FSU Hoops makes it official, announces hiring of assistant R-Jay Barsh
The Florida State men's basketball team has filled the coaching vacancy left by the departure of longtime assistant Charlton Young.
Here is the release from FSU:
R-Jay Barsh, a veteran with more than 15 years of coaching experience, has been named an assistant basketball coach at Florida State by Head Coach Leonard Hamilton.
Barsh was an assistant coach at Boise State the past three seasons where he helped lead the Broncos to the 2022 NCAA Tournament as they set program records for total wins (27), conference wins (15), and consecutive wins (14) on their way to winning the Mountain West regular-season title outright and capturing the Mountain West Tournament championship.
Boise State became just the fifth team in the history of the Mountain West Conference to win both the outright regular season championship and the conference tournament championship in the same season in 2022. Barsh was an assistant coach at Boise State in each of the past three seasons as the Broncos averaged 22.0 wins per season.
On the strength of its sensational season, Boise State earned a No. 8 seed in the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
Barsh also helped Boise to the quarterfinals of the NIT in 2021.
“R-Jay Barsh is a perfect fit at the perfect time for our basketball program,” said Hamilton. “His abilities – in both recruiting and coaching – will fit right in step with our staff, and especially with our players. R-Jay’s ability to relate to players is an extension of our culture, which allows us to continue building our NewBlood brand. The one thing about R-Jay that really excites me is that he has head and assistant coaching experience. The perspective that comes from performing at a high level in both seats on the bench only extends that dimension among our staff.”
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Prior to his tenure at Boise State, Barsh spent the previous seven seasons as the head coach at Southeastern University in Lakeland, Fla. While with SEU, he led the Fire to three NAIA Division II National Tournament appearances, the first for the program in school history. In his second season, SEU went 27-7 and reached the NAIA Fab Four during its first postseason tournament run, ultimately earning Barsh a nod as a finalist for the Don Meyer National Coach of the Year Award. Barsh also led the Fire to tournament appearances following the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons.
Barsh helped lead Tacoma Community College to three Western Region titles in four seasons and an NWAACC championship in 2012. The Titans also made the Elite 8 in the NWAACC Tournament in 2009. Prior to TCC, he spent one season at Lincoln High School (Tacoma), where he helped guide the school to the state’s Final Four and a record of 26-5.
Barsh also served as an assistant coach at the University of Puget Sound, his alma mater, from 2005-07. In his first season with the Loggers, the program finished with a 26-5 mark and a NCAA D-III Elite Eight appearance.
Barsh played collegiately for TCC from 2001-03, where he helped lead the Titans to a record of 30-3 and an NWAACC title (2001-02). He was an all-conference honoree the following season.
“When I started coaching, I embarked on a journey to use the game of basketball to influence the lives of others, and no one does that better than Coach Hamilton,” said Barsh. “The opportunity to join forces with him and the staff at Florida State allows me to do what I love in a place I’ve always admired.
“Boise State and Leon Rice taught me how to manage the day-to-day intricacies of a championship level program. Being at Florida State is a step in my coaching career that has been built on relationships and doing the work it takes to be a successful coach at this level.”
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