Flanigan returns to UALR, home

UALR’s new associate head coach Wes Flanigan.
UALR’s new associate head coach Wes Flanigan.

Wes Flanigan won’t need to ask for directions when he reports to his new job June 1. UALR’s new associate head coach is not only returning to his home town of Little Rock, where he starred for Parkview High School in the early 1990s, but he is back at the university where he got his start as a Division I assistant 11 years ago.

Head coach Chris Beard announced the hiring of Flanigan, along with the rest of his first staff, on Monday.

Flanigan, who will make $100,000 per season, joins assistants Brian Burg and Mark Davis and director of player development Ted Crass on Beard’s staff.

A desire for stability in a career that has included four moves in the past seven years led Flanigan back to UALR, where he got his first Division I coaching experience before he held positions on staffs in some of college basketball’s premier conferences.

Flanigan said it also gives him a chance to coach at a place familiar to him, his wife, Katrina, and his three sons.

“My wife has made some sacrifices for me and my family these last couple of moves,” Flanigan said. “I kind of wanted to do something for them this time. Me being familiar at Little Rock, me feeling like we can compete at Little Rock, all of those factors played into me deciding to come back.”

Wes Flanigan played for Charles Ripley in 1991-1993 at Little Rock Parkview, where Al Flanigan, Wes’ father, was an assistant before becoming head coach in 1996.

Flanigan was an all-SEC guard at Auburn and then helped UALR to one 20-victory season under former coach Steve Shields before spending two seasons at Alabama-Birmingham, two at Nebraska and the past three at Mississippi State.

Flanigan said he reached out to UALR with interest in its head-coaching vacancy after Mississippi State fired Rick Ray on March 21, three days after Shields was fired at UALR.

“I did have some interest in the job. I did talk to some of the administration,” Flanigan said Monday. “They felt like they wanted to get a guy with some head-coaching experience, and they did, and I think they made a great hire.”

When Beard called to ask if he was interested in being an assistant on his staff, Flanigan didn’t balk, saying he felt Beard was “hungry” and “all about winning.”

Flanigan said recruiting central Arkansas will be “one of my focal points.” It is an area where UALR struggled for much of Shields’ tenure.

UALR has not signed a player from the Little Rock area since Steven Moore of Mills High School in 2006. UALR didn’t have a single Arkansan log minutes last season.

“You just want to recruit the best possible guys that can win championships,” Flanigan said. “If it happens to be Arkansas kids, so be it. I would love to give those guys an opportunity. Hopefully, some of them will stay home for us.”

Beard announced the hiring of Flanagan in a statement announcing the completion of his staff.

“Wes, Brian, Mark and Ted are all high-character people and talented coaches,” Beard said. “Combined, we have a lot of experience on our staff, and our players will benefit greatly.”

Burg, who will make $85,000 per year, has already began work at UALR. Flanigan and Adams, who will make $70,000, will begin June 1.

Adams spent the past two seasons as director of basketball operations at Texas Tech. He’s compiled a head-coaching record of 554-244 in 23 seasons at Clarendon College (1981-1982), Wayland Baptist (1983-197), West Texas A&M (1987-1992), Texas-Pan American (1992-1997) and Howard (Texas) College (2004-2013).

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