SMU Athletics

Lance Irvin enters his second season with the Mustangs after joining the SMU basketball program as an assistant to coach Matt Doherty on July 10, 2006. Irvin serves as the player development coordinator for SMU basketball. Irvin has 14 years of experience as a Division I assistant with stints in the Big 12 at Iowa State, Texas A&M, and Missouri. [quote]I have known Lance for years and he has always handled himself with class and demonstrated terrific character,[quote] says Doherty [quote]Lance has strong ties throughout the country that will greatly benefit SMU Basketball.[quote] Irvin spent the 2005-06 season at Missouri working for Quin Snyder. Prior to Missouri, Irvin was an assistant coach for Melvin Watkins at Texas A&M during the 2003-04 season after a season at Illinois State. He spent the 2001-02 campaign with Larry Eustachy at Iowa State, where the Cyclones landed a top-five rated recruiting class. [quote]I am thrilled to be on the staff at SMU,[quote] states Irvin. [quote]I have always had a strong degree of admiration for the program and the University. I am excited to work for someone like Coach Doherty, who values education and is regarded as one of the top coaches and recruiters in the profession.[quote] Irvin started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Idaho in 1991-92. He was an assistant on Joey Meyer[apos]s staff at DePaul from 1992-97, helping the Blue Demons to NIT appearances in 1994 and 1995. He took a year off from collegiate basketball during the 1997-98 season, assisting at Chicago[apos]s Carver High School. He then joined the staff of Loyola-Chicago as an assistant from 1998-01 before moving to Iowa State. He has helped several players reach the NBA, including Jackson Vroman from Iowa State, Paul McPherson from DePaul, and Antoine Wright and Acie Law from Texas A&M. He was an all-city, all-area and all-state selection and an honorable mention All-American as a senior at Chicago[apos]s Julian High School in 1987. Irvin played basketball at Colorado State before transferring to Idaho, where he played for Larry Eustachy. Irvin received his bachelor[apos]s degree in criminal justice from Idaho in 1992. Irvin, a native of Chicago, and his wife, Paula, are parents of one daughter, Brooklyn. His brother Byron played college basketball at Missouri, after which he was selected in the 1989 NBA Draft with the 23rd pick by the Portland Trail Blazers.