The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Men’s Basketball Head Coach Matt Figger announced on Wednesday the hiring of assistant coach Jovan Austin, who brings prior experience in the Western Athletic Conference after serving as a graduate assistant at New Mexico State from 2017-19.
This past season, Austin was an assistant coach at Panola College, where he helped his team to a 14-7 record, including a 1-0 record as acting head coach. He was previously an assistant coach at Texas A&M-Commerce in 2019-20, helping the team to an 18-12 record, including win over three ranked opponents. Austin was set to serve as an assistant coach at South Plains College this coming season.
“I think Jovan is one of the up-and-coming stars of the business,” Figger said. “He’s an extremely hard worker. He’s been around winning all his life. He’ll be able to help us get our foot in the door with a lot of people in the state of Texas, which is a huge asset for our program.”
Austin was a graduate assistant on the New Mexico State team that went 30-5 (15-1 WAC) and nearly upset No. 5 seed Auburn in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 2018-19. He was also on the staff of the 2017-18 team that went 28-6 (12-2 WAC). Both teams won the WAC Regular Season and WAC Tournament Championships.
Those New Mexico State teams were coached by Chris Jans, who Austin played for at Bowling Green as a junior in 2014-15. Austin ranked second on the team with 87 assists, leading the team in assists 13 times.
After redshirting the 2015-16 season, Austin finished his career at Texas A&M-Commerce, where he helped his team to the NCAA Tournament by averaging 9.0 points, 2.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game.
Austin started his collegiate career at Angelo State in 2012-13, earning Lone Star Conference Freshman of the Year honors by leading the team in scoring (12.3), assists (3.5) and steals (1.7) per game.
He then played his sophomore season at Paris Junior College, earning Co-Team MVP, Second Team All-Conference and Third Team All-Region honors by leading his to both a Conference Championship and a Region XIV Tournament Championship with a 26-8 record. The team advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NJCAA Tournament as Austin averaged 9.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists while shooting over 46% from the field and 41% from behind the three-point line.
“I’m excited to join Coach Figger’s staff,” Austin said. “He is a national name in the business and has had success everywhere he’s been. I have heard nothing but great things about Coach and how hard he works. I can’t wait to join the staff and get to work.”
Originally from Grand Prairie, Austin was a three-time letter winner at South Grande Prairie High School. He helped the Warriors to a 35-3 overall record and district championship as a senior. For his efforts, he was named the district 7-5A offensive MVP.
Austin earned his Bachelor of General Studies at Texas A&M-Commerce in December 2016.
https://goutrgv.com/news/2021/7/14/mens-basketball-adds-jovan-austin-as-assistant-coach.aspx
