Three men with strong ties to Tucson and UA basketball have found new homes for the 2026-27 season.
Arizona's 1994 Final Four point guard Damon Stoudamire is in his first year as an assistant coach at LSU. Stoudamire has spent eight seasons as a Division I head coach, but his combined record at Pacific and Georgia Tech was 113-132. He has also been an assistant at Memphis, Rice and Arizona.
Damon Stoudamire played four years at Arizona, leading the Wildcats to the 1993 Final Four and becoming the co-Pac-10 Player of the Year in 1995.
Justin Gainey, who was part of Sean Miller's UA staff from 2018-20, is the new head coach at North Carolina State, his alma mater. Since leaving Arizona, Gainey has been an assistant at Marquette and Tennessee.
Mickey McConnell is the new head coach at Saint Mary's, his alma mater. He replaces new ASU coach Randy Bennett, for whom he was an assistant coach for seven years. McConnell is the son of Rick McConnell, a member of Arizona's 1976 College World Series championship baseball team and former all-city guard at Sahuaro High School, playing for his father, Dick McConnell, who won four state championships at Sahuaro from 1970-2007.
Coaching changes are never-ending in college basketball | Greg Hansen
