Robert Kirby, who spent 17 of his 28 previous years as an NCAA Division I assistant in the Southeastern Conference, has been recommended to join the University of Memphis men’s basketball staff as an assistant coach, head coach Josh Pastner announced Tuesday. Kirby’s hiring is pending approval of the University and Tennessee State Board of Regents.

Kirby, widely considered one of the most-respected assistant coaches in college basketball, comes to Memphis with nearly 30 years of coaching experience. He has been tabbed as one of the nation’s top-25 recruiters by Rivals.com in recent years.

At his previous seven NCAA Division I stops combined, Kirby has been involved in over 500 victories and has been a part of 17 teams that earned postseason bids (10 NCAA, seven NIT). Kirby also coached against the Tigers while at Georgetown, Houston and Mississippi State and was 5-5 in those 10 meetings.

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