The College of Alameda has hired former NBA point guard Gary Payton to be its next men’s basketball coach, the school announced in a public report on Friday.
The Hall of Fame point guard is an Oakland native and played high school basketball at Skyline High in North Oakland. He was drafted in 1990 by the Seattle Supersonics out of Oregon State.
In the written report shared with the public Friday night in preparation for Tuesday’s board meeting, president Melanie Dixon announced the hiring of Payton along with new volleyball coach Justin Hoover.
“Our athletic program has two exciting new additions to our coaching staff, who will no doubt create excitement on the island,” Dixon said in the report
Payton won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 1996, the year he led the Supersonics to the NBA Finals where Seattle fell to the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls in six games.
This won’t be Payton’s first time coaching college basketball.
Payton coached at Lincoln University in Oakland for two seasons, but fell out with the school in April after he accused the university of not providing adequate resources for him and his players, according to a report from USA today.
Most recently, Payton was named the BIG3 Coach of the Year after winning a championship with 3’s Company just a few weeks ago.
He will be tasked with turning around a College of Alameda team that went 7-21 last season.