With its 15th win of the season, the SMU men's basketball team earned head coach Andy Enfield his 300th career victory.

The win, fittingly, came against Florida State, where Enfield began his college coaching career as an assistant in 2006. He spent five seasons there before getting his first head coaching job in 2011, at Florida Gulf Coast.

"It's my 15th year as a head coach. Very blessed to be a head coach in the ACC at SMU," Enfield said after the win. "I started my coaching career in 1994, 31 years ago, in the NBA with the Milwaukee Bucks and with the Boston Celtics, and stayed in the NBA for a few years before I went to Florida State, so I have a big place in my heart for the Seminoles."

During his time at FSU, Enfield recruited current head coach Luke Loucks to play for the Seminoles along with assistant coach Derwin Kitchen. Another assistant coach, Michael Fly, was a video coordinator at FSU, followed Enfield to FGCU as an assistant and would end up being a head coach there before returning to the Seminoles this year.

"I think 300 wins, that just means he's getting old, man," Loucks said. "No, he's done an incredible job everywhere he's gone. Obviously we have a special relationship. Going back to when I was 16, I think that was the first time I met Andy, when he would come recruit (me).

"... I'm so happy for him. What he's done at, obviously, Florida Gulf Coast, USC, and now what he's building here at SMU is really impressive, and he should get all of his flowers."

It was those connections — including that of his current staff of associate head coach Chris Capko, assistant coach Eric Mobley, assistant athletic director for basketball operations Michael Swets and men's basketball sports performance coach Kurtis Shultz — that stood out after the milestone victory.

"They've been part of 260 wins, 240 wins, 230 wins, and I would not be here with 300 wins as a head coach without an incredible coaching staff," Enfield said. "So very, very excited to be able to do that, but I'm not in this profession for individual goals. I didn't even know it was the 300th until someone told me after the game. I completely forgot about that. But I use this time not to recognize myself, but to recognize my incredible coaching staff."

And as good as Enfield's staffs have been in the past, he believes this one to be especially great. Along with Capko, Mobley, Sweats and Shultz, the staff includes Dana Ford, who was a head coach at Missouri State and Tennessee State, and Kurt Karis, who went from walk-on player to grad assistant to video coordinator and is now an assistant coach.

Jeremie Hart is the recruiting coordinator who helped bring in a top recruiting class in the country this past offseason. David Kress was a student manager at SMU before he transferred to USC, where he was a student manager, came to SMU last year as a grad assistant and is the team's chief strategist. 

Even SMU's two graduate assistants have been with Enfield before. David Serge spent two years at USC while Mia Kaufman was a student assistant at USC and is now a GA while enrolled in law school.

"It's probably the best coaching staff I've ever had as a head coach," Enfield said. "... We have a big-time staff. So this isn't really about me with 300 wins. I'm very blessed. But this is a great opportunity to recognize those people I just mentioned, because you don't win games in college without who's on your staff, and then you have to have really good players that are bought into what your system is, your concept, and have some heart and toughness and want to win at a big, high level."

That's what Enfield believes he has at SMU right now.

The Mustangs went 24-11 last season, earning a No. 1 seed in the NIT. This year's team is 15-5, having played four ranked teams already with another coming up next on the schedule.

"I can't say enough about our guys right now, because they've transformed SMU basketball here the last year and a half into something that's fun to watch," Enfield said. "You know there's gonna be a close game at Moody Coliseum when we play, and it's a lot of fun to watch. So very appreciative to everybody."

And the players were excited to get the win for him too.

"It means a lot to see Coach Enfield smile. He was smiling after the game," senior Jaron Pierre Jr. said. "He was very happy."