KURTIS TOWNSEND

BIOGRAPHY

Kurtis Townsend enters his second season at the University of Kansas after successful stints as an assistant at several of the nation's top Division I programs.

Townsend joins the Jayhawk staff after serving as an assistant under Perry Clark at the University of Miami for one season. Regarded as one of the top recruiters in college basketball, Townsend also served as assistant at Southern California, Michigan, California and Eastern Kentucky.

Prior to Miami, Townsend spent two seasons at USC helping guide the Trojans to two Pac-10 Tournament championship games. In 2001-02, his first season with the Trojans, USC finished 22-10, earning an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament and finishing the season ranked 18th in the nation by the Associated Press.

Before his arrival at USC, Townsend spent three seasons at Michigan helping lead the Wolverines to the NIT in 2000. He was also an assistant at Eastern Kentucky in 1997-98 following four seasons at California (1993-97), where he helped coach the Golden Bears to three NCAA Tournament appearances (1994, 1996, 1997), including a trip to the Sweet Sixteen in 1997.

Townsend has coached numerous NBA players including Jason Kidd, Lamond Murray, Tremaine Fowlkes, Shareef Abdul-Rahim, Ed Gray, Sean Marks, Michael Stewart, Jamal Crawford, Lou Bullock, Sam Clancy and David Bluthenthal. While at Cal he also coached current NFL player Tony Gonzales.

Townsend began his coaching career at the high school level in his hometown of San Jose, Calif., having served as an assistant coach at Leland (1984-87) and Del Mar (1987-89). He then became head coach at Leigh (1989-91) where his teams won two league titles and later advanced to the state championship. From there, Townsend was head coach at Willow Glen High School (1991-93) where his team made it to the sectional finals two straight years.

Townsend played point guard at Western Kentucky for two seasons (1978-80), helping the Hilltoppers to the 1980 Ohio Valley Conference title and an NCAA Tournament bid. He played the 1981 season in the CBA for the Montana Golden Nuggets and earned a bachelor's degree in recreation from Western Kentucky in 1982.

Prior to transferring to Western Kentucky, Townsend played two seasons at Menlo (Calif.) Junior College where he earned first-team all-state and All-America honorable mention in 1978.

Townsend has five children: Tanika, Marques, Keisha, Kaliyah and Myka.

Townsend Self's pick

Experienced, proven recruiter hired as Jayhawk assistant

By Gary Bedore, Assistant Sports Editor , Tuesday, June 8, 2004

Kurtis Townsend's last three stops in an 11-year college coaching career were at the University of Miami, Michigan and USC.  "I've been at all-football schools," said the 46-year-old Townsend, who Monday was named assistant basketball coach on Bill Self's staff at tradition-rich Kansas University.   "I look back and I've been coaching the wrong sport. If was a wide-receiver's coach at those places, I'd be doing OK right now," he said, laughing.

Kansas, which is in the process of rebuilding its football program, has been known as a basketball hotbed since the Jayhawks were coached by the inventor of the game, Dr. James Naismith.  "Kansas is a program that sells itself," Townsend said. "Kansas, North Carolina, Duke, Kentucky ... those are the programs you think of when you think of college basketball. The tradition of the school and the history ... how strong Kansas has been recently and obviously coach Self, those things attracted me to the job."

After Perry Clark was fired as Miami head coach after this season, Townsend was offered an assistant-coaching job at Texas-El Paso and also talked to Indiana. He set his sights on KU after Norm Roberts left for St. John's on April 12.  "Norm accepted the job and I thought to myself, ‘The best assistant's job in college basketball is now open," Townsend said. "I talked to Bill and I visited Lawrence and got to meet everybody.   "Everything seemed family oriented, just a real good situation."

He won out over more than 60 individuals who sent resumes.  "I've known Kurtis since he was an assistant at Michigan," said second-year KU coach Self, a former Illinois coach. "Kurtis and I have talked a lot this last month. I've talked to several other guys as well. I felt he best fit what we're trying to do. I've always had a great deal of respect for his work ethic and how he conducts his business.

