James Holland was named a men's basketball assistant coach at UTEP on Monday by head coach Doc Sadler.

"I'm excited to add James to our staff," Sadler said. "I was looking for someone with a lot of experience and ties to the West Coast and the South. I believe the addition of James Holland makes our staff as strong as any in the country."

A native of Charlotte, N.C., Holland brings 25 years of coaching experience at the collegiate and professional levels to the Miner program. He has been affiliated with five postseason tournament teams (four NCAA, one NIT) and six conference championship squads. He has also coached 12 players who went on to play professional basketball either in the NBA or overseas.

He has served as a Southeast regional scout for the Washington Wizards in the National Basketball Association over the last year. He was an assistant coach at six different universities from 1983-03, most recently the University of Georgia from 1999-03.

Holland got his start in college coaching as an assistant at the University of South Carolina Spartanburg, his alma mater, from 1983-87. His first Division I assignment came at the University of North Carolina Asheville from 1987-88.

In 1988 he joined the staff at Murray State University. He helped the Racers earn two NCAA Tournament and one NIT bid during his three years with the team.

From 1991-93 Holland worked at the University of South Carolina, where he coordinated a recruiting class that was rated seventh in the nation.

Holland began his first tour of duty in the Western Athletic Conference from 1993-99 as an assistant at San Diego State University. The Aztecs posted their first winning season in a decade in 1996, and had a top 25 recruiting class in 1998 with Holland as recruiting coordinator.

He was on staff as the University of Georgia won the SEC Eastern Division title in 2002. The Bulldogs appeared in the 2001 and 2002 NCAA Tournaments, and were ranked among the top 25 teams in the country for the last 10 weeks of the 2002-03 campaign.

Holland played collegiate ball at the University of South Carolina Spartanburg, and later was a member of the Harlem Globetrotters from 1982-83.

He earned his bachelor of science degree from the University of South Carolina Spartanburg in 1985. As a member of the basketball team, he was a three-time team captain and earned honorable mention All-District honors in 1982. The Rifles captured the NAIA national championship in 1982, and District Six titles in 1981 and 1982.

He and his wife, Rhonda, have two sons, Anthony Jerome and Kevin Edward.