April 30, 2002

FORT WORTH, Texas - TCU basketball coach Neil Dougherty announced Tuesday the hiring of four assistant coaches. Joining Dougherty's TCU basketball staff are: former Penn State assistant Rick Callahan, former Baylor assistant Kevin Lewis, former Tyler Junior College assistant Jai Steadman and former Colorado assistant Jeff Luster.

"I am very pleased with the staff we have put together," said Dougherty. "I think at the outset, I was hoping I could put together an 8+ (on a scale of 1 to 10). I think we've got a 10 with the people we've brought in. I believe each of them have the ability to attract future players into this program, as well as help prepare our basketball team."

Callahan, who spent only one season on Jerry Dunn's staff at Penn State, had spent the previous eight seasons (1993-2001) as a member of Eddie Fogler's staff at South Carolina. In this third decade as an assistant coach, Callahan began his coaching career at Syracuse under long-time Orangemen mentor Jim Boeheim. He began as a graduate assistant in 1980 and was named an assistant in 1981. At Syracuse, he helped guide the Orangemen to four appearances in the NCAA Tournament.

Callahan then moved on to Wichita State after his six-year stint at Syracuse and teamed up with the man whom he would be associated with for the next 15 years. Callahan joined Eddie Fogler at Wichita State in 1987 and moved on to Vanderbilt with Fogler in 1990. The duo helped guide Vanderbilt to post-season play in all four seasons that they were there and grabbed the 1993 Southeastern Conference title with a school best 28-6 record. From Nashville, Callahan made the jump to South Carolina with Fogler. In all, Callahan has been part of nine different NCAA Tournament teams.

Lewis, a former all-Southwest Conference player at SMU, spent the previous three seasons on Dave Bliss' staff at Baylor. Among other responsibilities, Lewis spent the majority of his time handling recruiting duties for the Bears. Lewis possesses more than nine years of coaching experience at the high school and Division I levels. Lewis arrived at Baylor on Bliss' original staff, after spending one season at the University of New Mexico in 1998-99. Prior to his stint at New Mexico, Lewis, 36, spent the previous eight years as a high school coach in Houston. He coached for two seasons at the Homeschool Christian Youth Association in Houston, a program for students who are home-schooled.

Lewis played at SMU from 1983-86. The Mustangs posted an 85-40 record during Lewis' career, including two trips to the NCAA Tournament (1984-85) and one appearance in the NIT (1986). Lewis was a first team All-Southwest Conference selection his senior year at SMU, when he led the Mustangs in scoring with an 18.6 points per game average. He scored 1,026 career points at SMU and totaled 413 rebounds in 111 games and 67 starts. Lewis graduated from SMU in 1986 with a degree in psychology.

Steadman comes to TCU from Tyler Junior College, where he served as assistant to Chris Crutchfield for the previous three seasons. He also served as an administrative assistant from 1992-97 at Nebraska. A graduate of the University of Nebraska, Steadman served as a manager and video coordinator for the Huskers.

Luster spent one season on Ricardo Patton's staff at Colorado. While at CU, Luster coordinated travel and practice plans, and the Patton basketball camps. He arrived in Boulder from his alma mater, Tabor College, where he served as the head coach in the 2000-01 season. He led Tabor to the Sweet 16 in the Division II NAIA Tournament. His coaching experience extends well beyond Tabor, having been an assistant basketball coach with four other colleges, including the Air Force Academy (1999-2000).

Dougherty, a former assistant at Kansas, was hired at TCU on March 25.