Former University of Arkansas at Little Rock men's basketball head coach Wes Flanigan has been hired to be an assistant coach at Auburn, Tigers Coach Bruce Pearl announced Monday.
Flanigan had a 22-42 record in two seasons at UALR and was fired March 9 after the Trojans (7-25) finished the season with the most single-season losses in program history.
Flanigan was an All-SEC point guard and played for Auburn from 1993-97, finishing with the second-most career assists (573) in program history.
"Returning to Auburn is a dream come true for me," Flanigan said in a statement. "I've always wanted to come back to Auburn to coach basketball at some point. I want to thank Coach Pearl and the staff for giving me this opportunity."
Flanigan did not respond to attempts for interviews through Auburn's athletic department.
Flanigan, a Little Rock Parkview graduate, was the 1992-93 Gatorade High School Player of the Year and began his coaching career as an assistant at Northwest Mississippi Community College from 1999-2004.
He was an assistant at UALR, Alabama-Birmingham, Nebraska and Mississippi State before the Trojans hired him to replace former head coach Chris Beard in 2016.
"Auburn basketball is very fortunate to have been able to attract and welcome home a former great in three-time captain Wes Flanigan," Pearl said in a statement. "I've known Wes and admired his work for many years as a competitor. Known as a hard-working, tough-minded, passionate basketball coach and teacher, Wes will make our student-athletes better on and off the court."
He is filling the assistant coach position at Auburn that was made vacant in October, Auburn confirmed, when Chuck Person was fired.
Person was included in the FBI's college basketball investigation, which alleged that he received $91,500 in bribes to direct Auburn players to financial adviser Marty Blazer when they became professionals, according to The Associated Press.
In November, a federal grand jury in New York City charged Person with federal bribery, conspiracy and fraud. His trial is scheduled for Feb. 4, and his lawyers filed a motion in March to dismiss the indictment, according to Al.com.
Former director of basketball operations, Chad Prewett, took over for Person during the 2017-2018 season, in which Auburn went 26-8 and lost 84-53 to Clemson in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Auburn said Prewett would be retained, but the specific roles of he and Flanigan have yet to be determined.
Sports on 04/17/2018