I mentioned this earlier today in my blog – it’s now official…Jeremy Cox has been named head coach at the College of Southern Idaho. Here’s the official release by CSI:
The College of Southern Idaho welcomed Jeremy Cox as the 16th head men’s basketball coach Tuesday at a press conference.
Cox made the move to CSI last week after then Head Coach Steve Gosar hired him as an assistant. On Monday, Gosar stepped down as head coach opening the door for Cox to move into the head coaching position.
"Change is never easy and we haven’t had a lot of change recently," said CSI Athletic Director Joel Bate.
But just as CSI didn’t hesitate to move Steve Gosar into the role as head coach in the summer of 2008 when Barret Peery moved on, Bate said it was just as easy to promote Cox even though he had been here a week.
"Jeremy Cox knows college basketball," Bate said. "He knows the NJCAA. He coached at Garden City CC and won a national championship at Arkansas-Fort Smith."
And he’s been on the staff of some of the best NCAA programs in the country.
Cox has coached for 22 years, including 11 as an NCAA Division I assistant and eight as a junior college head coach. He won a NJCAA National Championship as a head coach at Arkansas-Fort Smith in 2006 and was a part of nine NJCAA Division I post-season appearances as either a head coach or assistant coach as well as four NCAA Division I post-season appearances as an assistant.
In all, Cox has coached 10 players who have reached the NBA.
He has coached as an assistant under Gillispie three times – Texas Tech, Kentucky and Texas A&M.
His first stint with Gillispie was at Texas A&M University from 2006-2007. He then went with Gillispie to University of Kentucky from 2007-2009.
During that time, he helped Kentucky to the NCAA Tournament in 2008 and the NIT quarterfinals in 2009.
Before rejoining Gillispie at Texas Tech, Cox assisted at the University of South Florida from 2009-2011 and the University of Nebraska from 2011-2012.
At USF, he was instrumental in the program’s third 20-win season and the school’s first postseason appearance since 2002.
After spending the last seven years as a NCAA Division I assistant and recruiting in the CSI gym, he will now make the adjustment back to coaching in the junior college ranks.
"There is one standard in junior college basketball," Cox said. "And that’s CSI. There have been 16 coaches that have been hired by three presidents. They’ve hired great coaches and I hope to be one as well. It is a huge responsibility I have to carry on."
Cox does not take the tradition of CSI lightly.
"It’s a culture of discipline. They do things right. It’s a culture of excellence set forth by the presidents. This place competes for national championships. It’s a committment to excellence," Cox said. "It’s not just a cliche, it happens here.
Cox graduated from Mesa State College in 1991 cum laude and received his master’s degree in sports management from the United State Sports Academy in 1999.
He and his wife, Cindy, have a son, Austin, and a daughter Kaili.
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