Assistant coach Mark Adams, who has 23 years of head coaching experience, is coming off his second season as Director of Basketball Operations at Texas Tech. He previously served as head coach at Texas-Pan American from 1992-97 as a member of the Sun Belt Conference and led Howard College to a NJCAA National Championship in 2010.

“I am very excited to have the opportunity to work with Chris Beard,” Adams said. “Coach Beard is a proven winner and I am thrilled to be a part of the Little Rock family and the journey ahead. I am looking forward to building this program to be a strong Division I contender. “

Adams has won at every level, boasting a career coaching record of 554-244 (.694). His head coaching career includes stints at Clarendon College (1981-82), Wayland Baptist (1983-87), West Texas A&M (1987-92), Texas Pan-American (1992-97) and Howard College (2004-13). Adams has won 15 different Coach of the Year honors in his career.

During his 23 seasons as a head coach, he has advanced to the postseason 14 times and reached the national tournament of each school's respective classification eight times (three NJCAA, two NCAA Division II and three NAIA), including leading Wayland Baptist to the NAIA National Final in 1985.

Adams left an indelible mark at Howard College, winning the 2010 NJCAA National Championship and being named National Coach of the Year the same season. Current Boston Celtics forward Jae Crowder averaged 18.9 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.4 steals under Adams in 2009-10.

In all, he captured six region, conference or district Coach of the Year honors in his time at HC.

He recorded 233 wins at the Big Spring, Texas, junior college from 2004-13 and advanced to the regional tournament for nine consecutive years. His 35 wins in 2006 are a single-season program record. In nine seasons, Adams led his teams to three conference championships and the regional finals six times.

With Texas Tech, Adams helped the Red Raiders defeat five top-20 opponents over two seasons. He assisted the program budget and organized the non-conference portion of the Texas Tech schedule.

A 1979 graduate of Texas Tech, Mark and his wife Jennifer are the parents of Luke and Abbie. Luke, a former guard on the Red Raider basketball team, lettered from 2011-2015. His daughter Abbie is recent graduate of Texas Tech and is currently working as a speech therapist.