Head Coach Tim Floyd named Bob Cantu to the UTEP basketball staff on Tuesday. Cantu will serve as assistant coach, taking the spot vacated by Greg Foster when he departed for a position with the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers.
Cantu spent 12 seasons at USC as an assistant coach, associate head coach and most recently interim head coach. During that time the Trojans had four other head coaches, including Floyd from 2005-09. Cantu served as interim head coach for the final 15 games of the 2012-13 season, compiling a 7-8 record including wins at UCLA and over no. 11 Arizona at home. He was selected the Pac-12 Coach of the Week twice during his brief tenure as head coach.
Cantu was also USC’s interim head coach for a Pac-10 Tournament semifinal game versus no. 15 Arizona in 2011.
The team’s defensive strategist, he was instrumental in USC leading the nation in defensive efficiency during the 2009-10 season. The Trojans were also the Pac-10 leaders in field goal percentage defense during the 2007-08, 2009-10 and 2010-11 campaigns.
The native of Paso Robles, Calif. was involved with all facets of the USC basketball program and earned particularly high marks for his efforts on the recruiting trail. While organizing all aspects of recruiting, Cantu helped the Trojans assemble signing classes that were rated no. 1 nationally in 2007 (ESPN/Hoop Scoop), no. 7 in 2008 (Hoop Scoop), no. 5 in 2009 (Hoop Scoop) and no. 6 in 2010 (MaxPreps). USC also had a top-10 class in 2006 and a top-20 group in 2005, according to Hoop Scoop rankings.
While at USC Cantu recruited and/or coached 10 NBA players, including five who were selected in the first round of the NBA Draft. He was a part of five NCAA Tournament teams (including a berth in the Sweet 16 in 2007), the 2009 Pac-10 Tournament champions and a school-record three consecutive 20-win squads from 2007-09. USC set a school record with 25 wins during the 2006-07 season.
Prominent players that Cantu either coached or recruited include current pros Dewayne Dedmon (Golden State Warriors), Taj Gibson (Chicago Bulls), O.J. Mayo (Milwaukee Bucks), DeMar DeRozan (Toronto Raptors), Nikola Vucevic (Orlando Magic) and Nick Young (L.A. Lakers).
Cantu was repeatedly named one of the nation’s top-20 assistant coaches by Foxsports.com and Hoop Scoop during a period from 2007-12, including the no. 2 assistant coach in the Pac-10 in 2010.
Prior to his stint in Los Angeles, Cantu was an assistant coach at Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo, Calif. (1997-2000) and Sacramento State University for one season (2000-01).
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