Veteran coach Talvin Hester has joined the University of Houston Men’s Basketball program, head coach Kelvin Sampson announced Monday.
"We are excited to bring Talvin into our program. He is a high-character leader and has great relationships with basketball people at all levels in Houston and around the state of Texas. I love his enthusiasm and energy, and he will add to the culture we are building here and the winning program we will have in the future."
Hester spent the 2013-14 season at Texas State for head coach Danny Kaspar. It was the second time during his career that he worked on Kaspar’s staff after spending the 2012-13 season at Stephen F. Austin.
While at SFA, Hester helped lead the Lumberjacks to an impressive 27-5 record, the Southland Conference regular-season championship and a berth in the NIT. SFA posted the fourth-best record among NCAA Division I teams and finished with the No. 1 scoring defense nationally.
Prior to his stint at Stephen F. Austin, Hester worked from 2010 to 2012 at San Jose State. There, he helped guide the Spartans to impressive non-conference wins over Oregon and the University of San Francisco. During the 2009-10 season, San Jose State earned its first postseason bid since 1996 and posted the program’s most wins since the 1980-81 campaign.
In addition to his team’s on-court accomplishments, Hester also was recognized off the court. In the summer of 2011, he was one of a select few invited to participate in the NCAA Black Coaches and Administrators Achieving Coaching Excellence Program.
This prestigious four-day program was designed to prepare racial and ethnic minority basketball coaches for success as future head coaches.
Hester worked for five seasons (2005-10) on the staff at Prairie View A&M and was eventually promote to associate head coach. He helped lead the Panthers to consecutive winning seasons in 2008 and 2009 after Prairie View A&M had suffered five straight losing seasons and not enjoyed back-to-back winning seasons in 32 years.
With Hester’s leadership, the Panthers emerged as one of the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s and the nation’s top defensive squads. Following the 2009-10 season, Prairie View A&M ranked among the nation’s top-15 leaders in field goal percentage and 3-point field goal percentage defense.
Hester broke into the coaching ranks as an assistant coach at North Lake College during the 2002-03 season. From there, he spent one year (2003) with the Texas Rim Rockers of the United States Basketball League and worked for one year at his alma mater, Texas Wesleyan during the 2003-04 season.
Hester also worked as an assistant coach at Texas College for the 2004-05 season before entering the NCAA Division I ranks with Prairie View A&M in 2005.
As a student-athlete, Hester competed at Dallas Christian College during the 1996-97 season. He received his bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from Texas Wesleyan in 2003.
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