Dunk City is coming to USC.
Just two days after UCLA hired Steve Alford as its new coach, crosstown rival USC answered by hiring Florida Gulf Coast coach Andy Enfield.
Enfield reportedly agreed to a six-year deal worth approximately $1.5 million annually. He was making $152,000 at Florida Gulf Coast.
The news was first reported by Pete Thamel of SI.com.
“Andy has been successful in every area of his life,” USC AD Pat Haden said. “He has been a success on the court as a record-setting player, in the classroom as an Academic All-American, in the corporate world with successful businesses, in his personal life as a husband and father, as an NBA assistant and shooting coach, as a collegiate assistant at Florida State and most recently as a head coach with his Sweet Sixteen team at Florida Gulf Coast.”
Said Enfield: “My family and I are thrilled to join the Trojan Family and be part of the unparalleled athletic tradition at USC. In meeting with Pat Haden, I was very impressed with his vision for the men’s basketball program. I am looking forward to bringing an exciting, up-tempo style of play to USC and building the men’s basketball brand into one that the fans and basketball community will enjoy and respect.”
Enfield’s Florida Gulf Coast team captivated the nation last week when it became known as “Dunk City” and became the first-ever No. 15 seed to advance to the Sweet 16, knocking off Georgetown and San Diego State before falling to Florida in the Sweet 16.
Enfield, a former NBA and Florida State assistant who is married to the former supermodel Amanda Marcum, did not pick up his cell phone Monday night when called.
He replaces former USC coach Kevin O’Neill, who was fired after a 7-10 start. Assistant Bob Cantu coached the team on an interim basis.
“I’m not going to comment or speculate on anything,” Enfield told The News-Press last week. “I understand speculation is part of the business.
“Every time you have success in the business, it’s natural to be (discussed as a coaching candidate)…My personal life and my family’s personal life has been under scrutiny the last week, week-and-a-half.”
Enfield just concluded the second year of his five-year contract that paid him $152,500 this season, The News-Press reported. Multiple news outlets in Southwest Florida have reported that FGCU was looking to greatly increase Enfield’s salary for the third year of his deal.
