Colorado State University Athletics
CSU Adds Three to Men's Basketball Staff
4/10/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
April 10, 2007
FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- Colorado State head coach Tim Miles today announced the addition of three new members to the Ram Basketball coaching staff. Mark Amaral and DeMarlo Slocum will be added as assistant coaches and Craig Smith will join the Colorado State staff as its director of basketball operations. They join Niko Medved who was named as an assistant coach on March 27.
Mark Amaral is coming off his seventh season as an assistant coach at UC Santa Barbara after spending three years as head coach at Peninsula College in Port Angeles, Wash. A native of Santa Clara, Calif., he received his bachelor's degree in business/marketing in 1990 from the College of Idaho while earning his master's degree in physical education from Idaho State in 1994. Amaral played two years at West Valley Community College before moving to the College of Idaho (now Albertson College of Idaho) for his final two seasons.
Prior to becoming head coach at Peninsula College in 1997, Amaral spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Montana Tech, starting with the 1994-95 season and ending with the 1996-97 campaign. In 1993-94, he was a Basketball Scouting Service Director. Amaral spent one year (1992-93) as an assistant coach at Lewis & Clark State College in Idaho and two years (1990-92) at Carroll College in Helena, Montana. In addition to his coaching duties at Peninsula College, he was a physical education instructor and Community and High School Relations Coordinator. He and his wife, Chris, have two sons, Tanner and Landon.
"The addition of Coach Amaral is a real coup for Ram Basketball," said Miles. "He has the total package. He's a great coach, is a great recruiter and is great at building relationships. His experience as a head coach and his knowledge of the Pacific Northwest and the West Coast will be instrumental in our building process."
DeMarlo Slocum comes to CSU from the University of Idaho where he served last season as an assistant coach with the Vandals. The Las Vegas, Nev., native played two years at Dixie State College before spending his final two seasons at Georgia Southern where he earned a degree in public recreation/kinesiology in 2001.
Slocum served one season as an assistant coach at Dixie State before moving to USC as the program's director of basketball operations for a season. While with the Trojans, he was charged with on-campus recruiting, team travel, scouting and camp coordination. Slocum has also spent four years as the head coach of the Las Vegas Prospects AAU team and has experience working at various collegiate basketball development camps.
"I'm thrilled to have DeMarlo joining us," commented Miles. "He's a phenomenal recruiter, has a great work ethic and will do very well in our profession for many years. As a former Division I player, he will relate well to the young people in our program."
Craig Smith will assume CSU's director of basketball operations position after spending three years as head coach at Mayville State University. Smith will enter his third stint with Tim Miles after serving with him as an assistant at Mayville State in 1996-97and as an assistant coach at North Dakota State from 2001-04. Smith was also an assistant coach at Minot State (N.D.) from 1998-01.
The Stephen, Minn., native turned around a team that won only one game the season prior to his coming to Mayville State. In his first year with the Comets, he guided the team to the 2005 NAIA National Tournament. In three years at MSU, Smith compiled an overall record of 72-29 including three-straight NAIA National Tournament appearances and a trip to the NAIA Division II National Championship game in 2007.
Smith holds a bachelor of science degree in secondary education from the University of North Dakota and received his master's degree in teaching and learning from Northern State University. He and his wife, Darcy, have three boys, Landon, Brady and Carson.
"Based on Craig's qualifications, we realize how fortunate we are to have him in our program," said Miles. "Craig will be vital to help build our program. He knows how I work, what I expect and how to get the job done."