Vanguard University Men’s Basketball has announced the addition of Justin Downer as an assistant coach for the 2018-19 season. Downer joins the Blue and Gold from Riverside Poly High School where he has coached the past three seasons as the associate head coach, totaling a 62-29 record. He helped lead RPHS to its first CIF Championship appearance and State Tournament berth since 1983 when Reggie Miller was a senior. They posted consecutive winning seasons for the first time in 15 years.
“I’m so excited to join the Vanguard University Men’s Basketball staff! I’ve known Coach Soliday since I was a Freshman in High School, so I’m excited to hit the grand running on our previous chemistry,” Downer remarked. “Having played in the conference at another school, there is a certain level of familiarity that I have with the GSAC, so I’m excited to get to work. Coach Soliday and staff has built a championship culture and I’m so grateful for the opportunity to continue the pursuit of more while leading young men.”
Downer is very familiar with the Golden State Athletic Conference as he attended William Jessup University where he graduated Top Five in program history in All-Time three-pointers made and three-point percentage. During his last two years of eligibility for the Warriors, he was elected team captain. Prior to WJU, he attended Skagit Valley College where he was second All-Time in three pointers made and three-point percentage. He was voted team captain and scored 17 points per contest as a sophomore.
Working as a coach for NBA Camps for the last eight years, he has been a Site Director in Colorado, Washington, California, Alaska, and Oregon. He has worked as NBC Camps’ College Prep Camp Director for four years using the player development, strength and conditioning, and defensive coaching skills he perfected at Riverside Poly High School.
“I’ve known Justin for almost 10 years and in that time I’ve seen him grow from being one of the hardest working players I’ve been around, to being one of the hardest working coaches I’ve seen out there. His relentless work-ethic has translated into making him one of the brightest up-and-coming coaches today,” Rhett Soliday said. “He has been influenced by some great mentors who have fueled a passion in him to change lives through the game of basketball.”
Downer is the under Armour West Coast Elite Associate Director where he manages all three teams, recruits players into the program, organizes campus visits, and team travel. In this role, he has coached and mentored over 60 NCAA Division I players and was selected as the 2018 West Coast Elite ‘Attitude of Gratitude” Award winner.
Academically, he graduated from Mount Si High School before finishing his Bachelors of Arts in Psychology at William Jessup and then graduated with his Masters of Arts in Education in 2018. His fiance is currently a graduate student at Loma Linda University, studying Occupational Therapy.
Coach Soliday went on to say, “Justin will be actively involved in every aspect of the day-to-day operations of running our program, and his unique skill set will pay dividends in the development of our student-athletes on and off the court, scouting and game preparation, and in taking our recruiting efforts to another level. Justin adds a great dynamic to our culture and he is a winner. I’m thrilled to incorporate him into our staff as we pursue championship level excellence in everything we do.”