"He has been actively involved in recruiting and coaching some great prospects who have gone on to have very successful professional careers. He brings Midwest and West Coast ties, and brings a solid reputation to our program."

Townsend, who was born in San Jose, Calif., and played basketball at both Menlo (Calif.) Junior College and Western Kentucky, coached at California and Eastern Kentucky as well as USC, Michigan and Miami.  He has coached or recruited several NBA players, including Jason Kidd, Lamond Murray, Tremaine Fowlkes, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Ed Gray, Sean Marks, Michael Stewart, Jamal Crawford and Lou Bullock.

"I'd like to say I'm a better coach (than recruiter)," Townsend said. "I was a successful head coach in high school. Because we've had good players and because assistant coaches don't have wins and losses on their record, I'm known in the business as a good recruiter, I guess."

Townsend, who said one of his duties at KU would be to help recruit "guys who are team players, who can get up and down the court and can shoot the ball, guys who want to be in college," said he was most proud of the fact some of his more famous pupils kept in touch.  "When Jason (Kidd, former Cal guard with New Jersey Nets) comes to Miami he leaves me tickets to go to the game. I talk to Tony Gonzalez two or three times a month," he said of the Chiefs' tight end and former Cal player.

"Jamal calls me five or six times a week. I pretty much talk to him on a daily basis. I am proud of all the players I've been associated with, and try to talk to them as much as a can."  Townsend said he would like to be a head coach someday.  "I have no timetable or anything like that," he said. "I think if we're winning, those opportunities will come to all members of the staff."  "All coaches deserve the opportunity to become head coaches when their time is right," Self said. "We feel that with Kurtis we've hired another future head coach."

Townsend Named KU Assistant Basketball Coach

Source: KU Athletics.com

LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Kurtis Townsend, who has had success as an assistant at several of the nation's top Division I programs, has been named assistant men's basketball coach at the University of Kansas, head coach Bill Self announced Monday.   Townsend, 46, joins the Jayhawk staff after serving as an assistant under Perry Clark at the University of Miami for one season. Regarded as one of the top recruiters in college basketball, Townsend also served as assistant at Southern California, Michigan, California and Eastern Kentucky before being invited to join Self's staff at KU.

"We are all so happy to have Kurtis, but at the same time sad to lose Norm [Roberts]," Self said. "All coaches deserve the opportunity to become head coaches when their time is right -- and we feel that with Kurtis, we've hired another future head coach."

Prior to Miami, Townsend spent two seasons at USC helping guide the Trojans to the Pac-10 Tournament championship game. In 2001-02, his first season with the Trojans, USC finished 22-10, earning an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament and finishing the season ranked 18th in the nation by the Associated Press.

Before his arrival at USC, Townsend spent three seasons at Michigan helping lead the Wolverines to the NIT in 2000. He was also an assistant at Eastern Kentucky in 1997-98 following four seasons at California (1993-97), where he helped coach the Golden Bears to three NCAA Tournament appearances (1994, 1996, 1997), including a trip to the Sweet Sixteen in 1997.

"I've known Kurtis since he was an assistant at Michigan and have always had a great deal of respect for his work ethic and how he conducts his business," Self said. "He has been actively involved in recruiting and coaching some great prospects who have gone on to have very successful professional careers. He brings Midwest and West Coast ties and brings a solid national reputation to our program."

Townsend has either coached or recruited numerous NBA players including Jason Kidd, Lamond Murray, Tremaine Fowlkes, Shareef Abdul-Rahim, Ed Gray, Sean Marks, Michael Stewart, Jamal Crawford and Lou Bullock.

