Aug. 28, 2003

FORT WORTH, Texas - David Cason has been hired to fill the Horned Frogs' assistant basketball coaching vacancy, TCU head coach Neil Dougherty announced today. Cason's job duties will include recruiting, conditioning, on-floor instruction, scouting and day-to-day office duties.

"I've known David and followed his progress for several years, and he will bring many great things to our program," Dougherty said. "He has played and coached in this system, so his understanding of what we want to do speaks for itself. I know that he'll set great examples for our student-athletes both on and off the court."

The 31-year-old Cason spent the last three seasons as the Director of Basketball Operations at North Carolina under head coach Matt Doherty. The Tar Heels owned a 53-43 record (.552) over that time. In their first season, the Heels went 26-7 and advanced to the second round of the 2001 NCAA Tournament. North Carolina also reached the postseason in 2003, moving on to the third round of the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) and finishing the year with a 19-16 overall mark.

Cason moved to Chapel Hill with Doherty after the two spent the 1999-2000 season at Notre Dame. The Irish posted a 22-15 record and earned a berth in the NIT championship game that season. Before becoming head coaches, Dougherty and Doherty were assistant coaches together at Kansas under Roy Williams.

"I'm excited to have the chance to work with Coach Dougherty and the great staff he has put together here," Cason said. "Neil and I have a history, so when the opportunity presented itself, I felt very appreciative to be able to accept the offer. I am looking forward to a good season and to moving to Fort Worth."

Cason's basketball resume also includes a three-year stint at Eastern Illinois (1996-99). His coaching career got underway during the 1995-96 campaign, when he was a student assistant to head coach Kevin Stallings at Illinois State.

A 1996 graduate of Illinois State, Cason played for the Redbirds from 1993-95. A point guard, he led the Missouri Valley Conference in assists both seasons. In his senior year, Cason served as team captain and helped lead ISU to a 20-13 record and a second-round appearance in the NIT. He was named second-team All-Missouri Valley, received the Doug Collins Most Valuable Player Award, and was named the top athlete at Illinois State.

He played his first two years of college basketball (1991-93) at the College of Southern Idaho. Cason led the Scenic West Conference in assists for two seasons and was named second-team all-region.

Cason spent this past summer serving as an assistant coach at Manhattan College. A native of Baltimore, Md., Cason was born on Aug. 12, 1972. He earned first-team all-city honors at Southern High School on two occasions. He married the former Tamara J. Motley in August of 2001. The couple has two daughters: Da-Via (11) and Taylor (1).