Land joins Anteaters

Ross Land, an assistant coach the last two seasons at Northern Arizona University, has been hired in the same role by UC Irvine men’s basketball coach Pat Douglass.

Land, who played at Northern Arizona, also spent one season as an assistant coach for his stepfather, Prescott “Puck” Smith, at Chico State.

Land played three years of professional ball in the FIBA SuproLeague in France and Croatia.

He replaces Terry Boesel, who resigned after two seasons to become an associate athletic director at Chapman University.

“Ross is an [up-and-coming] star performer in the coaching ranks after being an outstanding player under Ben Howland,” Douglass said in a statement.

Said Ross: “I am extremely excited to join Coach Douglass and the staff at UCI as they have established themselves as a premier program on the West Coast. I look forward to joining a cohesive unit, and representing an institution that excels both academically and athletically.”

Land, scored 1,525 points for the Lumberjacks from 1996-2000, which ranks second in school annals. He had 308 career three-pointers.dpt-uciassistant04.IMGGraphicInfo1Q1SJQTE200607041Q1SJQTENo Caption