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Steve Roccaforte Position: Head Coach

University president Dr. James Simmons and athletics director Billy Tubbs could not have found another person on the planet with as much enthusiasm, passion and desire to be the men's basketball coach at Lamar University than Steve Roccaforte.

Roccaforte grew up in Port Arthur, was a prep basketball and baseball player at Thomas Jefferson High School and was a Lamar basketball fan for as long as he can remember. He attended every Cardinals' game he could and was often a ball boy.

"I've always stated that Lamar is the one place I wanted to be the head coach when I've been asked that question as an assistant coach over the years," said Roccaforte. "I grew up here, went to school here and this is home. I feel I know a lot of people here and I'm very comfortable with the situation. There is a lot of support already in place from the community and administration. I've always viewed this as a premier job with lots of potential.

"I watched all those good Lamar teams of the 1970s and 1980s, and I will do my best to get this program back to that level of success."

Having worked along side some of the best college coaches in Billy Tubbs, John Calipari and Perry Clark, Roccaforte brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to job.

Roccaforte was listed as one of the top four assistant coaches ready to take over their own program according to Dan Wetzel of CBS Sportsline.com and was voted the seventh best assistant coach in the country by Basketball Times for the 2002-03 season. As reported by recruiting analyst Dave Telep, Roccaforte is one of the 25 hardest working coaches in the nation as well as one of the top 15 recruiters in the country. Clark Francis of HoopScoop listed Roccaforte as the top mid-major assistant coach in the country in 2005.

Roccaforte is also no stranger to postseason play, having served on the staff of seven teams that extended their seasons. He has been to a pair of NCAA Tournaments, one each with Tulane and Memphis, and five NITs with Tulane, Wyoming and Memphis. Tulane advanced to the NIT Final Four at Madison Square Garden in New York in 1996. Memphis made a pair of trips to MSG including winning the NIT championship in 2002.

During his career, Roccaforte has coached or recruited such future NBA players as Larry Robinson-Centenary, Jerald Honeycutt-Tulane, Chris Owens-Tulane, Linton Johnson-Tulane, Josh Davis-Wyoming, Dejuan Wagner-Memphis, Antonio Burks-Memphis, Earl Barron-Memphis, Sean Banks-Memphis, Qyntel Woods-Memphis, Amare Stoudemire-Memphis, Kendrick Perkins-Memphis and Rodney Carney-Memphis.

Known as a relentless recruiter, Roccaforte put together Top 25 recruiting classes at Tulane, Memphis and Lamar. In fact, Memphis had the top rated recruiting class in 2001. Lamar's class in 2004, the first full recruiting class with Roccaforte on staff, was rated among the Top 10 in the country by HoopScoop Online.

Roccaforte, who served on Billy Tubbs' staff the past three seasons as the recruiting coordinator, put together a stellar recruiting class for this season that included a pair of NJCAA All-Americans. The recruiting class also included the addition of five players that weigh over 230 pounds, which was a need area following the departure of the Cardinals' top four inside players.

"We are going to play hard-nosed, physical, aggressive defense and try to push the ball as much as possible on offense," said Roccaforte of his style of play. "You have to have a good defense if you want to be successful and that starts with controlling the lane. We expect to do that with the personnel we recruited."

Roccaforte spent three years as an assistant coach at the University of Memphis before coming home to Lamar. He helped the Tigers advance to the NIT final four in 2001, won the NIT championship in 2002 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2003 for the first time in seven years. The Tigers had Top 10 recruiting classes in all three years of his tenure, including the No. 1 rated class in 2001, and he recruited to McDonald's All-Americans.

Prior to Memphis, Roccaforte spent two seasons as an assistant coach on the Wyoming staff (1998-2000). The Cowboys were 37-22 during his tenure which included a trip to the NIT, where they advanced to the second round. He helped put together the top-rated recruiting class in the Mountain West Conference in his first season.

Before heading to Wyoming, Roccaforte worked at Tulane where he coordinated the Green Wave's recruiting activities. During his four years at Tulane, the Green Wave consistently ranked among the Top 25 recruiting classes in the nation and included an All-American and seven all-Conference USA selections. The final recruiting class that he helped sign was ranked eighth nationally.

Roccaforte was part of a Tulane staff which coached the Green Wave to three consecutive 20-win seasons during his tenure (1994-98). The Green Wave advanced to the NCAA Tournament Second Round in 1995, the NIT Final Four in 1996 and a second NIT appearance in 1997.

Prior to coaching stints at Tulane and Wyoming, Roccaforte was an assistant coach at Centenary College for five seasons (1989-94). Centenary won its first TAAC regular-season championship during his tenure.

Roccaforte has come full circle after beginning as a student assistant coach for three seasons at Lamar. He earned his bachelor of applied arts and sciences degree from Lamar in 1989.

Roccaforte, 41 (born May 21, 1965), and his wife Tina have a daughter, Victoria Elise, 10, a son, Lucien Anthony, 7, and another daughter due in November.