DeCuire tabs Flores as new director of basketball operations

Montana men's basketball head coach Travis DeCuire has completed his staff ahead of the 2016-17 season, bringing in Jay Flores as the Grizzlies' new director of basketball operations.

Flores comes to Missoula after three years as an assistant at Division II Cal State East Bay in Hayward, Calif., and fills the vacancy on DeCuire's staff left by Marlon Stewart, who was promoted to assistant coach earlier this week.

"I'm incredibly honored," said Flores, whose first official day at UM was Thursday. "This is such a storied program, not only with the basketball team but the whole athletic department. It's held to such a high standard, and I hope that I can come in and just help contribute to the winning culture."

A former point guard at Chico State and 2011-12 CCAA MVP, Flores holds a long-time relationship with the Montana staff, having proved his mettle as a player under UM associate head coach Chris Cobb at Chico. Cobb spent four years as an assistant for the Wildcats before moving to Montana.

"He (Cobb) has been one of the biggest influences in my coaching," he says.

And like the rest of Montana's staff, DeCuire and Flores go back some time as well, having first met when Flores played for Chico against DeCuire's Cal Bears in a nonconference game, and later when Flores traveled to Berkeley to work a Bears summer camp.

"I've known him for a long period of time, and we have continued to cross paths," says DeCuire. "The more you cross paths with people, the better chance you have to get to know them. So he's been on the short list."

As is the case at many D-II programs, Flores was tasked with overseeing a large segment of the Pioneers' basketball program, including academic monitoring and counseling, recruiting and athlete evaluation, video analysis, and coordinating summer camps under head coach Gus Argenal.

"I really feel like the opportunity with Coach Argenal was really able to prepare me for this position. There's nothing that can be thrown at me that I haven't had a little bit of experience in before I got here," he added.

For DeCuire, having an operations director with a deep resume of experience will be helpful, but he's been more impressed with the way in which Flores has gone about obtaining that experience, and sees those traits translating into success for the Griz.

"Attention to detail is the biggest thing, and I think that is what has separated us as a team on the court. Our players, when they have been focused on the details, play very good basketball. My staff, when we're on point and we're all valuing the details in each of our own subtle responsibilities, we work well together and we can rely on each other. I think he brings that to the table," says DeCuire.

One of Flores' biggest responsibilities at UM will be handling academic counseling and ensuring the team meets its goals of obtaining a 3.0 or better cumulative GPA, and hitting a 100 percent graduation rate.

"Academics are really important to me, and with the success the team and athletic department have had in the classroom, I hope that I can continue adding to that success," says Flores.

"He was a good student, someone who overachieved academically. He handled academics at East Bay and had teams who have achieved over a 3.0, so he's had success in that regard. I think he's a guy that will overachieve with whatever responsibilities we give him," says DeCuire.

With Flores completing a staff reshuffle and bringing success in team academics to UM, DeCuire has been able to free up other coaches to make the staff and program better as a whole.

"Giving academics to Jay will free up guys like Cobb and Rachi (Wortham) to recruit and not be concerned with being out of town when guys have midterms or finals because he is always around. So I think it's a better fit," added DeCuire.

Flores brings professional playing experience to Dahlberg Arena, having spent the 2012-13 season playing in the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional for Soles de Mexicali in Mexico's top professional basketball league. During his time in Mexico, Flores was the starting point guard for Soles, leading them to the postseason with a 31-9 record.

Flores finished his three-year playing career at Chico State as one of the most decorated players in program history.

As a senior, Flores led the Wildcats to a 25-8 record, its first CCAA title in school history, and an appearance in the NCAA Division II tournament semifinals.

He was named conference MVP, first-team All-CCAA, first-team All-West Region, Academic All-West Region, and he was a third-team All-American.

Flores graduated from Chico with a bachelors degree in business administration, and is currently pursuing a masters degree in kinesiology.

University of Montana Athletics

DeCuire tabs Flores as new director of basketball operations

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