Former Trojan Bozeman Named Assistant Coach

LITTLE ROCK – Head coach Wes Flanigan has announced Solomon Bozeman as the program's new assistant coach. One of the most decorated players in program history, Bozeman spent the past two years working as an assistant under Joe Golding at Abilene Christian.
 
"Little Rock is home, and home is special," Bozeman said. "We have a chance to do great things here. I'm excited about being able to coach at my alma mater and helping Wes Flanigan work to get this team back to the NCAA Tournament."
 
In his time at ACU, Bozeman helped shepherd an influx of talent that allowed the program make drastic improvements in just its second season at the Division I level. With a roster that featured eight freshmen, the Wildcats doubled their Southland Conference wins total from the 2014-15 season.
 
"I've always wanted to have a guy that either played in the program or played for me, so Solomon Bozeman fits that bill," Flanigan said. "He was the Sun Belt Player of the Year here at Little Rock and someone who I think will be great for our guard development. He's a great recruiter. I think at some point he will be a head coach himself."
 
While at ACU, Bozeman was the primary recruiter on Little Rock Parkview HS product Jaylen Franklin, a Second Team All-Southland Conference pick and the league's Freshman of the Year in 2015-16. Franklin ranked in the league's top 10 in scoring (16.2 ppg) and steals (1.7 spg) while shooting 51.3 percent from the floor.
 
"Solo did an incredible job here for us," Golding said. "He came in at a tough time in our program due to the transition and I challenged him, and he did an incredible job in recruiting and really changed our program. He did a great job on the floor as a coach. I'm extremely excited for him and this opportunity to go back home and coach."
 
Bozeman's step-back 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds remaining lifted Little Rock to a 64-63 win over North Texas in the 2011 Sun Belt Tournament title game. The win punched Little Rock's ticket to its fourth NCAA Tournament, and first since 1990.
 
Bozeman was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player after being voted the Sun Belt Player of the Year for the 2010-11 season. He averaged 16.6 points per game and shot a league-best 45.8 percent from 3-point range as a senior.
 
He became just the third Trojan in school history to be voted Sun Belt Player of the Year, joining former Little Rock standouts Derek Fisher (1995-96) and Muntrelle Dobbins (1996-97). Bozeman was named First Team All-Sun Belt, All-District VII by the USBWA and First Team All-District 24 by the NABC. He picked up Honorable Mention All-America honors from the Associated Press.
 
He was named the Sun Belt Student-Athlete of the Year in May 2011, given annually to an outstanding student-athlete who exhibits exceptional leadership, achievement and character.
 
Bozeman played professionally in the NBA Developmental League (Austin and Dallas), and has also played overseas in Macedonia, Israel, Ukraine and Qatar.
 
Bozeman's father, Eric, was an assistant coach at Ole Miss for seven years, during which the program made four postseason berths and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the 2001 NCAA Tournament. Currently an assistant at Itawamba Community College, the elder Bozeman is a native of Little Rock, played his high school basketball at Parkview HS and was an All-Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference player at Arkansas Tech.
 
"With his dad being a longtime assistant coach at Ole Miss and being in the profession for a long time, he has the pedigree," Flanigan said. "I'm excited about getting him on board. He's someone who has helped us get to the NCAA Tournament once before and hopefully will help us get back there again."
 
Bozeman married the former Myla Jernigan in the fall of 2015. His younger brother, Jeremiah, will be a freshman on the men's basketball team at Jackson State in 2016-17.
 
He earned his bachelor's degree in health and exercise science (2010) and master's degree in sports management (2012) from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.