Paying Their Dues: Lloyd, Oliver and Wulbrun Were Long-Time Assistants
May 7th, 2021 - 7:23
Has there ever been an individual spend as long a time as an assistant (32 years) as Brian Dutcher before moving over a chair and becoming San Diego State's head coach several years ago? Exercising patience to the max as world became full of masked Michael Jackson impersonators, three new bench bosses (Tommy Lloyd, Desmond Oliver and Jeff Wulbrun) joined the following list of 10 active mentors toiling more than 20 seasons as a college aide:
| Active Head Coach (Years as Aide) | Current School | 20-Season-Plus Background as Assistant Coach |
|---|---|---|
| Brian Dutcher (32) | San Diego State | Illinois in 1983-84 and 1984-85, South Dakota State in 1986-87 and 1987-88, Michigan from 1989-90 through 1997-98 and San Diego State from 1999-00 through 2016-17. |
| Desmond Oliver (27) | East Tennessee State | Niagara from 1994-95 through 1996-97, Texas A&M in 1997-98, Cornell in 1998-99 and 1999-00, St. Bonaventure in 2000-01, Rhode Island from 2001-02 through 2003-04, Georgia from 2004-05 through 2008-09, Canisius in 2009-10, Charlotte from 2010-11 through 2014-15 and Tennessee from 2015-16 through 2020-21 |
| Matt Figger (24) | Texas-Rio Grande Valley | Wabash Valley Junior College (Ill.) in 1993-94, Vincennes College (Ind.) from 1994-95 through 1998-99, Odessa College (Tex.) from 1999-00 through 2001-02, South Alabama from 2002-03 through 2006-07, Kansas State from 2007-08 through 2011-12 and South Carolina from 2012-13 through 2016-17. |
| Greg Gard (23) | Wisconsin | Wisconsin-Platteville from 1993-94 through 1998-99, Milwaukee in 1999-00 and 2000-01 and Wisconsin from 2001-02 to 2015-16. |
| Glenn Braica (22) | St. Francis (N.Y.) | New York City Tech in 1988-89, St. Francis (N.Y.) from 1989-90 through 2003-04 and St. John's from 2004-05 through 2009-10. |
| Ron Sanchez (22) | Charlotte | SUNY Oneonta from 1996-97 through 1998-99, SUNY Delhi in 1999-00 and 2000-01, Indiana in 2001-02 and 2002-03, Washington State from 2003-04 through 2008-09 and Virginia from 2009-10 through 2017-18. |
| Jeff Boals (21) | Ohio University | Ohio University in 1995-96, Charleston (W. Va.) from 1996-97 through 1998-99, Marshall from 1999-00 through 2002-03, back at Charleston (W. Va.) in 2003-04, Robert Morris in 2004-05 and 2005-06, Akron from 2006-07 through 2008-09 and Ohio State from 2009-10 through 2015-16. |
| Mike Hopkins (21) | Washington | Syracuse from 1996-97 through 2016-17. |
| Tommy Lloyd (21) | Arizona | Gonzaga from 2000-01 through 2020-21 |
| Jeff Wulbrun (21) | Denver | California from 1986-87 through 1992-93, Illinois State from 1993-94 through 1996-97, Virginia Tech in 2011-12, UAB from 2012-13 through 2015-16 and Stanford from 2016-17 through 2020-21 |