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BYU basketball hires Heath Schroyer as assistant coach

By Joshua Ellis

Mar 4, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks head coach Heath Schroyer against the Morehead State Eagles during the first half of game six of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament at Municipal Auditorium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 4, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks head coach Heath Schroyer against the Morehead State Eagles during the first half of game six of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament at Municipal Auditorium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports /
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BYU basketball announced that Heath Schroyer is returning as an assistant coach after 16 years away from the program.

Coach Dave Rose announced that Heath Schroyer will fill the vacancy left by Terry Nashif on the BYU basketball coaching staff.

Schroyer was with BYU from 1997 until 2001 as an assistant coach under Steve Cleveland.

“We’re very excited to have a coach of Heath’s caliber join our staff,” Rose said in a press release. “He will be a great fit with our coaches and players. Heath has had success everywhere he’s been and brings knowledge, experience and a work ethic second to none.”

Schroyer’s past

Schroyer leaves NC State, where he was an assistant head coach under Mark Gottfried last season.

His return to Provo comes after stops at UT-Martin, Wyoming, UNLV, Fresno State and Portland State.

“I’m very excited to be back at BYU,” Schroyer said in the same press release. “Coach Rose and I have remained great friends since working together 20 years ago and I have a great fondness for this program. It was my first Division I job. When this opportunity presented itself, it just felt right. I’ve heard nothing but great things about the players in the program and I’m looking forward to rolling up my sleeves and working with those guys.”

After BYU’s lackluster defense last season, hopes are high that Schroyer will establish a strong defense in Provo and help turn things around.

With UNLV, Schroyer took over the defense in 2014 and lifted the Rebels to a top-70 national defensive ranking.

His first stint in Provo started the year after BYU went 1-25. The season before Schroyer left for Wyoming, BYU won the Mountain West Conference regular season and tournament championships.

The next year with Wyoming, he helped the Cowboys reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 14 years. His second spell in Laramie helped the school reach the postseason after a six-year drought.

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As UT-Martin’s head coach, Schroyer took an 8-23 team and turned it into a 20-win program that won the Ohio Valley West Division in 2016.

It seems that Schroyer has a knack for helping elevate programs following disappointing seasons.

Hopefully, that trend continues at the Marriott Center this upcoming year.

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