Bobby Suarez, who has spent the last four seasons at Florida State, has been hired by first-year head coach Shantay Legans as an Eastern Washington University men’s basketball assistant coach.
The 2012 graduate of Florida Gulf Coast will join veteran assistant David Riley and newcomer Nick Booker on Legans’ staff. The addition of Booker was announced on May 10 as he takes over as EWU’s associate head coach.
“Bobby is a great addition to our staff, right before the July recruiting period,” said Legans. “He is energetic, well-connected, and ready to hit the ground running right away.”
“What impressed me the most about Bobby was his attentiveness and desire to work hard and win,” added Legans. “He has been around winning basketball programs all of his career, and coupled with the international experience he has acquired, I have no doubt he will be a great fit to our basketball team and the Cheney community.”
“I look forward to helping build on what Coach Legans has done here for the last nine years,” said Suarez. “I’m excited to help Eastern continue to compete for league championships and NCAA Tournament berths with high-character student-athletes. Go Eags!”
Serving at Florida State under two-time ACC Coach of the Year Leonard Hamilton, Suarez was assistant video coordinator for the Seminoles. His responsibilities include preparing team and individual video edits, self-scouts, opponent video breakdowns, film exchange, scouting reports and recruiting videos.
He was also an assistant director of the Leonard Hamilton Basketball Team Camp held annually during the summer. While at Florida State, Suarez worked with closely with Malik Beasley, Dwayne Bacon, and Jonathan Isaac — all first round NBA Draft picks. Also, he worked with Okaro White, now a member of the Miami Heat.
Suarez served as a director of operations intern and as a head student manager while at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, Fla., from 2009-2013. Suarez’s responsibilities included on-court development, compiling video edits and assisting with on-campus recruiting. He was also the assistant director of the Andy Enfield Summer camp.
He was a member of the now famous “Dunk City” team that advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. During that magical 2013 season, Florida Gulf Coast won the Atlantic Sun Tournament championship to earn the league’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. The Eagles defeated No. 2 seeded Georgetown and No. 7 seeded San Diego State, becoming the first No. 15 seed to advance to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.
Suarez worked with four all-conference players during his time at Florida Gulf Coast: Brett Comer (who finished his career ranked 24th on the all-time NCAA career assists list), Bernard Thompson (the 2013 Atlantic Sun Defensive Player of the Year), Chase Fieler (the all-time program leader for rebounds, blocked shots and field goals made) and Sherwood Brown (2013 All-America Honorable Mention selection and the 2013 Atlantic Sun Player of the Year).
In 2014, Suarez worked for Orlando Antigua (now the head coach at USF) and assisted with day to day operations of the Dominican Republic National team.
In 2017, Suarez worked with the Team USA Junior National team with day-to-day operations and on court development.
Suarez earned his bachelor’s degree in business management from Florida Gulf Coast University in 2012.
“I want to thank Coach Hamilton, Coach Jones, Coach CY, Coach Gates, Coach Nutt and Jacob Ridenhour for all the knowledge they have given me over my four years at Florida State,” he added. “I thank Coach Legans for the opportunity to work for such a great staff, university and community.”
http://goeags.com/news/2017/6/20/bobby-suarez-hired-as-ewu-mens-basketball-assistant.aspx
