Texas State men’s basketball head coach Doug Davalos filled one of the two vacancies on his staff Friday when he announced the hiring of former Centenary head coach and highly successful assistant coach Rob Flaska to his staff for the 2009-10 season.

“Rob is a tremendous hire for Texas State men’s basketball,” Davalos said. “He has a wealth of experience as a collegiate head coach and assistant coach. I got to know him while he was the head coach at Centenary and the thing that stood out to me was his passion for coaching and his competitiveness.”

Flaska comes to Texas State after serving 11 years as a collegiate head coach and 15 years as an assistant coach with 12 of those years as an assistant coming at the Division I level.

“He has been a high level assistant coach and a NCAA Division I head coach,” Davalos added. “He knows what a head coach needs and what an assistant should do. That makes him ideal from that standpoint as my right-hand man.”

Last season, Flaska was an assistant coach at Texas Southern after serving the three previous years as the head coach at Centenary, three years as an assistant coach at Arkansas and four seasons at TCU under Billy Tubbs.

While at Arkansas, he was named the school’s recruiting coordinator and helped sign a pair of classes that were nationally-ranked fourth in 2003 and 11th in 2004. He also helped guide the Horned Frogs to a pair of 20-win seasons, and TCU ranked among the Top two scoring teams and had the top recruiting class in the WAC each of the four years he was at the school.

Flaska went to TCU after serving as the head coach at Florida Community College, where he compiled a 64-31 record over three seasons. He also was an assistant coach at Trinity Valley Community College in Texas and was the head coach at Mott College in Michigan, where he posted a five-year record of 121-44. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Indiana State in 1982-84, followed by a two-year stint at the University of Detroit from 1984-86.

Flaska played basketball at Glenn Lake High School in Maple City, Mich., where he earned All-State honors after leading his team to the 1977 state championship. He played at Michigan Tech, and led the team to its first four winning seasons in school history and set school records for assists and steals.

hopefully he will light a well needed fire under this program's a$$.

That is my favorite part.

If this has done nothing else at least it has given us something to talk about with basketball. Hopefully many great recruits will follow.

Not to be a Debby Downer, but Let's hope so. I am anxious to see what he brings to the program.

I decided to look at his record as a HC at Centenary.

In his three seasons at Centenary, his teams won 4 games in 05/06, 11 games in 06/07, and 10 games in 07/08. I assume that his recruits were still there last season when Centenary only won 8 games.

They are forbidden from post-season play due to chronically low-APR scores. This is typically a result of an inability to reach the 925 mark for multiple years. During time period of his coaching tenure, their APR was 789 in 05/06, 823 in 06/07, and 825 in 07/08. I guess it improved every year that he was there, but they were still 100 points away from passing.

Let me finish by saying Welcome to Texas State, and that I wish youthe best of luck, but forgive me if I remain a skeptic.

That is good, but the Bobcats don't need any more offense. They need someone who can coach defense.

Well doesn't this guy just look like the guy to light a fire under our program. He looks like the alcholic guy from Hoosiers.

Damn. Look at that haircut. What a goofball.

looks like he's ready to kill!

Wouldn't it be great if he spoke just like Christopher Walken.

Here's an action shot of him:

Now Jimmy don't get caught watching the paint dry

well, I heard that two recruits read all of this Negative Nancy stuff about our program and have now decided to sign with Duke!

We might need to give this guy a break. He's already been called the alcoholic from "Hoosiers," a "goofball" and an ax murderer.

I know..I know...
My comment (calling him a goofball) is harsh, but this guy needs a make over.

Ok, how about this...
He's too busy coaching and recruiting to "stay current" with fashion and coiffure. He's a basketball teacher that is concerned more with substance than style and that's what endears him to recruits, players, and other coaches...and is also what we need. Davalos must've seen this committment during the interview process or has known him for a long time and admires his work ethic.

Welcome to Texas State, coach. Good Luck and...
GO BOBCATS!!