USF fills out mens hoops staff

TAMPA - Former University of Kentucky assistant Jeremy Cox was hired Friday, completing the University of South Florida's men's basketball staff.

"I'm excited that we have completed our staff," USF coach Stan Heath said. "It was a very difficult decision I had to make, I had to decide what was best for our program."

Heath chose Cox over UCF assistant Steve Demeo, Georgia Southern coach Jeff Price and USF's director of basketball operations Tommy Tonelli.

Cox is the second former Kentucky assistant at USF, joining Reggie Hanson.

"[Cox is] someone I have known since his days coaching at Fort Smith Junior College when they won the national championship," Heath said. "His experience at Kentucky and Texas A&M was something that is impressive to me, in addition to his ability to coach, to work with the players and to recruit. He definitely will be an asset to the program. I feel very fortunate that we have him on our staff."

Cox said he's known Heath for about seven years.

"I met him when I first came to Arkansas and I saw what he did to build that program," Cox said. "With the resources USF has to offer, I think it is unlimited in what he can do here with his ability to coach and make players better. He has proven that he can build programs, helping at Michigan State, at Arkansas and down here in Tampa. There is just unlimited potential at USF."

Cox was most recently an assistant at Kentucky on Billy Gillispie's staff at UK and Texas A&M from 2006-09. He also was head coach at University of Arkansas-Fort Smith junior college (2003-06), an assistant at Arkansas-Fort Smith (2002-03), head coach at Garden City (Kan.) Community College and North Dakota State (1997-2002) and an assistant at Texas-San Antonio (1993-97) and Paris (Texas) Junior College (1992-93).

With the addition of Cox, USF's staff for next season will consist of Cox, former Towson assistant Eric Skeeters, who was hired Wednesday, Hanson and Tonelli.