Chris Murray

cmurray@rgj.com

The Wolf Pack's coaching staff wasn't full for long.

Three days after Nevada head coach Eric Musselman hired Yann Hufnagel and Ronald Dupree to fill his staff, he lost another assistant, Doug Stewart, who was hired away by Tulane on Monday. Stewart is expected to receive the title of associate head coach and a significant raise from Tulane.

"It was gut-wrenching," Stewart said of leaving Nevada. "Gut-wrenching for sure. This community has been fantastic to us. I loved working for Coach Muss. I loved our staff and awesome players. To watch their development over the course of the year has been as rewarding as anything I've experienced. To have it culminate with a championship for this school and this town, it's been an unbelievable ride. Tulane just came in with an offer that kind of blew me away."

Stewart was one of the many bright spots in Nevada's 2015-16 season, which included an increase from nine wins to 24 wins and a CBI championship. Stewart was integral in the recruiting of forward Cameron Oliver, who was named the Mountain West freshman of the year by the media.

"When we first arrived it wasn't just a basketball thing," Stewart said. "There was some talent here and it obviously hadn't come together yet, but to watch those guys and the staff and Coach Muss lead this group was awesome. When you don't win, it's hard all the way around. Your social life, your self esteem, everything. To watch these guys rise up and watch Coach Muss lead them to the level of a championship and leave a legacy is something they'll have for a lifetime. To watch all of these guys grow as people was easily the thing that stands out above all."

Pack hires Hufnagel, Dupree as assistant coaches

The departure of Stewart means the Wolf Pack will have an entirely new assistant staff next season. Nevada didn't retain assistants Jay Morris or Jermaine Kimbrough after the season. They were replaced Friday by Hufnagel, formerly of Cal, and Dupree, formerly of LSU.

When he hired Hufnagel and Dupree last week, Musselman was effusive in his praise of Stewart.

"A great X and O guy, unbelievable offensive mind, really loyal to everybody, great work ethic, excellent recruiter," Musselman said of Stewart. "He has a great rapport with all of the AAU coaches in California and up and down the West Coast. He's really good with talking with compliance, talking with our academic guy. He's on top of all of our players with their academics. He's filled so many holes for us and is so valuable."

Last month, Tulane hired Mike Dunleavy Sr., the former coach of four NBA teams. The Greenwave went 12-22 overall and 3-15 in the American Athletic Conference last season. Stewart said he's been close with Dunleavy's son, Baker, who is the associate head coach at Villanova, and that "the opportunity kind of came out of left field."

"It wasn't anything I was seeking," Stewart said. "Myself and my family love Reno and really wanted to stay. At the end of the day, it was just an opportunity that was just too big to pass up on as far as the kind of things they were able to offer me. The administration here with President (Marc) Johnson, (AD) Doug Knuth and (deputy AD) Rory Hickok, those guys are awesome. Coach Muss has been awesome. They made it very hard for me to accept this. I wanted to thank all of those guys for making this an unbelievable experience here."

Stewart came to Nevada after a stint coaching in the NBA D-League with the Delaware 87ers, the 76ers' affiliate. Prior to that, he coached for Oregon State, rising to interim head coach at one point, in addition to assistant jobs at Brown, where he played; Columbia; and Washington and Lee University. He was a player-coach for the Washington Generals and the head coach for two years at Casper College in Wyoming.

Musselman estimated that he had contact with about 75 coaches when filling his first two assistant positions, so he should have a lengthy list to work with when looking for Stewart's replacement.

Stewart said Tulane's standing as a top-40 academic university in the nation was a plus. He joined Oregon State's staff the year after the Beavers went 0-18 in the Pac-12 and joined Nevada's staff following a nine-win campaign, so he's used to rebuilds. He was a part of CBI titles with both programs.

"I've got a blueprint to follow," he said. "I really like the conference. You have some really competitive teams with SMU, UConn, Memphis and Cincinnati. It's really high-level basketball. It's a great combination of academics and it's a beautiful campus. It will be interesting working with another former NBA head coach. Coach Muss gave me some groundwork on how to go about that. I'm just thankful and blessed for this opportunity."