Talvin Hester was named to the ORU coaching staff on May 3, 2017, joining new head coach Paul Mills. Hester spent three years (2014-17) on Kelvin Sampson’s staff at Houston and has experience at eight different programs in Texas at both the college and professional levels.
In addition to helping Sampson build the program at Houston that included a 22-win season in 2015-16 and an NIT berth, Hester was also an assistant coach for Danny Kaspar at both Stephen F. Austin and Texas State, helping the Lumberjacks to a 27-5 record.
Hester brings more than 15 years of coaching experience to South Tulsa, but has also been active off the court, serving Thanksgiving meals at the Star of Hope Mission and leading a Texas Special Olympics event inside Hofheinz Pavillion. During the summer of 2011, Hester was one of a select few invited to participate in the NCAA Black Coaches and Administrators Achieving Coaching Excellence Program. This prestigious four-day program was designed to prepare racial and ethnic minority basketball coaches for success as future head coaches.
Hester is a played at Dallas Christian College and received his degree from Texas Wesleyan in 2003. Hester and his wife, Jamieka, have a daughter Rhyan.
What Mills says about Hester
“I have known Talvin for a long time and I’ve admired his work. He has learned a lot under several terrific coaches and brings with him a wealth of knowledge from good conferences. His experiences will propel ORU forward. He is as committed a coach as I’ve known and will work tirelessly for ORU to compete for Summit League championships.”
