CSU East Bay’s recently hired head men’s basketball coach, Gus Argenal, hopes to create a culture of quality student athletes next season, who both excel academically and on the court.

Argenal brings coaching experience at both the Division I and Division II levels to CSUEB and succeeds Coach Will Biggs, who previously led the Pioneers to 224 wins in 16 seasons. Argenal was announced hired on  May 29 by the school’s athletic director, Sara Judd.

Over the years, he has gained experience working with six different head coaches and will embark on his 10th season next fall, which will also be his first position as head coach.

Argenal began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Arizona State for the 2004-05 season. He then went to UC Davis for two years, where he was responsible for recruiting, film exchange, academic monitoring, game-planning, and running basketball camps.

In 2006 he began coaching at the University of Texas, San Antonio. He returned to his alma mater, Davis, in 2011 where he served as an assistant coach and managed all aspects of the program. He then accepted a job with the Rice Owls, his most recent coaching position.

“I want to acknowledge Gus for his contributions to our program over the past year,” Head Coach Ben Braun told the Rice Owls’ athletics. “I’m very supportive of him as he moves onto a college head coaching position. I’ve known him throughout his playing and coaching days and wish him the best in his new position in his hometown.”

The experience of playing in the CCAA and having already coached in the league, as well as moving close to Lafayette, the area in which he grew up, was one of the things that motivated Argenal to take on the head coaching position at East Bay.

“To be able to be a head coach in the league I’ve already played in; I felt like it was such a great opportunity to come back to a campus that is still growing and a program that can move to the top of the league,” he said, “I think it’s a hidden giant, so that’s what really brought me back.”

Argenal and Judd both share a vision of leading the basketball team to new heights in the CCAA.

“We hope to bring in athletes who are quality people with character, good guys that everyone wants to be around, create excitement about the program and the athletic department, bring more people to the games, and more people to the school,” he says. “If we do these things, we’re going to be really good on the floor.”

Argenal hopes to instill a working culture where the team works in the gym and in the classroom so that academically, socially and athletically the team is building up a positive image.

“The team has already done a really great job academically and I want to build on that,” he said. “We also really need to establish ourselves as the most defensive team in the league. If we do that, then we’ll contend to making the conference tournament, competing in conference and taking care of business at the end of the year.”

Argenal has already begun looking for recruits who will bring success from the 2013-14 recruiting class.

“They have to be willing to work basketball-wise because it’s going to be an extreme amount of investment for them to come here in terms of basketball and their work,” Argenal said, “We want to be competitive with the NCAA and that’s why I’m here. At the end of the day we want to go from that jump from being in the league to being a contender in the league as well.”

Argenal’s outstanding experience as an athlete is what has inspired him to begin his coaching career. He served as one of the top point guards in UC Davis history, and as a senior he led the Aggies in assists and steals, the CSUEB Athletics website reported.

He began his basketball career at De La Salle High School in Concord, where he was a three-year starter and a dominant defensive point guard. As a senior and team captain in 1999, he lead the Spartans to the Northern California Finals and was named the BVAL Most Valuable Player, according to CSUEB Athletics.

“My high school coach at De La Salle was a real inspiration to me,” Argenal said. “He was a motivator, a leader, and I wanted to be like him and have an impact on student athletes and that’s what got me excited about coaching.”

Argenal knew he wanted to coach specifically at the Division II level when he played for UC Davis.

“The over-all student athlete experience inspired me and I fell in love with being a coach,” he said.