Chris Beard adds ex-Wyoming HC Steve McClain to Texas basketball staff
There were some adjustments that took place to the staff for the Texas basketball program recently under second-year head coach Chris Beard. Texas recently promoted one assistant coach and brought another staffer aboard with the men’s hoops program.
According to a report from Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports on Aug. 23, Beard and the Longhorns promoted Bob Donewald Jr. to assistant coach and hired former Wyoming Cowboys and Illinois-Chicago Flames head coach Steve McClain on staff as special assistant to the head coach.
Last season, Donewald was the special assistant to the head coach after coming over with Beard from the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Prior to joining the Texas staff under Beard last year, Donewald held various head coaching and assistant roles overseas and in the NBA.
Chris Beard and Texas basketball add Steve McClain to the staff as a special assistant
Sources: Texas' Chris Beard will promote Bob Donewald to assistant coach and hire Steve McClain as Special Assistant to the Head Coach.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) August 23, 2022
McClain was on staff at Georgia last season. Former head coach at both Wyoming and UIC.
Meanwhile, McClain will join the Texas staff in the position that Donewald held last season after spending a few years as an assistant coach with the Georgia Bulldogs.
McClain was the head coach for Illinois-Chicago for five seasons prior to joining Georgia’s staff in 2020. He posted a record of 76-93 (.450 winning percentage) during his five seasons as Illinois-Chicago’s head coach.
The other head coaching position that McClain held in the college ranks was with Wyoming for roughly one decade. McClain posted his best winning percentage as a college head coach with Wyoming, registering a record of 157-115 (.577 winning percentage) from 1998-2007.
McClain also has some coaching experience with some current and former Big 12 schools. He was an assistant coach with the TCU Horned Frogs in the mid-to-late 1990s and was also an assistant with the Colorado Buffaloes from 2007-2010.
Essentially all of the coaching experience that McClain has, dating back to the 1980s, is at the collegiate level.
Next. 3 breakout candidates for Texas hoops this season. dark
Texas finished up last season with a record of 22-12 (10-8 Big 12), including a win in the Round of 64 over the 11-seed Virginia Tech Hokies. Beard and the Longhorns will open up the 2022-23 regular season slate at home at the newly-minted Moody Center on Nov. 7 against the UTEP Miners.