Idaho's Pribble adds 3 to coaching staff

May 6—Idaho men's basketball coach Alex Pribble was basically handed a blank canvas when he accepted the job on March 16.

The lack of a roster and coaching staff didn't intimate the Fairfax, Calif., native. Instead, he went to work immediately on the future of the Vandals.

While Pribble has already hit the ground running in terms of recruiting, another important task is building his coaching staff.

In terms of what his ideal staff would look like, Pribble wanted guys with a diversity of experience from a variety of different levels. He also mentioned that some head coaching experience wouldn't hurt either.

Pribble implemented and executed his plan after hiring assistant coaches Brandon Laird, David Dunham and Matt Jones on Thursday.

"I had the ability to hire a coaching staff that fits specific needs to build the program," Pribble said. "We're excited with where we're at in the process, and we're really excited with our staff."

Here's a breakdown of each hire:

Brandon Laird

Laird has 20 years of coaching experience with the last 13 spent in the Big Sky Conference.

Most recently, Laird was a program analyst for a UC Davis team that won 18 games in 2022-23.

Before that, Laird spent the last nine seasons as the associate head coach for Sacramento State, where he helped lead the Hornets to 13 wins in seven of the last nine years, a number that hadn't been reached by the Hornets since their run from 1966-1973.

Before Sac State, he was an assistant coach at UC Davis from 2009-11 where he worked with the guards and assisted with on-floor coaching, scouting and recruiting.

Laird will be the top assistant on the staff.

"We'll rely a lot on his experience in the conference," Pribble said. "He's done a lot of scouting reports on both sides of the basketball. He has a lot of knowledge on both sides of the floor."

Matt Jones

Pribble added Jones to Idaho's coaching staff after the pair spent the last five seasons at Seattle University together.

Jones started his coaching career as a graduate assistant for the Red Hawks from 2018-20 before making the jump to director of operations.

This will be Jones' first on-court job, earning it through his work ethic and ability to wear several hats at once.

As the director of operations, he assisted in game day operations, player skill development, business and finance, travel management and video coordination.

"He's the first to come and the last to leave," Pribble said. "He creates tremendous value with his work ethic. He may not be as experienced as the rest of the staff, but he's able to wear the most hats."

David Dunham

Dunham has 17 years of coaching experience and has notched 16 winning seasons during his career. Throughout his coaching tenure, the Lewis-Clark State graduate has garnered four conference championships and two NCAA tournament appearances.

"He creates great relationships with his players," Pribble said. "He's very familiar with the northwest region and is just a guy that complements what we're trying to build here."

He's spent the last seven years as the assistant coach at Western Washington University, leading the Vikings to two NCAA Division II tournaments.

Prior to that, he was the head man at Whatcom Community College from 2013-16 where he posted a 48-37 overall record.

Dunham and Pribble got to know one another through their battles inside the Great Northern Conference.

Pixley may be contacted at (208) 848-2290, tpixley@lmtribune.com or on Twitter @TreebTalks.