Luke Walton is 31 years old and still has two years left on his NBA contract, but that hasn’t stopped him from working on a potential career after his playing days are over. Walton is joining the Memphis Tigers basketball program as an assistant coach, pending approval by the Tennessee Board of Regents.
Walton will be the third assistant coach on the Memphis staff and he’ll hold the position until the NBA lockout ends. He’ll join former Arizona teammate Josh Pastner, who is the team’s head coach, and serve on the staff along with former Wildcats Damon Stoudamire and Jack Murphy.
Interesting to see the NCAA approve of Walton to become an assistant coach for a college program without retiring from the NBA. Having a current NBA player as a coach on the surface appears to be a competitive advantage for recruiting, but if the lockout ends during the season, Walton would not affect recruiting. It will be interesting however to see if the lockout does not end and it’s to sign new recruits if Memphis gains an advantage having Luke Walton on the team.
