July 29, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - UCF men's basketball head coach Kirk Speraw announced Wednesday that Robert McCullum has joined the Knights' staff as an assistant coach. McCullum brings seven years of head coaching experience to his new position.
From 2003-07, he served as the head coach at USF, helping the Bulls transition from Conference USA to the BIG EAST. Prior to his stint at USF, McCullum was the head coach at Western Michigan.
"We are extremely fortunate to have a coach with Robert's background join our program," Speraw said. "Robert has spent time as a head coach in the BIG EAST, turned around Western Michigan's program and helped Illinois secure top-ranked recruiting classes. He is well respected in Florida and throughout the country and I know that he will be a great addition to our staff."
During McCullum's tenure at USF, the Bulls recorded four victories over nationally-ranked squads. In his second year in Tampa, McCullum guided USF to the 2005 C-USA Championship semifinals after the squad defeated Houston and 20th-ranked Cincinnati. The following year, the Bulls moved to the BIG EAST and concluded the season with a win over No. 20 Georgetown. In 2007-08, McCullum's team registered wins over Wake Forest and No. 21 Notre Dame.
McCullum helped Solomon Jones and Kentrell Gransberry develop into two of the top post players in the BIG EAST. Jones was selected by Atlanta with the 33rd overall pick of the 2006 National Basketball Association Draft. The following year, Gransberry was an All-BIG EAST Second Team pick.
Off the court, McCullum's USF teams excelled in the classroom. In 2003-04, the Bulls received the C-USA men's basketball academic award for having the top grade point average of any league program.
McCullum came to USF after three campaigns as the head coach at Western Michigan (2000-03). In his final season with the Broncos, McCullum guided Western Michigan to a 20-11 mark and a berth in the postseason National Invitation Tournament.
Speraw and McCullum will be working together for the second time. McCullum served as an assistant under Lon Kruger at Florida from 1990-96 and Speraw was on the Gators' staff for three years during his tenure. In 1994, McCullum helped Florida reach the Final Four. Current UCF assistant Craig Brown was a student-athlete on that Florida squad.
McCullum was also Kruger's assistant at Illinois from 1996-00 when the Fighting Illini made the NCAA Tournament three times in four years. He also spent time as an assistant at Kansas State, Southern Illinois, Samford and South Alabama.
In 2007-08, McCullum was an assistant at San Francisco. Prior to joining the Dons' staff, he was the head coach of the Nigerian Senior National Team.
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