After two years on the Hilltop, SMU men’s basketball assistant coach Reggie Brown is moving to the other side of town.
Brown joined the TCU coaching staff in late May. With TCU’s transition from the Mountain West conference to the Big East, the opportunity to coach in arguably college basketball’s most powerful conference beginning in 2012 was just too much for Brown to pass up.
“I want to thank Coach Christian and the rest of the TCU community for this opportunity,” said Brown in a recent press release. “I’m excited for the chance to help continue to build this program, and I know there are big things coming in the future. You can really notice from the outside the momentum that is building within this program and university, and I wanted to be a part of that.”
While at SMU, Brown helped lead the Mustangs to their two best regular season finishes since joining Conference USA. Last season, SMU returned to the post-season for the first time since 2000 and reached the semifinals of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT).
The loss of Brown will also have a major impact on recruiting as the former SMU assistant was responsible for bringing in point guard Jeremiah Samarrippas, who led the Mustangs in assists and steals as a freshman last season.
“Coach Brown is a really good recruiter, he helped bring in one of the best recruiting classes SMU has ever seen this spring,” Samarrippas said. “He’s a good coach and a good friend. When he recruited me, he made me comfortable. He was really laid back and definitely knew his basketball stuff. He was like a father figure to me.”
This spring, Brown landed three-star prospect Jalen Jones and helped with the recruitment of four-star center Cannen Cunningham, who also signed with the Mustangs.
“We are excited to have Reggie join our coaching staff,” TCU head coach Jim Christian said. “Reggie is a young, talented coach and recruiter who has been successful as both an assistant coach and dating back to his days as a player. His experience on the DFW and Texas recruiting trails will also be a big asset to this program. Reggie and his family will make a wonderful addition to TCU and the Fort Worth community.”
SMU will begin their search for a new assistant coach to fill the void left by Brown as well as a new director of operations after Brion Raven left the program in May to join the UT-Arlington women’s basketball staff as an assistant coach.
