Bobby Suarez will enter his fourth year on the staff of head coach Shantay Legans as an assistant coach in the 2020-21 season, having spent four previous seasons at Florida State.
On June 2, 2020, he was selected by the National Association of Basketball Coaches to the Under Armour 30-Under-30 Team, representing 30 of the most outstanding men's college basketball coaches under the age of 30. Fellow Eagle assistant David Riley was honored on the same 30-Under-30 squad in the 2016-17 school year.
"Bobby is a shooting star -- the sky is the limit for him as his career keeps moving forward," said Legans. "He has a great ability to relate to our players and also all of our recruits. His work ethic is incredible and we are lucky to have him on our side."
Helping EWU win 59 games in his first three years in the program, Suarez assists with player development with emphasis on guards. His other responsibilities are for recruiting, in-season scouting of opponents, on-court coaching and summer camps coordination.
“Bobby has been a great addition to our staff,” said Legans of the 2012 graduate of Florida Gulf Coast. “He is energetic, well-connected, and hit the ground running. What impresses me the most about Bobby is his attentiveness and desire to work hard and win. He has been around winning basketball programs all of his career, and also has acquired international experience.”
In three seasons at Eastern, Suarez has helped Eastern win 59 games overall, 41 in Big Sky Conference play and the outright league championship in 2019-20. Prior to that, EWU had appearances the previous two seasons in the Big Sky Tournament championship game.
One of the best seasons in school history came to a screeching halt on March 12, 2020, when cancellations of both the Big Sky Conference and NCAA Division I tournaments dashed EWU’s promising postseason hopes in the 2019-20 campaign. The Eagles finished 23-8 overall and 16-4 in the Big Sky.
In 2019-20, Mason Peatling was the Big Sky’s MVP and a first team All-Big Sky selection, Jacob Davison earned a spot on the second team and sophomore Kim Aiken Jr. was on the third team. Peatling and Davison both earned NABC All-District 6 accolades, and Peatling was a first team Academic All-American as well.
In 2018-19, Eastern defeated all 10 Big Sky Conference foes en route to finishing 12-8 in league play and going 16-18 overall. Decimated by injuries, Eastern was 1-9 at one point in the 2018-19 season before winning 13 of its last 19.
Forward Jesse Hunt earned first team All-Big Sky honors for the Eagles, Peatling was on the second team and Davison earned third team honors. Aiken earned All-Big Sky Tournament honors along with Peatling.
In his first season in 2017-18, Eastern featured Big Sky MVP Bogdan Bliznyuk and the Eagles finished 20-15 overall and 13-5 in the Big Sky. Among the victories was a 67-61 triumph at Stanford to break EWU’s 21-game losing streak versus Pacific-12 Conference foes.
Serving at Florida State under two-time ACC Coach of the Year Leonard Hamilton, Suarez was assistant video coordinator for the Seminoles. His responsibilities include preparing team and individual video edits, self-scouts, opponent video breakdowns, film exchange, scouting reports and recruiting videos.
He was also an assistant director of the Leonard Hamilton Basketball Team Camp held annually during the summer. While at Florida State, Suarez worked with closely with Malik Beasley, Dwayne Bacon, and Jonathan Isaac -- all first round NBA Draft picks. Also, he worked with NBA player Okaro White.
The season after he left FSU, the Seminoles enjoyed one of the school’s best seasons ever. Florida State advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, beating Gonzaga 75-60 in the Sweet 16.
Suarez served as a director of operations intern and as a head student manager while at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, Fla., from 2009-2013. Suarez’s responsibilities included on-court development, compiling video edits and assisting with on-campus recruiting. He was also the assistant director of the Andy Enfield Summer camp.
He was a member of the now famous “Dunk City” team that advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. During that magical 2013 season, Florida Gulf Coast won the Atlantic Sun Tournament championship to earn the league’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. The Eagles defeated No. 2 seeded Georgetown and No. 7 seeded San Diego State, becoming the first No. 15 seed to advance to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.
Suarez worked with four all-conference players during his time at Florida Gulf Coast: Brett Comer (who finished his career ranked 24th on the all-time NCAA career assists list), Bernard Thompson (the 2013 Atlantic Sun Defensive Player of the Year), Chase Fieler (the all-time program leader for rebounds, blocked shots and field goals made) and Sherwood Brown (2013 All-America Honorable Mention selection and the 2013 Atlantic Sun Player of the Year).
In 2014, Suarez worked for Orlando Antigua (former head coach at South Florida) and assisted with day to day operations of the Dominican Republic National team.
In 2017, Suarez worked with the Team USA Junior National team with day-to-day operations and on court development.
Suarez earned his bachelor’s degree in business management from Florida Gulf Coast University in 2012.
