The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Wes Flanigan Named Assistant Men's Basketball Coach At UAB
5/30/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
May 30, 2008
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ----- Wes Flanigan, a former All-Southeastern Conference performer at Auburn and a member of the men's basketball coaching staff at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock the past four years, has been named assistant coach at UAB, according to an announcement Friday by Blazers' head coach Mike Davis.
In addition, Davis announced that Howard Pride, a graduate manager for the Blazers the past year, has been promoted to director of basketball operations.
Flanigan, who replaces Bob Donewald who left the Blazers' staff at the conclusion of the 2008 season, served this past year at UALR as associate head coach/recruiting coordinator. The Trojans finished the 2007-08 season with a 20-11 record and were the No. 2 seed at the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
Flanigan, a native of Little Rock, earned All-SEC honors as a senior guard at Auburn in 1996 as he averaged 13.4 points per game and 6.7 assists while being named the Tigers' most valuable player. He ranks No. 18 on the Auburn all-time scoring list with 1,228 points and is second on the Tigers' career list for assists with 573. He finished his career with averages of 10.1 points and 4.8 assists.
"I am very excited to have someone of Wes' caliber join our staff," said Davis. "Wes is a quality coach and a great recruiter who did a terrific job at UALR. He is someone who is really respected by college coaches around the nation and has a great feel for the game. He is going to help us and I am looking forward to him starting his tenure at UAB."
Flanigan was an assistant coach at Northwest Mississippi Community College for five seasons before joining the staff at UALR and is eager to get started with the Blazers' program.
"I am very excited to be a part of the UAB basketball program," said Flanigan. "I have always followed the program from a distance and I am anxious to be a part of such a successful tradition. I am coming back to familiar territory having played at Auburn and I feel like I know the area pretty well. I am looking forward to hitting the ground running.
"I really think a lot of coach Davis," he said. "I had the chance to sit down with the staff to get to know them better. I'm excited to find my niche and help continue the success in anyway I can."
Pride will step into his new role on the UAB staff as the director of operations. He joined the Blazers prior to the 2007-08 season, coming to Birmingham with seven years of coaching experience at the high and collegiate level. Pride played at Vanderbilt and was team captain for the Commodores in 1997. Prior to coming to UAB, Pride's most recent coaching experience was at Westminster Christian Academy in Huntsville, Ala.
"Howard did an outstanding job for us last season as a graduate manager and proved he is ready to move into the role of Director of Operations," said Davis. "Howard has developed great relationships with our staff and players. Having played and coached college basketball in the past, he relates well to our guys. I think Howard has a bright future in coaching and I am pleased he is remaining with our staff in an expanded role."
