamire to be named West Coast Conference Coach of the Year. For Pacific, this achievement marked the first conference coach of the year award for the program since former coach and current broadcaster for Pacific men's basketball, Bob Thomason, in 2009-10. It also marked the first time a Tiger has won the award in the WCC sinnce Dick Edwards won his third in 1970-71.

As a whole, Stoudamire directed a stout defensive unit which led the conference and ranked No. 42 nationally in scoring defense (64.3 ppg) last season. Collectively as a team in 2019-20, Pacific ranked at the top of the WCC in scoring defense (64.5 pgg, 45th nationally), field-goal percentage defense (41.6%, 97th nationally), blocked shots per game (3.9 bpg, 78th nationally) and total blocks (129, 70th nationally).

Individually, Stoudamire coached Jahlil Tripp to a spot on the All-WCC First Team, helped the senior earn WCC Defensive Player of the Year honors (Pacific's second in three years) as well as being selected to the NABC District 9 Second Team honors, in addition to the Brooklyn native also scoring over 1,000-point in his three-year career. Stoudamire also helped Daniss Jenkins land the program's first All-WCC Freshman Team honor.

Stoudamire was also honored as the Ben Jobe National Coach of the Year in 2019-20, given annually to the top minority coach at the Division I level. Additionally, he led the Tigers to their first win at San Francisco since 2007 and set two team milestones against Portland, recording season wins number 15 (for the first time in the Stoudamire era) and 20 on the season to cement the program's first 20-win season since 2012-13, which was also under Thomason.

In 2017-18, he coached the Tigers to, at the time, their best conference finish since rejoining the WCC in 2013-14. Pacific finished in a tie for fourth in the WCC standings with a 9-9 record, garnering a win over BYU (67-66) to go along with season sweeps over San Diego and Portland. Stoudamire saw four of his players - Namdi Okonkwo, Tripp, Roberto Gallinat and Miles Reynolds - earn All-WCC recognition, while Okonko earned WCC Defensive Player of the Year honors.

In his first season at the helm in 2016-17, Stoudamire helped the Orange and Black register their first-ever West Coast Conference tournament victory, as the Tigers beat Pepperdine to advance to the second round of the WCC Tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada.

He spent the 2015-16 season as an assistant at the University of Memphis, where he was considered one of the top collegiate recruiters in the country. Prior to his last stint at Memphis, Stoudamire spent two seasons with his alma mater on the staff at Arizona from 2013 to 2015. In his two seasons in Tucson, he helped lead the Wildcats to back-to-back 30-win seasons, two Pac-12 regular-season titles, one Pac-12 Conference Tournament crown and back-to-back NCAA Elite Eight appearances while helping give rise to 2013-14 Pac-12 Rookie of the Year and the fourth overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft- Aaron Gordon of the Orlando Magic.

Prior to his time with Arizona, Stoudamire spent two seasons at Memphis (2011-13) where he helped the Tigers compile a 57-14 record and make back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, advancing to the third round in 2013. In addition to the NCAA Tournament berths, the Tigers posted consecutive sweeps of the Conference USA (regular season and tournament) crowns, including a perfect 16-0 league record in 2012-13. Stoudamire served as an assistant coach for the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies from 2009-11. In the 2010-11 campaign, he helped direct the Grizzlies to a 46-36 record and an NBA Playoffs first-round upset of the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs. His first season in 2009-10 on the Grizzlies bench saw the team post a 16-game turnaround from the previous campaign. Prior to his NBA stint, Stoudamire was the director of player development at Rice for the 2008-09 season.

A 2008 Arizona graduate, Stoudamire starred on the court for Lute Olson in Tuscon from 1991-95. During his collegiate playing days, Stoudamire led the Wildcats to a 101-24 record, the 1994 and 1995 Pac-10 Conference championships and a 1994 NCAA Final Four appearance. He was a consensus All-America First Team pick in 1993-94. As a senior, Stoudamire was a finalist for the John R. Wooden Award and was named Pac-10 Player of the Year. Stoudamire finished his collegiate career ranked fifth on the Arizona career scoring list with 1,849 points, and his 663 career assists were the second-most in the Lute Olson era. He 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 program record-holder with 272 three-point field goals. Nearly two decades after the completion of his Arizona career, Stoudamire still ranks in the top 10 on eight different program career charts.

Stoudamire was the seventh overall selection in the 1995 NBA Draft by the Toronto Raptors. He played 13 seasons in the league (1995-2008) for Toronto, Portland, Memphis and San Antonio, averaging 13.4 points, 6.1 assists and 3.4 rebounds in 878 career appearances.

In his initial NBA season in 1995-96, Stoudamire averaged 19.0 points, a career-best 9.3 assists and 4.0 rebounds on his way to Rookie of the Year honors. He also claimed the NBA Rookie All-Star Game MVP trophy that season. During his second NBA season, he averaged a career-high 20.2 points and also posted averages of 8.8 assists and 4.1 rebounds in 81 games.

