Brian Fish, Oregon assistant coach, has been selected as the new men's basketball coach at Montana State.
Fish, 48, succeeds Brad Huse as the 22nd head coach in MSU history. Huse stepped down March 18 after posting a 107-133 record over eight seasons. This season, the team finished 14-17 overall and ninth in the Big Sky Conference.
Peter Fields, athletic director, described Fish as an honest and faithful man who is dedicated and determined to see student-athletes succeed.
Fish, a native of Seymour, Ind., has been an assistant coach for 25 years. He served as a graduate assistant to Dana Altman at Marshall then was an assistant for two years (1987-2002); assistant to Billy Tubbs at TCU; an assistant and associate head coach under San Diego head coach Brad Holland (2002-04) and an assistant to Altman at Creighton (1994-96, 2004-10) and at Oregon (2010-14). He was also a video co-ordinator at Kansas State.
"I learned a great deal about coaching from coach Altman," Fish said. "a great deal about how to develop a team and how to bring a team along. In my six years with Billy Tubbs I learned a totally different style of basketball. We won a lot of games..., and I learned a lot of things just riding in a car with him going to see a recruit," Miami Herald reports.
Fish was a notable prep player in Indiana at Seymour High School and was chosen to the 'Silver Anniversary' prep team 2009. He went on to play collegiate sports at Western Kentucky and Marshall.
Fish trained Oregon's forwards and centers during practice sessions. Waverly Austin, outgoing senior, described Fish as a 'player's coach.'
"I wish him the best at Montana State. He's funny but also very serious about the game. I think it's important for coaches to have that relationship, it brings a comfort level for a player. That's what he can do for that team," Austin said, Oregon Live reports.
Dwayne Benjamin, a 6-foot-7 forward who joined GoDucks in November said, "I'm happy for him, he deserves it. He was one of the major reasons why I joined Oregon because it was like a family."
