July 2, 2003
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Former Santa Clara University men's basketball standout Lloyd Pierce has been named an assistant coach with the Bronco program effective immediately, Head Coach Dick Davey announced today.
Pierce, a San Jose, Calif. native, served in a volunteer capacity as director of basketball operations on Davey's staff during the 2002-03 season. He moves into the position recently created by the departure of Antonio Veloso, who was named head coach and athletic director at the University of Great Falls in Montana. With the announcement, Davey also revealed the position has been reclassified from a graduate assistant to full-time.
"Lloyd was an outstanding defensive player and I expect he will be heavily involved in that area as a coach," said Davey, who is entering his 12th season in charge of the Bronco program. "He has great ability to relate to our players and I know they have a great deal of respect for the way he played. Being a Santa Clara grad, Lloyd really is excited to return as an important full-time part of our program and I'm pleased that will be a member of our coaching staff."
A 1998 graduate of Santa Clara with a degree in business management, Pierce played professionally in Mexico, Australia and Germany for four seasons before returning to Santa Clara to join the Bronco program last fall. Pierce also spent his first year after graduation working for a local financial services firm and has served as a special education teacher at Pinnacle Academy in Santa Clara.
"To be able to break into college coaching at my alma mater and in my hometown is a perfect situation for me," said Pierce. "Like many people in the coaching profession, I have a great deal of respect for Dick Davey and I am looking forward to the opportunity to learn from him, as well as Steve Seandel and Sam Scuilli. Santa Clara basketball is special to a lot of people, myself included. I am really excited about this program and the direction in which we are headed.
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"We need to rebuild and expand our base of loyal supporters and maintain a program that is recognized well beyond our local borders."
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Pierce was a four-year letterwinner and was an honorable mention all-West Coast Conference selection at the guard position as a senior. He averaged 7.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steals per game during his career and, as a senior, led a Bronco defensive effort that paced the WCC in forced turnovers with 18.0 per game. Pierce scored a career-high 28 points in a 77-71 win over Pepperdine at Toso Pavilion. He also scored 22 points in a double-overtime win over Penn in the Cable Car Classic at the San Jose Arena.
The Yerba Buena High School product was the Central Coast Section Player of the Year after averaging 19.2 points, 11.2 rebounds, 5.3 steals and 3.0 blocks per game as a senior. He was a three-time all-Mount Hamilton Athletic League selection and was a CCS track and field finalist in both the long jump and high jump as a prep.