Canes Hoops: Alvin “Pooh” Williamson hired as Assistant

After losing assistant Jamal Brunt earlier in the offseason to VCU, Coach Larranaga filled the opening with a highly-qualified candidate in Alvin “Pooh” Williamson, per a release on Hurricanesports.com. Coach Larranaga spoke about the new hire, saying “Pooh has a tremendous amount of experience as a coach and recruiter and has been especially effective as a mentor to the players with whom he has worked. I’ve known Pooh since he was an assistant at Wichita State when we played them in the 2006 NCAA Tournament while we were at George Mason. He comes highly recommended by one of my dear friends in coaching, Tubby Smith. We welcome Pooh and his family to Coral Gables.”

Coach Williamson has a wealth of experience in many forms, from the coaches he’s worked with, to the players he’s coached, and the different programs he’s been a part of. A large portion of his coaching career has been under the guidance of legendary coach Tubby Smith, first at Tulsa, then at Texas Tech and Memphis, where Williamson has coached the last 3 seasons. “Pooh” has also guided the college careers of future NBA players DeAndre Jordan, Khris Middleton and Donald Sloan. He has coached for 10 different colleges, starting with Washington State in 1996, and followed by Illinois State, Tulane, Tulsa (where he served as interim head coach during the 2004-05 season), Wichita State, Texas A&M, SMU, TCU, Texas Tech and Memphis. Coach Williamson helped 8 of those schools reach the NCAA Tournament as well. Lastly, Coach Williamson had a successful collegiate career as a player at Tulsa, earning All-MVC First-Team and All-MVC Defensive-Team accolades. He averaged 12.8 points per game as a senior and finished his career in the top 10 on the school’s career assists and steals lists. Welcome to the U Coach Alvin “Pooh” Williamson.

Do you approve of the new hire? What do you think our new coach will bring to the program? Let us know in the comments.