Damon Stoudamire explains why he left Arizona for Memphis

Arizona Wildcats assistant coach Damon Stoudamire will leave Tuscon and return to Memphis, where he began his college coaching career. CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish reported the development. Though it may seem like a shocking decision, as Stoudamire is an Arizona alum and it is more of a contending program than Memphis.

However, Stoudamire took to Twitter and explained his decision fully.

Thus, while Arizona fans will surely miss having one of their own on head coach Sean Miller’s staff, it’s hard to find fault with Stoudamire’s reasoning. He’s not getting any younger at age 41, and returning to Memphis will allow him to be closer to his sons, who live in Atlanta. Sure, it may be a step down from a team that went 34-4 (16-2 Pac-12) and won its first Pac-12 Championship since 2002 and has been to two straight Elite Eights, but he has a strong relationship with Tigers coach Josh Pastner and will be instrumental in getting the team back to the big dance after missing it for the first time since 2010 last year.

Stoudamire spent four years playing under Hall of Famer Lute Olson at Arizona, averaging 15 points and 5.4 assists per contest and playing an instrumental role in getting the team to the Final Four in 1994. He was then drafted seventh overall by the Toronto Raptors in the 1995 NBA Draft and averaged 13.4 points and 6.1 assists across 12 seasons with them, the Portland Trail Blazers, Memphis Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs.

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*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports

Stanford and Texas finish their home-and-home in December
Stanford and Texas finish their home-and-home in December