Texas officially hires Brandon Chappell to Chris Beard's staff

Head coach Chris Beard and the Texas Longhorns made an addition to their staff on Monday, with Brandon Chappell joining from UNLV. After Inside Texas’ Gerry Hamilton first reported the move, it was made official by the Big 12 basketball program via Twitter.

Chappell only spent one season out in the desert, working with UNLV head coach Kevin Kruger. He will now be coming back to the Lone Star State, where he played his high school (Beaumont Ozen) and college basketball (Lamar) as a youngster.

Lamar was not only a place where Chappell played as well. He spent four seasons with the Cardinals as an assistant coach, helping them reach a historic 20 win mark inside the program. Success has followed Chappell everywhere he has gone.

Within the Texas program, Chappell has a prior relationship with one of the Longhorns’ former star players. J’Covan Brown has known Beard’s new assistant coach since they were kids growing up together. He said Chappell is going to do well in Austin, citing his player development.

“My relationship with Brandon goes back to when I was seven or eight years old in Port Arthur, and he has always been my big brother,” said Brown. “He trained me when I was younger, and I’ve continued to work with Brandon throughout my pro career when I’ve come back home.

Brandon is unique because he really understands people and he’s all about getting players out of the mud in their development. He pushes you to be better than you think you can be, both in basketball and life. Players respond to him in the gym, and I’m so happy to see him earn this opportunity to join our Longhorn family.”

Chappell is replacing Ulric Maligi, who recently joined the brand new staff at Kansas State. There will be a lot of expectations for Texas this upcoming season and adding somebody such as Chappell will help the process immensely.