Top 5 – Arenas Coached In

June 12, 2020

Note: During the COVID-19 pandemic, we have the chance to learn a little more about our Louisiana Tech Athletics Family. We'll call it Tech Top 5. Go to LATech.edu for more Top 5s. #TogetherApart

Desmond Haymon

Louisiana Tech assistant men's basketball coach Desmond Haymon enters his second season in Ruston as part of the Bulldog staff. Haymon was a star at Stephen F. Austin during his collegiate days, leading the Jacks to the 2014 NCAA Tournament. Haymon orchestrated one of the most famous plays in 'Jacks history as his 4-point play with just seconds to go in the second round against VCU in the 2014 NCAA Tournament sent the game into overtime and eventually led to SFA's first NCAA Tournament win. He amassed 1,159 career points, graduating as the all-time winningest player in SFA history with 97 victories. Haymon received his bachelor's degree in kinesiology with a minor in general business in 2014 before earning a master's degree in interdisciplinary studies in December of 2016. He and his wife, Chandra, have a son, Desmond, Jr.  
 
1. Rupp Arena (Lexington, Ky.) -- I had a chance to coach at Rupp Arena in 2017.  Rupp is the second largest college basketball arena in the country.  Just imagine playing in front of 23,500 fans on a college basketball court.  It was a great feeling to play in a top five college basketball atmosphere.

2. Assembly Hall (Bloomington, Ind.) -- We played at Assembly Hall this past year against Indiana.  I've always dreamed of going to watch or play a game there ever since I was a kid.  One of the coolest basketball arenas I've been to with its unique design.

3. American Airlines Center (Dallas, Texas) -- American Airlines Center will have to go on my top five favorite arenas, having coached a game there in the NCAA Tournament in 2018.  It was a cool place for me because when I was 10 years old, I went to a Dallas Mavericks summer camp and years later I had the opportunity to coach a game in that same arena.

4. Moda Center (Portland, Ore.) -- The Moda Center is home to the Portland Trailblazers so coaching a game there in 2015 was like a dream come true.  I've been to plenty of NBA games to watch, but this was giving me my first opportunity on the sideline at an NBA arena.  The atmosphere was unbelievable, playing in front of 20,000+ fans.

5. Barclays Center (Brooklyn, N.Y.) -- The Barclays Center is another NBA arena, home to the Brooklyn Nets.  A cool thing about playing there in 2016, when you pull into the arena on the bus you have to take an elevator on the bus underground to a tunnel.  Something that I will never forget, we were staying in Manhattan, but the arena in Brooklyn is about 10 miles away.  With a police escort, it took us on the bus an hour and a half to arrive at the arena.  Also, we were playing for a chance to advance to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament which made it even more special.