Cyclones Assistant JR Blount Hired by San Diego To Be Head Coach

The Iowa State Cyclones men’s basketball team is going to have an opening on its coaching staff.

Assistant JR Blount is going to be moving on. According to Jon Rothstein, he has been hired by the San Diego Toreros to take over as head coach of their program, replacing Steve Lavin after four years on the job.

Blount was in his fifth season on staff with T.J. Otzelberger in Ames, but is now set to move to the top spot with San Diego. It is a promotion that has been earned with a lot of hard work, since he was recognized as one of the top assistant coaches in the country.

The coaching duo has accomplished a lot of success during their time together with Iowa State. Blount has been regarded as a key recruiter for the program, helping turn around a Cyclones team that went 2-22 before they arrived for the 2021-22 campaign.

The Toreros weren’t that bad this past season under Lavin, but there is a lot of work for Blount to do. They haven’t finished above .500 in West Coast Conference play since the 2007-08 season, which is also the last time they qualified for the NCAA tournament.

Things looked to be on the upswing for San Diego when Lavin led them to an 18-15 record during the 2022-23 campaign. It was the first time they finished over .500 overall since 2018-19. Alas, the team won only 18 games in the final two seasons under Lavin combined.