UW Huskies assistant Quincy Pondexter leaves for head coach job in G League

Former UW Huskies star Quincy Pondexter is leaving his role as assistant coach at his alma mater for his first head coaching gig.

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The 38-year-old Pondexter announced on social media Tuesday night that he will be the new head coach of the Windy City Bulls, the NBA G League affiliate of the Chicago Bulls.

“Leaving the University of Washington is bittersweet. I am deeply thankful to Coach [Danny] Sprinkle, the players, staff, Husky Nation, and the entire UW community for welcoming my family and I back, and allowing me to be part of such a special program,” Pondexter wrote. “The relationships I built and the lessons I learned during my time at UW as a student, athlete, and a coach will stay with me throughout my coaching career. I am a Dawg forever.

“Becoming a head coach has always been a dream of mine, and I am excited to take this next step as I look forward to developing our players both on and off the court, building a strong culture, and competing daily.”

Pondexter re-joined the Huskies last season for his third stint with the program and second as an assistant coach. He also spent three seasons as an assistant at UW under Mike Hopkins from 2021-24 before heading to USC for one season in 2024-25.

Pondexter helped lead UW to back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances as a player in 2009 and ’10 under longtime head coach Lorenzo Romar. The 6-foot-7 forward had a breakout year as a senior in 2009-10, averaging career highs of 19.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.3 steals over 36 games while earning first-team All-Pac-12 honors. He was named Pac-12 Player of the Week a league-high five times during his senior season.

Pondexter’s 1,786 career points are fifth in program history.

A Fresno, Calif., native, Pondexter was a first-round pick by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2010 NBA Draft. In seven NBA seasons with the New Orleans Pelicans, Memphis Grizzlies, Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs, he averaged 4.5 points and 1.8 rebounds per game.

Pondexter’s NBA career was interrupted by a serious knee injury that required three surgeries and caused him to miss all of the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons.

Pondexter’s departure from UW comes two months before the program opens its season at home against Colgate on Nov. 2. He is set to take over a Windy City Bulls squad that went 15-22 last season under former head coach Billy Donovan III.

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