David Caputo Position: Assistant Women's Basketball Coach

David Caputo joins the Louisiana Tech women's basketball coaching staff after three highly-successful seasons as the head coach at Indian River State College in Florida.

Caputo, who will be in charge of the post players development and assisting with recruiting and defensive schemes, has been successful as both an assistant coach and head coach on both the men's and women's side as well as all levels of intercollegiate basketball.

"He is an Italian guy that people are going to love," Weatherspoon said. "He is just full of energy. The one thing that I like the most ... yes he is able to coach and yes he is able to develop players ... but the thing I like the most is his emotions about being a part of this program and this staff. He told me `Coach, this is my dream job to be with you at Louisiana Tech.'

"Having someone who feels that way can only help make great things happen. His vision for this program is the same as mine. He is just amazing. It will be interesting to see who stays in the gym the longest; he's that type of coach. He is excited to be here and we are excited to have him."

Most recently, the 32-year-old served as the head coach at Indian River State College in Fort Pierce, Florida where he helped lead the program to three straight Southern Conference championships and three trips to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I Region VIII Elite 8.

During the past three years at Indian River State College, Caputo recorded a mark of 54-26, setting a school record for wins in a three-year period while also earning national rankings during the past two seasons - including as high as No. 12 in 2009-10 when he was named the Southern Conference Coach of the Year.

Caputo is also very familiar with the LA Tech program as two of his former Indian River State players are current Lady Techsters as Shantale Bramble-Donaldson and Brittany Hardy played for him prior to signing to play in Ruston. The duo were just two of 12 players that Caputo had sign Division I scholarships during his three years in Fort Pierce.

"I am truly humbled and honored to work for Coach Weatherspoon," Caputo said. "I've had an opportunity to meet all of the big-time Division I coaches when they recruited my student-athletes, and no one had as big of an effect on me and my kids than she did. I knew then that I wanted to work for her. It will be a dream-come-true for me to work with her, this staff and this program."

Prior to his time at Indian River State College, Caputo served as the assistant women's coach at Florida Atlantic during the 2007-08 season where he helped the program sign the 54th best recruiting class in the country. The class included the No. 1 ranked high school point guard in the state of Wisconsin, the 12th rated junior college power forward in the nation, the New Orleans high school player of the year and the 19th ranked junior college shooting guard.

During the 2006-07 season, he served as the head women's assistant coach at Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville, Florida where he was instrumental in helping the program to a 22-9 record - its best mark in more than two decades. He was also a part of a coaching staff at SFCC that signed the 8th best recruiting class in the nation.

Caputo's college coaching career started in 2002 when he was hired as the associate head coach for the men's basketball team at Division II Bloomfield College in New Jersey. During his four years at Bloomfield, the program earned two trips to the Division II national tournament - the first in the program's history - while also winning three consecutive conference tournament championships and back-to-back regular season titles.