The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Department of Intercollegiate Athletics announced on Wednesday that Deleon Hines, who was the top assistant coach with the Sharyland Pioneer boys basketball team in 2014-15 and a basketball operations assistant with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in 2015-16, is now a special assistant to the head coach with the UTRGV men’s basketball program.
During his time with the Vipers, Hines was responsible for player skill development, film analysis, and equipment management. He was also the head coach of the Vipers Select U14 Jr. Academy Team. At Sharyland Pioneer, Hines led practices, scouted opponents, monitored academics, and managed equipment.
“I think he’s a big asset for our program,” UTRGV Men’s Basketball Head Coach Lew Hill said. “He’s young enough where he can relate to the guys. He was with the Vipers, so he understands the business of coach-player relationships”
A native of Houston, Hines was a two-year captain and a two-time Heartland Conference Champion at Incarnate Word in San Antonio. He began to pursue his basketball career as an assistant coach with Luxembourg Total League Contern after graduating, helping the team to records of 16-13 and 23-6. He returned to Luxembourg to play with BBC Heffingen for the next two seasons, averaging 17 points, six rebounds and five assists per game and winning a league championship in 2013.
“I am exceptionally excited about being a part of new beginnings here at UTRGV,” Hines said. “There’s a lot of potential with this group of student-athletes, coaching staff and administration.”
Deleon graduated from Incarnate Word with a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology in 2011. He is currently working toward a Master of Administration in Sports Management at Incarnate Word.
