Following a playing career that ranks among the best all time at Stephen F. Austin as well as a two-year stint as a graduate assistant, it was announced Thursday by SFA head men’s basketball coach Kyle Keller that Desmond Haymon has been elevated to the position of assistant men’s basketball coach for the ‘Jacks beginning in 2017-18.
Haymon is the latest SFA alumni to hold a coaching position with the program in its NCAA Division I history.
“I am thrilled for both Desmond and our current players that he is being elevated in his role for this team,” said Keller. “Desmond has served at a championship level as a player, graduate assistant and graduate manager here at SFA and we are fortunate to have him progress up the ranks as our new assistant coach.
“He was a model student-athlete who helped usher in the program’s greatest era. I am blessed to have him teach and recruit players who will represent SFA and Lumberjack basketball with the same enthusiasm and professionalism as he continues to do.”
Through his first two seasons on staff in Nacogdoches, Haymon served as the ‘Jacks’ graduate manager. In that role, the Pickens, Miss., native assisted in film breakdown, opponent scouting and coordinated film exchange with opposing teams. Additionally, he assisted with recruiting and team travel coordination.
During Haymon’s time as a member of the coaching staff, the ‘Jacks posted a record of 46-21 and went 30-6 against Southland Conference opposition. Haymon helped the team advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2016 before the ‘Jacks made their fifth-straight postseason appearance with a trip to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament to conclude the 2016-17 campaign.
“I feel very blessed and excited about this opportunity to continue representing SFA men’s basketball in a new role,” Haymon said. “SFA feels just like a home to me and so many of my fondest memories are associated with this program and how it has elevated itself into the national spotlight through the efforts of excellent coaches, players and staff members. To be selected to help continue the growth of the program is humbling and I am eager to begin this new stage of my career at a place that has given me so much through the years.”
No stranger to the successes of the program, Haymon was responsible for producing one of the most famous plays in the ‘Jacks’ history and swinging the national spotlight squarely on Stephen F. Austin in the process. It was his four-point play with just seconds to go in the ‘Jacks second-round NCAA Tournament bout with VCU which forced overtime and eventually led to SFA upsetting the fifth-seeded Rams for the program’s first NCAA Tournament win.
When it came time to close the books on Haymon’s career, he had amassed 1,159 points – the 18th-highest career total in program history – and earned a spot on the 2014 All-Southland Conference Second Team, the SLC All-Tournament Team and was a Second Team NABC All-District performer in that same campaign.
As a junior in 2012-13, Haymon parlayed his basketball skills into an Honorable Mention All-SLC selection as well as a spot on the Southland Conference All-Tournament Team
The true epitome of a student-athlete, Haymon’s academic prowess matched his on-court production as he finished his collegiate career as a three-time Southland Conference All-Academic First Team selection.
A dual graduate of Stephen F. Austin, Haymon received his bachelor’s degree in kinesiology with a minor in general business in 2014 before earning a master’s degree in interdisciplinary studies in December of 2016.
http://www.sfajacks.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/060117aaa.html
