Webster, Harris added to Cal staff

California head men’s basketball coach Cuonzo Martin has announced the addition of Tracy Webster and Jon Harris to his coaching staff. Webster has been appointed the Golden Bears’ associate head coach and Harris has been hired as an assistant coach. Both coaches join the Cal staff after serving on Martin’s bench the past three seasons at Tennessee.

“Coach Webster and Coach Harris played an integral role in our success at Tennessee and I am grateful for the opportunity to have them with me here at the University of California,” Martin said. “They are proven winners in the coaching profession and bring an extensive knowledge of the game. The addition of Coach Webster and Coach Harris is an important part of the development of our program on and off the court.”

Boasting more than a decade of Division I coaching experience, Webster has had success throughout his career, with five NCAA Tournament berths and one Final Four appearance as a coach. In 2009, HoopScoopOnline.com ranked Webster as one of the top 50 assistant coaches in the nation.

Following just one season as an assistant coach, Webster was elevated to Tennessee’s associate head coach prior to the 2012-13 season. He has helped guide Tennessee to postseason berths each of his three years on the coaching staff in Knoxville, including an appearance in the Sweet 16 last season. Webster played an important role in the development of Tennessee standout shooting guard Jordan McRae, who finished his career among UT’s career leaders in scoring (16th, 1,521 points), three-point field goals (T-7th, 179) and blocks (13th, 97). A two-time First Team All-SEC selection, McRae received 2013 SEC Player of the Year laurels by ESPN’s Jay Bilas and Jimmy Dykes and CBS Sports’ Seth Davis.

Prior to joining Martin at Tennessee, Webster spent the 2010-11 campaign as an assistant at Nebraska and was on the staff at DePaul for the 2009-10 season where he was appointed the program’s interim head coach in January of 2010. Prior to that, he served as an assistant coach at Kentucky for two seasons as the Wildcats earned postseason berths in 2008 and 2009. At Kentucky, he played a role in the development of Jodie Meeks, who recently completed his fifth season in the NBA and second with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Webster, who played collegiately at Wisconsin, has also coached at Illinois, Purdue and Ball State at the Division I level. As a member of Bruce Weber’s staff at Illinois for three seasons, the Fighting Illini earned an NCAA Tournament berth each year. The 2005 Illinois squad, which featured five eventual NBA players including three-time All-Star Deron Williams, tied the NCAA record for wins in a season with a 37-2 mark and reached the Final Four where the Fighting Illini dropped a 75-70 decision to North Carolina in the national title game.

During his days at Purdue, Webster was an assistant along with Martin under Hall of Fame head coach Gene Keady where the Boilermakers reached the postseason in his one year on the staff in West Lafayette, Ind.

He began his coaching career at Division III Wisconsin-Parkside in 1998 before a three-year stint on the coaching staff at Ball State.

A native of Harvey, Ill., Webster was an All-State point guard at Thornton High School where he was named the sixth-best point guard in Chicago scholastic history in 1992. He went on to earn three varsity letters at Wisconsin (1992-94), posting 1,264 points and a school-record 501 assists with the Badgers. A three-time All-Big Ten selection, Webster also owns the school career record for three-point percentage (.490) and is one of Wisconsin’s all-time leaders in steals with 183 in his career in Madison. His 36 points against Southeast Missouri State in November of 1991 is the 10th-most in a single game in Wisconsin history.

Webster earned his bachelor’s degree from Wisconsin in 1995 and is married to the former Shenetta Richardson.

Harris has served on Martin’s coaching staff each of the last six years at both Missouri State and Tennessee. A native of Edwardsville, Ill., Harris was a standout on the hardwood at Marquette University before entering the coaching ranks.

In three seasons with the Vols, Harris oversaw the development of one of the top front courts in the Southeastern Conference. Under his tutelage, Jarnell Stokes and Jeronne Maymon earned All-SEC honors and left Tennessee among the program’s all-time rebounding leaders. Stokes was one of three individuals in the six power conferences to average a double-double (15.1 ppg, 10.6 rpg.) in 2013-14. Stokes finished his three-year Tennessee career ranked fourth in school history in career double-doubles (40) and eighth in career rebounds (836).

During Harris’ time in Knoxville, the Vols ranked near the top of the SEC in defensive rebounding and rebounding margin.

Harris joined Martin at Missouri State following a five-year stint on the coaching staff at Wisconsin-Green Bay under head coach Tod Kowalczyk. During Harris’ time on the staff at Missouri State, the Bears averaged more than 20 victories and captured the program’s first-ever Missouri Valley Conference regular-season championship. MSU improved from 11 wins in the 2008-09 campaign to a 24-12 record and the CollegeInsider.com postseason tournament title in 2009-10.

In Harris’ first season as a collegiate coach, he served on the staff at his alma mater, Marquette. The Golden Eagles finished 27-6 and reached the Final Four in his one season on the coaching staff in 2002-03.

Harris was a two-year captain as a student-athlete at Marquette, playing four seasons under head coach Tom Crean from 1998-2002. He completed his collegiate career as one of the top rebounders in the history of Conference USA with 494 career rebounds. As a senior during the 2001-02 season, Harris and teammate Dwyane Wade led the Golden Eagles to a 26-7 overall record, an NCAA Tournament berth, and a No. 9 ranking in the final Associate Press national poll. He received his bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Marquette in 2002.

The 1998 St. Louis Post-Dispatch High School Player of the Year, Harris was also a USA Today honorable mention All-America selection as a senior at Edwardsville High School.

Harris and his wife Heidi, an all-conference player for the Marquette women’s basketball team from 1998-2001, have two daughters (Hailey and Leah) and a son (Jaxson).

Martin was named Cal’s 16th head men’s basketball coach on April 15. He owns a 124-82 career record in six years as a collegiate head coach with previous stops at Missouri State and Tennessee. Martin will announce the completion of his coaching staff at a later date.

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