Russell Springmann hired

Advertisement
CanesInSight has confirmed that former Oral Roberts head coach Russell Springmann will be joining the Jai Lucas staff as an assistant coach for the 2025-26 season.

This offseason, Springman departed from the Oral Roberts program after spending two seasons with the Golden Eagles.

Interestingly enough, Springmann was Jai Lucas's coach at Texas during the 2009-2010 season and played a key role in recruiting Kevin Durant to the school.

During his 14 years as an assistant at Texas, Springmann contributed to the Longhorns achieving a 334-149 overall record, making 13 NCAA Tournament appearances and reaching the Sweet 16 five times. He played a crucial role in recruiting 14 McDonald's All-Americans, including T.J. Ford and Kevin Durant, both of whom were named National Player of the Year.

Welcome to the family!
 
Good hire?

Depends if you think Lucas was or not.

I disagree. I think you can be on board with Jai Lucas as head coach and still wonder what Russell Springmann brings to the table when Charlton Young, another veteran assistant/occasional head coach, is already on staff.

What I like about this hire is that Coach Lucas has a pre-existing relationship with Coach Springmann from their time together in Austin. It confirms something that Matt McCall said on The Field of 68: even as a player, Lucas has always been exceptional at developing working relationships. (McCall was once the Director of Basketball Operations at Florida.) Lucas now appears to be making a hire based on that connection and mutual loyalty.

The most interesting fact in Coach Springmann’s bio is that he named his son Durant, presumably after his former recruit and player Kevin Durant.
 
Advertisement
Back
Top