Lamar names Scott Wagers assistant basketball coach

Lamar University head men’s basketball coach Pat Knight completed his coaching staff for the 2013-14 season when he added veteran assistant Scott Wagers on Friday.

Wagers comes to Lamar after a 12-year run as an assistant at East Tennessee State where he helped the Buccaneers to six postseason appearances. ETSU won four straight Southern Conference North Division championships, two SoCon Tournament titles and three Atlantic Sun Conference championships with Wagers on board.

“Scott brings experience and quality as a recruiter and a coach,” said Knight. “Instead of bringing a young guy in, I wanted to go with someone who had more experience so we wouldn’t miss a beat. Not only that, but Scott is someone that I have known for a long time and always wanted to hire. I finally got the chance and am looking forward to what he brings to Lamar.”

While serving under Murry Bartow for the past 10 seasons, Wagers was primarily responsible for the Bucs’ defense, working with post players and recruiting.

Prior to his stint at ETSU, Wagers was the head coach at Robinson High School in Tampa, Fla., from 1994-2000. Wagers led his teams to four divisional championships, two regional championships and an impressive 126-24 record. He was named the Tampa Bay Basketball Coaches’ Association Coach of the Year in 1998 after leading his team to the state semifinals.

Wagers, who played collegiately at Tennessee Wesleyan, began his coaching career at Washburn (Tenn.) High School. A 1989 graduate from Wesleyan with a degree in health and physical education, Wagers was named the Tennessee Athletic Coaches’ Association District 1A Coach of the Year in 1994.

Wagers and his wife Stacey have two children, Luke and Lola. He replaces Clif Carroll who left after two seasons at Lamar to become head coach at McMurry University.