MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Damon Stoudamire, an assistant coach for the Memphis Grizzlies the past two years, has been recommended to join the Memphis men’s basketball coaching staff, head coach Josh Pastner announced Tuesday. Stoudamire’s hiring is pending approval of the University and Tennessee State Board of Regents.

VIDEO | Interviews with Damon Stoudamire, Coach Josh Pastner

“I have said many times about finding the right fit with our assistant positions, and Damon is one of those,” said Pastner. “Damon played and coached at the highest level of basketball in the world, and that experience will help our program immediately.”

Damon’s basketball accolades speak for themselves. He will be a great mentor to the student-athletes in our program, and we’re excited to have him join the Memphis Tigers family.”

Stoudamire comes to the Tigers program after completing his second season as an assistant for the Memphis Grizzlies. This past year, Stoudamire helped direct the Grizzlies to their most successful season in the organization’s history.

Memphis finished the 2010-11 regular season with a 46-36 record and tied for third place in the NBA’s Southwest Division. The Grizzlies, though, shocked the nation with their magical playoff run that caught the Bluff City by storm. Memphis, the Western Conference No. 8 seed, upset No. 1 seed San Antonio 4-2 in the playoffs opening round, and then took No. 4 seed Oklahoma City to seven games, before dropping the hard-fought series 4-3.

In Stoudamire’s first season in Memphis in 2009-10, the Grizzlies just missed making the playoffs with a 40-42 overall record. Despite no postseason, Stoudamire was a member of the coaching staff that guided the Grizzlies to a 16-game turnaround from the previous year (24-58 record in 2008-09). Stoudamire also coached Memphis summer league squad during the NBA’s 2010 Summer League in Las Vegas.

Prior to his joining the Grizzlies staff, Stoudamire was the director of player development for the Rice Owls basketball program under head coach Ben Braun for the 2008-09 campaign.

“I’m looking forward to joining the Memphis Tigers basketball family,” said Stoudamire. “I’ve been looking to get back to the college game for awhile, and this was a chance I couldn’t pass on. I am thankful for this opportunity, and I’m ready to get to work with Coach Pastner and his staff to help the Tigers reach their goal – which is every college program’s goal – of winning a national championship.”

Kevin Durant’s finest offensive performance of the series came at the most inopportune time for the Memphis Grizzlies, who are now headed home for the summer. From the Commercial Appeal: “He shook his head and dropped the [stat sheet], watching it flutter slowly into a tub of ice water sitting at his feet. ‘That’s where it belongs the way we shot — in an ice cold tub,’ said a disgusted [Tony] Allen, noting a 39.8 percent Griz shooting performance that doomed him and his teammates when paired with Thunder star Kevin Durant’s 39 points. ‘And Durant pushed the turbo button on us today.’ … ‘That wasn’t me at all in Game 6,’ Durant said. ‘I was so upset with myself. I let my guys down by not playing my game. Not only was I shooting bad, but I wasn’t aggressive. I told myself I wanted to start this game aggressive. I missed like my first four or five shots, started 2-for-9 and my teammates kept encouraging me. I just pushed through it. I believed in the hard work that got me here.’ Durant may have missed seven of his first nine shots, but he made 11 of his last 16 to finish 13-of-25, including 4-of-9 3-pointers and 9-of-9 free throws … ‘It’s a make-miss league,’ said [Shane] Battier, who had a miss-game, going 2-for-6 from the field and missed all 3 of his 3-point shots. ‘When you make shots — and he (Durant) was making shots — you have everything figured out. When you don’t, the world is falling around you. He is a helluva player, and he hit tough shots.’ … Griz forward Zach Randolph, limited to 17 points and 10 rebounds by a Thunder defense that was again allowed to smother him because Memphis couldn’t make any shot outside of 15 feet, tipped his headband to Durant. ‘Got to give him kudos and respect,’ Randolph said. ‘That kid is a gym rat who works very hard. You see what he does night in and night out. He’s relentless.’”