Portland State Men’s Basketball Coach Jase Coburn has called on a familiar coaching peer – one that spent some time “growing up” in the Big Sky Conference along with him – as he has hired Matt Dunn as an assistant coach for the Viking program.
Dunn has spent more than a decade in collegiate coaching, including six years at rival Northern Arizona, where he and Coburn became acquainted and matched wits on the basketball court. Dunn was at NAU from 2012-18, while Coburn has been at PSU since 2013.
“Matt brings a tremendous amount of experience to our program,” said Viking Head Coach Jase Coburn. “He was in the Big Sky for six years so he knows the conference. He and I met years ago, became friends and I really respect his basketball knowledge and recruiting ability. A lot of his values as a person match up with mine.
“I will rely on Matt heavily. He is a great player development coach. I look forward to him working with our players and helping them get better every day. The thing I know about Matt is, he is in this for the student-athlete experience and helping them reach their goals.”
“The number one reason I wanted to come to Portland State is Coach Coburn,” said Dunn. “I think he is unbelievable as a coach. We have similarities on how we have relationships with players on and off the court. I am happy to get back to the Big Sky, it is a great conference, and I want to work with him to compete for a Big Sky title.”
Dunn was an assistant coach at IUPUI over the past three seasons where he worked primarily with the Jaguars’ big men, while assisting in recruiting and practice planning. Prior to that, Dunn was an assistant coach at Northern Arizona from 2012-18.
Dunn was part of one of the most successful seasons in NAU history, helping the Lumberjacks register a school record 23 wins in 2014-15, including advancing to the championship game of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. That year, he was instrumental in coaching forward Jordyn Martin to Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year honors, marking the third time in school history a Lumberjack had won the award.
The year prior, Dunn helped NAU forward Max Jacobsen to Big Sky Conference Honorable Mention accolades. He also saw center Len Springs emerge as one of the best shot blockers in the Big Sky and in NAU history, registering 58 rejections on the year.
Dunn was a recruiting coordinator and assistant director of operations with the Memphis University staff from 2009-12. Memphis posted a 75-29 record with three consecutive 20-win seasons from 2009-12. During his tenure, Memphis earned two NCAA Tournament appearances, earned an NIT berth and won a Conference USA regular season title and two Conference USA Tournament Championships.
Dunn worked at Miami Dade College as an assistant in 2008-09. He helped the Sharks to a 26-3 overall record and a perfect 12-0 Southern Conference mark. Miami Dade, the Southern Conference champion, reached the No. 1 spot in the state of Florida junior college rankings and finished the 2008-09 season ranked No. 3 in the national junior college poll.
While at Miami Dade, Dunn worked with the team’s post players and oversaw the team’s strength and conditioning program. Off that 2008-09 squad, seven players transferred to NCAA Division I schools.
Prior to Miami Dade, Dunn worked at Southwestern Community College in Creston, Iowa. He served as an assistant coach for the Spartans and helped lead the team to an 18-win season and a spot in the national polls.
Prior to joining the junior college ranks, Dunn coached four seasons at the high school level with two seasons each at Hays High School and Perry-LeCompton High School. While at Hays, Dunn helped lead the Indians to back-to-back sub state finals appearances and a conference crown.
Before his high school coaching career, Dunn was head coach and director of operations for the Kansas Storm Basketball Club, an AAU program aimed at assisting underprivileged student-athletes develop on the court and in the classroom.
Dunn’s past work experience includes stints with the MLS Kansas City Wizards and ABA Kansas City Knights. For the Wizards, Dunn served as an assistant to the organization’s public relations director. He was the assistant director of basketball operations and a scout for the Knights.
Dunn earned his bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership from Fort Hays State in 2007 and earned his master’s degree from Concordia University Irvine in 2020.
https://goviks.com/news/2021/6/3/matt-dunn-joins-vikings-mens-basketball-coaching-staff.aspx
