ACC-bound SMU close to hiring USC’s Andy Enfield as the Mustangs’ basketball coach, AP source says
By STEPHEN HAWKINS
AP Sports Writer
DALLAS (AP) — SMU is close to hiring Southern California coach Andy Enfield to take over the Mustangs, a person familiar with the situation said Sunday. They are moving next season into the basketball-rich Atlantic Coast Conference.
Enfield could be named SMU’s coach within a few days, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because a deal had not been finalized.
The Trojans were 15-18 this season with Bronny James as a freshman, ending a run of four consecutive years winning more than 20 games. Enfield is 220-147 in 11 years at USC.
Rob Lanier was fired after two seasons as SMU’s coach on March 21, a day after the Mustangs lost 101-92 at Indiana State in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament. They finished 20-13, doubling their win total from last year, but were 30-35 overall under Lanier with a 16-20 record in American Athletic Conference games.
SMU hasn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 2017, which was only its third appearance since last winning a tourney game in 1988.
Three ACC teams made the NCAA Elite Eight this season. That included Duke and North Carolina State playing in the South Region final Sunday at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, which is just over five miles from SMU’s campus.
The ACC will have 18 basketball teams with SMU moving into the league along with Cal and Stanford from the Pac-12.
USC, which is moving from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten this summer, has made the NCAA Tournament five times under Enfield, including three straight appearances before this year’s losing record. The Trojans got as far as the Elite Eight in 2021. Despite that success, the basketball program plays in the shadow of the school’s higher-profile national champion football program.
Enfield first captured national attention in 2013 as the coach at Florida Gulf Coast, guiding the school into the Sweet 16 as a 15th-seed with wins over Georgetown and San Diego State by playing a high-flying, up-tempo offense that often ended with thunderous dunks. That “Dunk City” run ended in North Texas with a loss to Florida in the South Region semifinal played at AT&T Stadium.
He parlayed that success into the higher-profile job at USC, where he developed Evan Mobley, Onyeka Okongwu and Isaiah Mobley into NBA draft picks.
The 54-year-old coach began his career as an assistant with the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics.
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AP Sports Writer Beth Harris in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
