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Jud Heathcote. Mike Montgomery. Stew Morrill. Blaine Taylor. Larry Krystkowiak. Wayne Tinkle. UM’s men’s basketball coaching tree has produced a storied run of coaches throughout its history.

Now, it’s Travis DeCuire’s turn.

DeCuire, a record-setting point guard for the Griz in the 1990s, is back on campus as the Grizzlies’ twenty-seventh head coach.

“I’m excited about the opportunity,” DeCuire tells GoGriz.com. “For me to return to my college-playing roots, it’s an exciting moment for not only me but my family as well.”

In March, DeCuire completed his sixth season on the University of California coaching staff and his second as the Golden Bears’ associate head coach. Regarded as one of the top mentors in the game, DeCuire helped Montgomery transform Cal into one of the winningest programs in the Pac-12 Conference during his time in Berkeley. The Bears reached the postseason all six years he was on the staff.

Before his six-year stint at Cal, DeCuire spent five seasons as an assistant coach under Taylor at Old Dominion, where he helped the Monarchs to a record of 117-53.

DeCuire has big shoes to fill—figuratively and literally.

He takes over for Tinkle, who left his alma mater to coach at Oregon State University. Tinkle finished with 158 wins, the second-highest total in school history. His teams won three Big Sky titles and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2010, 2012, and 2013.

“We want to continue that success,” DeCuire says. “We are going to bring the energy and play with a lot of passion. We are going to play up-tempo and be exciting to watch.”

As a point guard for UM from 1992-94, DeCuire was named All-Big Sky as a junior and senior. He set a school record in just three seasons with 435 career assists.

He has a strong commitment to community service, founding and acting as president of the Fastbreak Basketball Association, an organization that assists in teaching life lessons and building self-esteem through basketball.

“I’m excited to have Travis return to UM and lead the Griz men’s basketball program,” UM Director of Athletics Kent Haslam says. “I identified Travis as a very strong candidate early in the search process. The more time I spent with him understanding his vision not only for our program, but for the student-athletes he will mentor, the more impressed I became with him as a person and as a coach.”