Utah Assistant Coach Andy Hill Leaving Program To Join New Mexico Staff

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Utah assistant basketball coach Andy Hill announced he was not retained by Craig Smith and will join the New Mexico coaching staff.

Andy Hill joined the Utah basketball coaching staff in 2011 when Larry Krystkowiak was hired. Now that Craig Smith is the new head coach, he had to decide whether to retain staff members from Krystkowiak’s coaches, bring in his guys from Utah State or bring coaches from outside of both programs.

Hill tweeted his appreciation for the Utah fans, players and coaches on Tuesday.

“Dear Utes, I would like to thank you for the last 10 years,” Hill tweeted. “It has been an amazing experience filled with great joy and lifelong friendships. I will cherish all the great memories and I am forever grateful. Specifically, thank you to everyone who helped along the way. It was an amazing team effort with great support, past and present, from the Utah administration/staff, the fans, the MUSS, all of our coaches and all of our familes.

“To the players that I’ve had the privilege to know and coach, I love you all and will always be there for you,” Hill added. “My true passion and happiness is seeing you succeed on and off the court, and it has been my pleasure to share these experiences with you. That is why I coach and continue this journey. Thank you again from the bottom of my heart to Coach K for this opportunity, and everyone for their support. Best of luck to all.”

pic.twitter.com/rPFwDeAnOa

— Andy Hill (@Ahill_utah) March 30, 2021

Two hours after releasing a statement, Hill announced he was joining the New Mexico basketball coaching staff. Richard Pitino was hired as the head coach of the Lobos after being fired at Minnesota.

University of New Mexico LOBO UP 🏀💯🏆 pic.twitter.com/tf21Rm7zii

— Andy Hill (@Ahill_utah) March 31, 2021

Hill started his coaching career in 2000 as an assistant coach at Whitworth College. In 2001, he went to Lewis-Clark State College until 2003 when he accepted a graduate assistant job at Eastern Washington. Before the 2004-05 season, Hill was hired by Larry Krystkowiak at Montana. When Coach K left his alma mater in 2006 to join the NBA ranks, Hill stayed on staff until 2011 when Krystkowiak hired him to his staff at Utah.

Craig Smith continues to fill out his coaching staff. The Las Vegas Review-Journal is reporting that former Utah and UNLV assistant coach DeMarlo Slocum is coming back to Salt Lake City to work under Smith. The two were assistant coaches together at Colorado State under Tim Miles. It is also being reported that Smith’s lead assistant at Utah State, Eric Peterson is expected to join the staff at Utah.

Trevor Allen is a Utah Utes Insider for KSLSports.com and host of the Crimson Corner podcast. Follow him on Twitter: @TrevorASports. You can download and listen to the podcast, here.