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Men’s Basketball Support Staff
men’s basketball assistant COACHES
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Winston Hines begins his first season with the Bulldog Basketball winston hines coaching staff as an assistant coach. Hines brings 13 years of collegiate coaching experience to Ruston, having recently spent five seasons as an assistant coach at nearby Grambling State. “Winston Hines is unique for this job in that he has been in the state ASSISTANT COACH of Louisiana for a lot of years,” said head coach Talvin Hester. “He is from Florida so that helps keep the connection to that state that LA Tech @hinesLaTechBall has had for a while. We want to continue to recruit great in our region and in places we have always been great like Florida. He will be a great addition to our Bulldog Family.”
While with the Tigers, Hines helped the program to four top-four finishes in the Southwestern Athletic Conference including their first SWAC regular season title in 30 years.
Hines helped in the development of Ivy Smith who was selected as a BOXTOROW HBCU All-American. Smith was also a two-time All-SWAC honoree and an NABC First Team All-District selection.
Prior to coaching in Grambling, Hines spent one season as the associate head coach at Stillman College during the 2016-17 season. In his lone season with the Lady Tigers, the team compiled a 19-4 record after totaling just 24 wins in the previous three seasons combined.
This opportunity came after spending eight seasons with the men’s program at Stillman College as an assistant coach where he helped the Tigers receive their first ever Top 25 ranking in the NCAA Division II polls.
aaron smith
ASSISTANT COACH
@coachasmith
Aaron Smith enters first season as an assistant coach with the Bulldog Basketball team. Smith, a two-time TexasJucoBasketball.com Coach of the Year, has spent the past seven seasons with head coaching stops at Jacksonville College and Panola College.
“I have known Aaron since his freshman year in college,” said head coach Talvin Hester. “He is a really good basketball coach, but more importantly he is an outstanding human being. He is a great addition to our staff and am thrilled to have him be part of our Bulldog Family.”
During his time at both institutions, he won two Region XIV South Zone championships, coached two All-Americans and had 10 First or
Second Team All-Region performers.
Smith spent the past three seasons at the helm at Panola College in Carthage, Texas, leading the Ponies in 2021-22 to a 22-10 overall record while advancing to the Region XIV semifinals.
Smith took over as the head coach at Panola College in May of 2019, producing a 19-12 record including three victories over nationally-ranked programs in Odessa, South Plains and Clarendon. Those wins helped the Ponies earn a national ranking as high as No. 11, the highest for the program in several years. The team finished the season ranked No. 2 in the country for made three-point field goals per game.
Prior to joining Panola College, he spent four seasons as the head coach at Jacksonville College in Jacksonville, Texas where he put together three 20-win seasons while totaling 78 victories.
darshawn mcclellan
ASSISTANT COACH
@djmcclellan21
Darshawn McClellan begins his first season as assistant coach as part of the Bulldog Basketball coaching staff. This past season, McClellan was at Texas Tech as the Director of Scouting and Recruiting for the Red Raiders who put together a 27-win season including victories over Montana State and Notre Dame to help the program make its fifth Sweet 16 appearance in program history.
“Darshawn has an unbelievable ability to connect and work with players,” said head coach Talvin Hester. “He has worked two jobs in the state of Texas and has played in Tennessee and Louisiana, which all plays into us being able to recruit this region really well. He is another
great addition to our Bulldog Family.”
As Director of Scouting, McClellan was responsible for preparing individual workouts and practices, scouting reports and video edits and helping coordinate and devise player development.
Prior to spending one season in Lubbock, he spent two seasons (2019-21) as Director of Player Development at UTEP in El Paso and three seasons (2016-19) as Video Coordinator at Illinois State.
Prior to his stop at Illinois State, McClellan worked as a player development assistant with the Vanderbilt Commodores during the 2015-16 season following a three-year playing career overseas in Iceland, Japan and Luxembourg and work in the private sector.
He also served as an assistant coach at Thomas Edison High School, his alma mater, in Fresno, California during the offseason.