Tennessee basketball coach Donnie Tyndall has hired assistant coach Al Pinkins from Ole Miss, according to the Clarion-Ledger.
Pinkins joined the Ole Miss staff in 2011. Prior to that, he coached eight seasons at MTSU where he coached along side Tyndall—who was an assistant there from 2002-2006.
Pinkins played a role in the development of forwards Reginald Buckner and Murphy Holloway in the later years of their careers at Ole Miss, and worked with Ole Miss’ big men throughout his tenure. He was also a key part of Ole Miss’ recruiting efforts.
“Al and Donnie Tyndall are very close, so I knew this would probably happen,” Kennedy said in a text mesage.
More from the official Ole Miss site:
Pinkins came to Oxford after eight seasons at Middle Tennessee. He was involved in all aspects of the Blue Raiders program, particularly recruiting throughout the South and developing the post players.
Pinkins helped shape the Blue Raiders’ recent success in recruiting. He played a key role in landing a 2007 signing class rated No. 1 in the Sun Belt and No. 48 nationally by HoopScoop. The class also was rated the 13th-best among mid-majors nationally by Rivals.com.
Tyndall said Tuesday that he would bring his staff from Southern Mississippi, but wasn’t sure in what capacity. With the hiring of Pinkins, at least one of his former coaches will likely take on a different role at Tennessee.
UPDATE: Tyndall confirmed the hire to the News Sentinel and said his staff is complete. Along side Pinkins, Adam Howard and Chris Shumate (both from Southern Miss) will fill the other two assistant spots. Fomer Southern Miss assistant Jareem Dowling will also join the staff, but in a non-assistant role. Tyndall also said he’s talking to Quinton Chievous about remaining at Tennessee instead of trasferring as was previously announced.