USF has announced the hiring of former Lamar University head coach Steve Roccaforte as an assistant coach to Stan Heath's staff. Roccaforte will replace Jeremy Cox, who left the Bulls to take the same job at Nebraska. Roccaforte spent five years at Lamar before he was let go in early March after leading the Cardinals to a 13-17 record last season and a career 76-78 record at his alma mater.
Before taking the head coaching job in 2006, Roccaforte spent the previous three seasons at Lamar as the lead assistant for longtime college coach Billy Tubbs. After Tubbs took the athletic director job at Lamar, Roccaforte was handpicked by Tubbs as his successor. Roccaforte earned national recognition as a successful recruiter under John Calipari at Memphis, and even had a Top-10 recruiting class while at Lamar.
Naturally Roccaforte is excited to join Heath's staff, and had this to say about the potential USF has in the Big East,
"I'm very excited to work for Stan Heath. I think he is on the verge of something very big at USF and I am happy to be a part of that, while also joining the best basketball league in the country."
If there has been something Heath has lacked at USF, it's been a lockdown recruiter that Stan can send out. (USF hasn't had an assistant like him since David Zimroth on Seth Greenberg's staff.) With as late a hire as Roccaforte is, I think Heath knocked this one out of the park. Can't wait to see what Steve can do out on the recruiting trail with the Big East affiliation and the Muma Center behind him.