University of Portland head men’s basketball coach Shantay Legans has filled two vacancies on his coaching staff with a pair of familiar faces. Bobby Suarez and T.J. Lipold will re-join Legans as assistant coaches on the Portland bench after spending the last four years on staff Eastern Washington.
“We’re excited to welcome Bobby and T.J. to the program and the Portland community,” Legans said. “Having worked intimately with both guys at EWU, I’ve seen first-hand their work ethic and high character for years. Quite frankly, I would not have gotten this opportunity without them. I consider both to be great friends and am so grateful we are able to get them to UP to help build this thing!”
Suarez was an assistant coach the last four years with the Eagles, while Lipold began in an operations role before his promotion to assistant coach for the 2020-21 season. During their four-year stint together with Legans at the helm Eastern Washington won the Big Sky Conference regular season title in 2019-20 and then the 2021 Big Sky Tournament championship.
The program won 75 games overall and went 53-20 (.726) in league play. EWU had won 23 games entering the 2019-20 postseason before the COVID-19 pandemic ended the team’s run prematurely.
The duo also helped develop three Big Sky Conference MVP’s in the last four years: Tanner Groves (2021), Mason Peatling (2020) and Bogdan Bliznyuk (2018). Peatling also earned Academic All-American honors.
More About Bobby Suarez
Suarez was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) 30-Under-30 Team in June of 2020, representing the 30 most outstanding men’s college basketball coaches under the age of 30.
A winner every step of the way in his coaching progression, Suarez began as a manager and intern at Florida Gulf Coast during the program’s “Dunk City” run to the Sweet 16 in 2013. He then spent four seasons at Florida State on Leonard Hamilton’s staff before joining Legans and the Eagles.
“I am extremely excited to join the University of Portland basketball community,” Suarez said. “I am grateful for this opportunity to come over with Coach Legans, change the culture, and build this into a successful basketball program. We are putting together a staff and team that will create an entertaining brand of basketball for the Portland fans!”
Suarez was an assistant video coordinator while at Florida State and assistant director of the Leonard Hamilton Basketball Team Camp. In addition to team and individual video edits, Suarez put together scouting reports, recruiting videos and managed film exchange.
While at Florida State, Suarez worked with NBA First Round Draft picks Malik Beasley, Dwayne Bacon, and Jonathan Isaac, as well as future NBA player Okaro White.
Suarez was a director of operations intern and head student manager at Florida Gulf Coast from 2009-2013. His responsibilities included on-court player development, video editing and facilitating on-campus recruiting. He also assisted in the running of the Andy Enfield Summer Camps.
A member of FGCU’s program during its “Dunk City” run in 2013 season, Suarez helped the program win the Atlantic Sun Tournament championship and automatic NCAA bid. The Eagles defeated No. 2 seeded Georgetown and No. 7 seeded San Diego State to become the first-ever No. 15 seed to reach Sweet 16.
Players that FGCU developed throughout his tenure included: Brett Comer (finished career No. 24 all-time in assists at NCAA Division I level), Bernard Thompson (2013 Atlantic Sun Defensive Player of the Year), Chase Fieler (all-time program leader for rebounds, blocked shots and field goals made) and Sherwood Brown (2013 All-America Honorable Mention selection and Atlantic Sun Player of the Year).
In addition to his collegiate coaching experience, Suarez worked with Team USA in 2017 and the Dominican Republic National Team in 2015, helping with on-court player development and day-to-day operations at both stops.
Suarez earned his bachelor’s degree in business management from Florida Gulf Coast in 2012.
More About T.J. Lipold
Lipold (pronounced lip-old) joined the EWU basketball program in June of 2017 in an assistant director of basketball operations and video coordinator. He then moved into the director of operations role for the 2019-20 and was promoted to assistant coach this past year. Lipold assisted in all areas of the program during his tenure with a focus on defense in coaching role.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled to join Coach Legans and the University of Portland basketball program,” Lipold said. “Our staff will create a culture that demands character and toughness, while playing an exciting brand of winning basketball. The buzz and excitement around campus has been awesome and we can’t wait to get our team on campus and get going!”
Prior to his stint in Cheney, Lipold began his coaching career at Saddleback College, where he played his first two years of collegiate basketball. He served three seasons as an assistant coach with the program highlighted by a 2015 CCAA State Championship run.
As a player at Saddleback, Lipold was an All-Orange Empire League first team selection and led the squad to the 2010 CCAA State Championship.
He then played two years at Westmont College, where he was a part of back-to-back 25-win seasons from 2010-12.
Lipold earned a degree in communications from Westmont in 2012 and a master’s degree in education from National University (Costa Mesa, Calif.) in 2014.
Portland Basketball Staff Update
