DALLAS, March 26 (UPI) -- Jimmy Tubbs was hired Friday as head basketball coach at Southern Methodist University.
Tubbs is returning to SMU from Oklahoma, where he was an assistant on Kelvin Sampson's staff the past two years.
Before going to Oklahoma, Tubbs was an assistant under two SMU coaches, John Shumate and Mike Dement, over a period of 12 years. Dement was fired last month after the Mustangs completed a 12-18 season.
"I left here two years ago and I left crying," Tubbs said. "I came back smiling. I did not come to date SMU, I came to marry SMU. You have to understand that. I'm back home."
Tubbs, 55, is the 15th head coach in school history.
Prior to his college coaching, Tubbs coached the Kimball High School team in Dallas for eight years. His teams won at least 30 games five years and a state championship. He was named Texas High School Boys' Coach of the Year in 1989-90.