Townsend began his coaching career on the high school level in his hometown of San Jose, Calif., having served as an assistant coach at Leland (1984-87) and Del Mar (1987-89).   Townsend played point guard at Western Kentucky for two seasons (1978-80), helping the Hilltoppers to the 1980 Ohio Valley Conference title and an NCAA Tournament bid. He played the 1981 season in the CBA for the Montana Golden Nuggets and earned a bachelor's degree in recreation from Western Kentucky in 1982.

Prior to transferring to Western Kentucky, Townsend played two seasons at Menlo (Calif.) Junior College where he earned first-team all-state and All-America honorable mention in 1978.

Townsend, born Dec. 13, 1957, has five children: Tanika, Marques, Keisha, Kaliyah and Myka.   "I am truly excited about the Kansas tradition and having the opportunity to work with Bill Self and his staff," Townsend said. "To be part of this program is a great honor and I can't wait to get to Lawrence."

"I have been at some places where I've had the opportunity to work with some of the top college players and KU is the kind of program that attracts kids like that," Townsend added. "I've also had the chance to coach in some of the top conferences and am looking forward to the competitiveness of the Big 12." (6/7/04)

Aide Townsend settles in

‘Slick' says Jayhawks ‘like family' now

By Jesse Newell - Journal-World Sports Writer, Thursday, March 17, 2005

It might be the hair. Kansas University men's basketball assistant Kurtis Townsend knows it could be his smoothed-back hairstyle that caused the players referred to him as "Slick" in their Senior Night speeches. But he also has some other theories.

"I came in here and probably didn't say a whole lot when I first got here, just trying to get the lay of the land," Townsend said. "I guess that style, just being laid-back, did it for me." Townsend pauses, then smiles as if finally discovering the real reason for the nickname. "Being from California and then coaching in Miami last year," Townsend said, "I think they didn't have anything else to say about me."

Slick or not, KU's players have found more and more reasons to like Townsend. "He's a cool guy," Keith Langford said. "Right now, in his first year, he might be used more for the recruiting side of things, but he's a laid-back person and someone you can always just go to."

It wasn't always that way. As a first-year staffer, Townsend did take some time before he truly made his presence felt. He often just observed the action, waiting until he felt comfortable with the coaches and the team. "I always knew it was one of the top programs in the country," Townsend said, "but looking from the outside you never really know what goes on."

Townsend's discomfort wouldn't last long. He said the players' acceptance of him made the transition from assistant coach at Miami to KU a smooth one. "These guys are like family to me now, and they've treated my family well since I've been here," Townsend said. "This has just been great all the way around."

In his sixth Division One assistant-coaching stint -- with stops at Southern Cal, Michigan, California and Eastern Kentucky earlier in his career -- Townsend said KU's fan support made it stand out from other schools. "The way these people around here are so into it to me is one of the greatest things," Townsend said. "Every night the gym is sold out, and I haven't been in a place like that for a while."

Townsend played point guard for Western Kentucky for two years, helping lead the Hilltoppers to a 1980 Ohio Valley Conference title before starting a coaching career. Though known mostly for his recruiting, he has contributed to all coaching aspects at Kansas, including scouting, game preparations and practices. Townsend believes this hands-on training will one day help him land his own head-coaching position. "Coach Self is great about making sure that we're ready when our time comes," Townsend said. "We're involved in everything."

Townsend said Self made it an issue to get all his assistants involved in the numerous facets of coaching. He also credited Self with being fair to his three assistant coaches. "Everyone works the same amount of hours," Townsend said. "He's good about giving you freedom to work within the system to get you ready to be a head coach."

A few moments stand out -- with the Georgia Tech and Kentucky games coming to mind immediately -- but Townsend said he still most vividly remembered the exhibition games played over six months ago.  "I remember the trip to Canada was my first experience with coach Self on the bench," Townsend said. "Just to see how he was able to coach these guys during the games, I knew then that this had a chance to be a special year."

Townsend believes it still can be because of the experience. "I've never been on a team with so many seniors," Townsend said. "The leadership they've given has been great."