Lobo Men's Basketball Staff Taking Shape

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Head Coach Richard Pitino of The University of New Mexico men’s basketball program is making progress on assembling his staff. The program welcomes two new assistant coaches in Andy Hill, formerly of Utah, and Issac Chew, formerly of Grand Canyon. In addition, Pitino has announced that Robert Edwards, current Lobo video coordinator, will remain on staff.

The official start date for the assistant coaches is April 1.

“We are very excited about the additions of Isaac, Andy and Robert to our staff. All three will make our program better from day one,” Pitino said. “Isaac has recruited and won at a high level everywhere he has been, and Andy helped build great stability at Utah and recruited all-conference players in the Pac-12.

“Robert is a tireless worker in the film room. All three guys will hit the ground running right away.”

Isaac Chew

Chew has served as an assistant coach at the NCAA Division I level since 2007 (14 years) and comes to the Lobos most recently from Grand Canyon University.

Prior to his time with the ‘Lopes, Chew spent time with Murray State (2007-11), Missouri (2011-12), Marquette (2012-14), Virginia Tech (2014-16) and Texas A&M (2016-19).

“I am very humbled and honored to join Coach Pitino’s staff and be a part of Lobo Nation!” Chew said. “Being able to be a part of a program with one of the elite fan bases in the country along with such storied history and tradition in college basketball is an incredible opportunity.

“I understand the expectations that The University of New Mexico has and I can’t wait to get started to help Coach Pitino and his staff get back on top of the Mountain West.”

Over his career, Chew has coached a trio of NBA draft selections including Isaiah Canaan (2013), Marcus Denmon (2012) and Kim English (2012). He has also helped lead his teams to postseason appearances at every institution prior to his time at GCU, including an Elite Eight appearance in 2013 and a Sweet-16 appearance in 2016.

Chew was on the staff of four consecutive conference championship teams from 2010-13 as he helped lead Murray State to back-to-back Ohio Valley Conference championships, Missouri to a Big 12 Tournament championship and Marquette to a Big East Conference title.

During his time at Murray State, Chew not only helped the Racers to a pair of league titles, but also to a 31-5 record in 2009-10 en route to its 2010 NCAA appearance. The 13-seeded Racers knocked off No. 4-seed Vanderbilt to advance to the second round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament. Overall during his four seasons at Murray State, the Racers accumulated a 91-39 record and a 57-17 conference record.

Chew also helped Murray State guard Isaiah Canaan develop into a 2013 NBA Draft pick. Canaan remained in the NBA until 2019 and is still competing professionally.

While at Missouri, Chew helped lead the Tigers to a 30-5 record in 2011-12 on the way to a Big 12 Tournament title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. He was on the staff that helped develop Phil Pressey (three NBA seasons), Marcus Denmon (2012 NBA Draft pick) and Kim English (2012 NBA Draft).

In Chew’s two seasons at Marquette, prior to his time at Missouri, he helped lead the Golden Eagles to the 2012-13 Big East Regular-Season Co-Championship and a trip to the Elite Eight. As the No. 3 seed, Marquette defeated 14-seed Davidson, six-seed Butler and two-seed Miami. In addition, he helped to assemble one of the top-15 recruiting classes in the nation in 2013. In his time with the Golden Eagles, he also coached Juan Toscano-Anderson, current member of the Golden State Warriors.

While at Virginia Tech, Chew helped orchestrate a massive turnaround that took the Hokies from back-to-back, two-win seasons in ACC play to a 10-8 conference mark and an NIT bid in 2015-16. Chew also recruited and signed Justin Robinson, who went on to have a successful collegiate career before signing a multi-year contract with the Washington Wizards following the 2019 NBA Draft.

Chew also spent three years on the Texas A&M coaching staff where he helped guide the team to a Sweet 16 appearance in 2018. Texas A&M was the No. 7 seed after a 22-win season and topped No. 10-seed Providence and No. 2 North Carolina.

During his time with the Aggies, Chew also helped develop Robert Williams into a first-round pick of the Boston Celtics in the 2018 NBA Draft.

Chew, a native of Chicago, Ill., earned his undergraduate degree at Avila University in Kansas City. He went on to earn his master’s degree in business administration from Baker University.

Andy Hill

Hill comes to the Lobos after serving as an assistant coach at Utah for the last 10 seasons where he helped lead the Utes to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 2015 and 2016, including a Sweet 16 appearance in 2015.

In his tenure with the Utes, Hill also helped guide his teams to three NIT appearances including an NIT runner-up finish in 2018.

“I am very honored, excited and thankful to be a part of The University of New Mexico, the Albuquerque community and Lobo Basketball,” Hill said. “I am extremely grateful to Coach Pitino for this opportunity. I look forward to working hard every day with our staff and players to make the Lobos the very best and help our student-athletes succeed on and off the court.

“I can’t wait to get started. GO LOBOS!”

During his time at Utah, Hill was part of a staff that developed three, consecutive, first-round NBA Draft pics in Delon Wright (2015 Pac-12 First-Team All-Conference), Jakob Poeltl (2016 Pac-12 Player of the Year) and Kyle Kuzma (2017 First-Team All-Conference). During that stretch, the Utes were the only Pac-12 school to produce a first-round draft pick in three-consecutive years.

Hill helped the Utes to five consecutive 20-plus win seasons while also helping Utah to finish in the top four of the Pac 12 standings five times.

Prior to his tenure at Utah, Hill was an assistant coach at Montana for seven years where he helped lead the Grizzlies to three NCAA Tournament appearances. He was also a member of the 2005-06 coaching staff that helped Montana to its first NCAA Tournament game since 1975.

While at Montana, Hill helped guide the Grizzlies to the Big Sky Conference Tournament Championship game in four of his seven seasons. He helped coordinate Montana’s Roundball Club annual coaching clinics and fundraising efforts and was also responsible for scheduling games, camps and recruiting. In addition, he organized community service events with the Missoula community and the state of Montana.

Hill began his coaching career at Whitworth College in Spokane, Wash. from 2000-01 where he worked for legendary coach Warren Friedrichs. Early in his career, he also coached at Lewis-Clark State College (2001-03) where he helped the Warriors to the NAIA National Tournament before serving as a graduate assistant at Eastern Washington (2003-04). The year he was at Eastern Washington, the Eagles won the Big Sky Conference.

The son of a former coach, Hill graduated from Eastern Washington in 2000 with a degree in education. He has one son, Garrett.

Robert Edwards