Solomon Bozeman (born December 18, 1987) is an American former professional basketball player and current head coach for the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. He played college basketball for the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
_(cropped).jpg) Bozeman with Arkansas–Pine Bluff in 2023 | |
| Arkansas–Pine Bluff Golden Lions | |
|---|---|
| Position | Head coach |
| League | Southwestern Athletic Conference |
| Personal information | |
| Born | December 18, 1987 Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Listed weight | 174 lb (79 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | |
| College |
|
| NBA draft | 2011: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2011–2014 |
| Position | Point guard |
| Coaching career | 2014–present |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 2011–2012 | Austin Toros |
| 2012 | KK Feni Industries |
| 2012 | Kalev/Cramo |
| 2012 | Hapoel Yokneam/Megido |
| 2012–2013 | Texas Legends |
| 2013 | Kryvbas |
| 2014 | Al Sadd Doha |
| As coach: | |
| 2014–2016 | Abilene Christian (assistant) |
| 2016–2018 | Little Rock (assistant) |
| 2018–2021 | Oral Roberts (assistant) |
| 2021–present | Arkansas–Pine Bluff |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
High school career
editBozeman, son of a college coach, starred at Oxford High School in Oxford, Mississippi for three years as his father served as an assistant at Ole Miss. In 2005, his father was named the head coach at Southern Arkansas University and Solomon played his senior season at Magnolia High School in Magnolia, Arkansas. In his senior season, he averaged 28.5 points per game and led the school to the Arkansas state championship game.[1]
College career
editOut of high school, Bozeman signed with South Florida. As a freshman in the 2006–07 season, he averaged 9.6 points and 3.5 assists in 30.6 minutes per game. In his sophomore season, Bozeman saw a coaching change and also saw his minutes per game drop. At the conclusion of the season, he decided to transfer to Arkansas–Little Rock (UALR).[2][3]
At UALR, Bozeman was a two-year starter. As a senior in 2010–11, Bozeman averaged 16.6 points per game and led the Trojans to their first NCAA tournament bid in 21 years. UALR defeated North Texas in the Sun Belt Conference tournament championship. Bozeman scored 20 points in the final, including the game-winner, and was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament.[4] For the regular season, he was named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year and an honorable mention All-American by the Associated Press.[5]
Professional career
editAfter his college career, Bozeman was not selected in the 2011 NBA draft, but he was taken in the fifth round of the 2011 NBA Development League Draft by the Austin Toros. He started his professional career in Austin, averaging 8 points per game in 12 contests. He spent the rest of the season moving between teams in the Republic of Macedonia, Estonia and Israel. Bozeman returned to the D-League's Texas Legends. He averaged 8.4 points per game for the 2012–13 season.[6]
For the 2013–14 season, Bozeman signed with Kryvbas of the Ukrainian SuperLeague.[7] In January 2014, he was waived by Kryvbas.[8]
Coaching career
editIn June 2014, Bozeman was hired as an assistant coach at Abilene Christian under former Little Rock assistant coach Joe Golding.[9]
On April 19, 2016, Bozeman returned to Little Rock as an assistant coach under new head coach Wes Flanigan.[10]
Bozeman was named head coach of Arkansas–Pine Bluff on June 11, 2021.[11]
Head coaching record
edit| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas–Pine Bluff Golden Lions (Southwestern Athletic Conference) (2021–present) | |||||||||
| 2021–22 | Arkansas–Pine Bluff | 7–24 | 5–13 | 11th | |||||
| 2022–23 | Arkansas–Pine Bluff | 10–21 | 6–12 | T–9th | |||||
| 2023–24 | Arkansas–Pine Bluff | 13–18 | 8–10 | T–8th | |||||
| Arkansas–Pine Bluff: | 30–63 (.323) | 19–35 (.352) | |||||||
| Total: | 30–63 (.323) | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
References
edit- ^ "Solomon Bozeman USF profile". South Florida Bulls. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
- ^ "USF guard Bozeman to transfer". Tampa Bay Times. March 18, 2008. Archived from the original on December 27, 2013. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
- ^ "Jon Teitel's "Big Dance" Interviews: UALR's Solomon Bozeman & Joe Kleine". collegehoops.net. March 9, 2011. Archived from the original on December 28, 2013. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
- ^ "Arkansas-Little Rock wins Sun Belt title; Oakland takes Summit crown". USA Today. March 9, 2011. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
- ^ "UALR's Solomon Bozeman Named All-America Honorable Mention By The Associated Press". ArkansasBusiness.com. March 29, 2011. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
- ^ "Solomon Bozeman basketball-reference". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
- ^ "Where are they now?: Solomon Bozeman". UALR.edu. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
- ^ "Kryvbas waive Solomon Bozeman". Sportando.com. January 5, 2014. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
- ^ "Wildcats add assistant coach; hand out promotions to two others". acusports.com. June 20, 2014. Retrieved August 16, 2017.
- ^ "Arkansas-Little Rock names Solomon Bozeman assistant coach". USA Today. Associated Press. April 20, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2017.
- ^ "Arkansas Native Solomon Bozeman Named Men's Basketball Head Coach". Arkansas–Pine Bluff Golden Lions. June 11, 2021. Retrieved June 12, 2021.