Zach Chu
Marty Gordon
NRVsports@ourvalley.org
Radford University reportedly has its new men’s basketball coach in what is being called an “out of the box” hire.
The university seems ready to hire Southern Methodist University’s chief of staff as its new men’s basketball coach.
On Saturday as the ACC tournament started to wind down, Zach Chu was leaked to be headed to the Big South. Chu is a former walk-on for the Richmond basketball team and has served on the SMU staff just for one year.
The 32-year-old brings nine years NBA experience to a program that hopes to continue its mid-major success. Previously, he had served as the manager of game strategy for the NBA’s Indiana Pacers.
Chu spent three seasons as an assistant coach in the NBA G League with the Texas Legends, who are the G League affiliate of the Dallas Mavericks. He began his NBA career as a player development intern with the Los Angeles Clippers.
SMU posted a record of 23-10 overall and 13-7 in its first ACC season.
When hired at SMU, onlookers pointed out the school was embracing data analytics. Now he will bring that new tool to the New River Valley and see if he can gain an edge in the Big South.
Coach Andy Enfield said at Chu’s SMU hiring that they were focused on being proactive and innovative as we navigate the ever-changing college basketball environment.
“We firmly believe that leveraging analytics to guide our choices, from portal management and player development to game strategy, is key,” he said. “This new role with Zach sets us up for sustained success as we enter the ACC.”
Radford University had yet to make a formal announcement at press time.
