Arkansas Sports 360 - ArkansasSports360.com

8/10/2010 at 8:55pm

Former Arkansas star Scotty Thurman has been hired to fill an administrative position on the Razorback basketball staff, according to an online report.

Arkansas has been looking to fill an administrative slot and athletic director Jeff Long said on July 29 that a hire would likely be made in August. The UA, however, would not confirm the hire and a department spokesman said there was no release planned on Tuesday despite the report from Wholehogsports.com citing "sources".

What exactly are the Razorbacks looking for in this new administrative position? Here’s what Long told me at the Bobby Petrino golf tournament nearly two weeks ago:

“We hope to get someone who can be a role model, the kind of person who can help personal growth and development of our basketball student athletes. It’s kind of like we’re doing with Eric Wood in our department-wide program, but someone specific for basketball.”

It was a little more than a month ago when the “Director of Student Athlete Development” position caught my eye on the University of Arkansas website. At that time I mentioned the UA should consider a former player for the position.

The Director of Student Athlete Development is charged with designing and implementing a "mentorship program with student athletes" and planning and executing "community support events" including Razorback Foundation and Razorback Club meetings.

Also, the job is aimed a directing and implementing "a program that will provide former men's basketball student athletes with a way to stay connected with the men's basketball program and Department of Athletics. This will include engaging former players in the mentorship program, with community events, and fan interaction."

Apparently, the job was created from the administrative position Isaac Brown filled in the spring. While Brown's duties were not necessarily the ones outlined in the advertisement, the administrative position was planned for in the 2010-11 budget an athletic department spokesman said at the time.

Brown, who was an on-court coach for three seasons before moving into administration, left to take a position on the Arkansas State coaching staff.

Thurman was among the stars of the Razorbacks' 76-72 victory against Duke in the 1994 NCAA title game. Thurman's three-pointer with the shot clock expiring and under a minute remaining in the game helped seal the victory.

Tagged: Jeff Long, John Pelphrey, Scotty Thurman, Arkansas Razorbacks