A native of Portland, Oregon, Stoudamire has two sons, Damon Jr. and Brandon.

What they are saying about Damon Stoudamire:

“I’ve watched Damon up close as a coach. As good of a player he was, he is going to be an even better coach. His knowledge, worth ethic, ability to communicate and his feel for the game set him apart.” - John Calipari; University of Kentucky head coach, 3x Naismith College Coach of the Year, 2015 Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee

“I think Damon is going to be an outstanding (head) coach. He made it very clear that he didn’t want to coach in the NBA, that he wanted to be able to influence young men (in college). He was one of our all-time great players. He was a fan favorite, is a first class individual, has the personality and background to be very successful and will teach fundamentals from day one.“ - Lute Olson; former University of Arizona head coach, Basketball Hall of Fame (2002) and 2x National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee (2006/2019)

“He was a good teammate and a great coach. He really took me under his wings when I first got into the league. He taught me how to play at the size that we are. He taught me a lot about the game, the speed of the game, how to be patient and how to be a pro. All of those things I teach the young guys today are stuff I learned from Damon, so he has been a real influence on me.” - Mike Conley Jr.; Utah Jazz guard

“It was great [working with him]. Me and him are real close friends. I talk to him a lot. He’s family. I learned a lot from him. He was my vet in Portland when I first came in the league. He took care of me. I learned from him. He showed me the ropes. Just everything.” - Zach Randolph; 2x NBA All-Star, 2004 NBA Most Improved Player

"Coach Damon was an integral part of my growth because he provided me so much knowledge and wisdom. We had conversations about finances, marital and relationship advice and being a professional. He enlightened us so much and gave us a higher level of knowledge and wisdom about life. I remember the first time he came to practice with us. He threw me a lob and it went out of bounce, but it was a perfect pass. He saw what we couldn't see and saw the floor so well. I needed to know he was going to throw the pass and when I could receive the ball, and he helped me learn that. He's a great person to have in my life, coach and male role model." - Tarik Black; former Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets forward

"Damon is going to do a great job with the Pacific men's basketball team. He has a great mind as shown by the success he had playing at the very highest level. I foresee Pacific men's basketball competing for WCC titles as Damon builds the program the right way. Pacific got a rising star in the business." - Josh Pastner; Georgia Tech head coach

“Damon has always been a great mentor and father-figure in my life. He has helped me through my entire career by motivating me with his work ethic on the court, and has helped me learn how to be a better professional, a better college player, and a better high school player. It has meant the world to me and helped me grow tremendously as a person and a player. He will bring a winning, hard-working culture to Pacific. He’s a dedicated person who won’t stop until he gets the best from each player in the program. He will definitely be there to help the players grow on and off the court.” - Terrence Jones; former NBA forward and 2012 NCAA Champion with Kentucky

“He understands the game of basketball better than anyone I have ever met in my life. Damon was always in the gym making sure that we were getting our work in. He is very basketball-minded. He understands the game so well and from a lot of different aspects – from the bigs to the guards. He understands the mentalities of basketball players.” - Aaron Gordon; Orlando Magic forward and 2014 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year

“Over the course of my time at Arizona, Damon was one of the most impactful people that I had the pleasure of interacting with on a daily basis. Being that he was an All-American point guard for the Wildcats, it was easy for the two of us to connect. I’ll always be thankful for the support and guidance of Coach Stoudamire and I love him for it. I wish him the best at Pacific.” - T.J. McConnell; current Indiana Pacers and former University of Arizona guard

"Damon was a clever left-handed player. He was very crafty and made teams pay on the offensive end. He was a good shooter, great competitor, overcame lack of size and had a big heart." - Brian Shaw; 3x NBA Champion and current head coach of the G League Select Team

"When Damon came to the Blazers, we were already stacked with talent, but his sharp shooting and leadership on the court elevated us to a championship caliber team. UOP is lucky to have him." - Brian Grant; 12-year NBA forward

“Since he went to the NBA and played for quite some time, he understands the whole process and helped guys in my situation. He definitely knows the game. He can relate to players in the game and understands the atmosphere. I have taken all of his advice in. He understands situations. He’s a great guy that wants the best for everyone. He’s not in it for the money but (instead) to help kids and get them where they want to be. The more players understand that, it benefits them moreso than him.” - Rondae Hollis-Jefferson; current Toronto Raptors and former University of Arizona forward

“Damon Stoudamire is a coach I would love to play for because of his ability to make adjustment on offense and defense. He knows the game from a true point guard perspective. It’s a process to build something great, and Damon has what it takes. Check his resume.” - T.J. Ford; former NBA guard, 2003 Naismith College Player of the Year