UA menβs basketball assistant coach Rem Bakamus last week made a lateral move to become an assistant coach at rival Texas Tech. Thatβs almost unheard of at Arizona in the last 40 years.
Arizona assistant coach Rem Bakamus, left, celebrates with Caleb Love after Love hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer against Iowa State on Jan. 27, 2025, at McKale Center.
Those assistant coaches who left Arizona from 1985-2025 did so to become head coaches, or because they were engulfed by the messy departure of Lute Olson or the uncertainty of Sean Millerβs NCAA investigation. Ken Burmeister, Ricky Byrdsong, Scott Thompson, Jessie Evans, Phil Johnson, Archie Miller, James Whitford, Jay John, Kevin OβNeill, Rodney Tention and Joe Pasternack all left Arizona for head coaching positions. Damon Stoudamire left to coach on Josh Pastnerβs staff at Memphis mostly because he found it uncomfortable to coach for Miller.
Over those 40 years, the only UA assistant coach pushed out in a non-NCAA investigation period was Tony McAndrews, a victim of the NCAAβs mid-β90s declaration that only two coaches per team could be paid full salaries. It was called the βrestricted earningsβ rule that attempted to be part of a failed move at cost containment in college sports.
Bakamus mightβve left Arizona because there doesnβt seem to be a way to move up the ladder. Assistant head coach Jack Murphy is entrenched. New assistant coach Brandon Chappell, hired from Texas, appears to be No. 2 on the staff. Plus, Bakamus surely got a raise to coach at Texas Tech. Last year, the four Tech assistants were all paid a minimum of $300,000. Bakamusβ salary at Arizona was listed at $180,000. The vacancy at Tech arose when assistant Matt Braeuer became the head coach at Stephen F. Austin, and assistant Luke Barnwell became the top assistant on Ben McCollumβs new staff at Iowa.
