Gus Argenal was recently announced as the new head coach of the University of California, Riverside (UCR) men’s basketball team. The former California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB) head coach has 21 years of coaching experience nationwide, at different levels. Argenal has coached in the Big West conference, once as the assistant coach for UC Davis and as the associate head coach for Cal State Fullerton.
The announcement was made by UCR athletics in a press conference on Tuesday, May 6, where Argenal had the opportunity to talk about his goals and vision for the program. Athletics Director Wesley Mallette spoke about the search for the perfect new head coach, how the ideal candidate would have their own vision for the program while also building off former head coach Mike Magpayo’s success.
For this upcoming season, Coach Argenal hopes the team will win the Big West championship and be a part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament. Off the court, increasing community engagement is a priority for him.
“Truthfully, we need to be more out in the public with the community and also on campus, like the simplest things, like tabling. All the little things that you do go a long way. 100, 200, 300 people [at a game], that’s a big difference,” said Argenal. “I have to recruit the roster right now, but once that gets done and my staff gets hired, we’ll get to the things we have to do in the community, but also on this campus.”
Regarding recruiting a roster, Argenal is no stranger to a rebuild. He has been a part of numerous collegiate-level retools and roster turnovers at every coaching job he has had, including his stint at CSUSB. For UCR, he has already started the recruitment process, and the spring transfer portal is still open. He hopes to increase retention for the incumbent players at Riverside as well.
“I’ve been a part of rebuilds. I’ve been a part of taking [a program] to the next step, raising the bar … I take pieces from each experience on how to restart, how to rebuild, but also how to continue and create better trajectories,” shared Argenal. “You have to get the right pieces of the puzzle that fit this campus. You have to get the right type of players and the right staff. You don’t rush into everything.”
Argenal is the only Latino men’s basketball head coach on the West Coast at the DI level, and hopes to inspire other Latino players and coaches in the area to chase their dreams.
