Story Courtesy: Paul Grua – Weber State Athletic Communications
Weber State men’s basketball head coach Eric Duft has announced the hiring of Shaun Vandiver as a new assistant coach with the Wildcats.
Vandiver comes to WSU with over 20 years of coaching experience, including seven seasons as a head coach. He is also a former first round pick in the NBA Draft.
“We are very excited to have Shaun join our staff at Weber State,” Duft said. “He was a great player and brings a tremendous amount of knowledge to the court. He is exceptional at coaching the big guys and is a tireless recruiter. Shaun and his wife Danielle will be great role models for the young men in our program.”
Vandiver comes to Weber State after spending the last seven seasons at the University of Wyoming, where he was an assistant coach to Allen Edwards, Jeff Linder, and Sundance Wicks. During his seven seasons in Laramie, he coached the Cowboys to a trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2022. It was his third of three stints on the staff at Wyoming.
“I’m excited to come to Weber State, which is a great basketball program with tremendous history and tradition,” Vandiver said. “My relationships with coach Duft, as well as Jeff Linder, Phil Beckner, and Tim O’Flanigan, played a big part in my coming to Weber State. I can’t wait to get to work and get after it to help us win and be successful.”
He was the head coach at Division II Emporia State in Emporia, Kansas, from 2011-18. He led the Hornets to five Mid-America Athletic Association tournaments and a trip to the Division II NCAA Tournament second round.
He was an assistant from 2005-10 at Wyoming under Steve McClain and Heath Schroyer, and helped lead the Pokes to the Mountain West Championship game in 2006. He also served as a graduate assistant at Wyoming from 2002-03.
He was also an assistant coach at Northern Colorado (2003-04), Bowling Green (2004-05), and Boise State (2010-11).
He began his coaching career in 2001-02 as a volunteer assistant at the University of Colorado while finishing his degree in Sociology.
He played one year of basketball at Hutchinson Community College in Kansas before transferring to Colorado, where he was named the Big Eight Newcomer of the Year in 1989. As a senior in 1991, he led the Buffaloes to the NIT finals. He averaged a double-double in his career at Colorado and finished his career as the third-leading scorer in CU history with 1,876 career points over three seasons. He also earned first-team All-Big Eight honors as a junior and senior.
Following his college career, he was drafted with the 25th pick of the 1991 NBA Draft by the Golden State Warriors. He went on to have a nine-year playing career in Europe playing in Bologna, Italy, Bilbao, Spain, Girona, Spain, Reggio Calabria, Italy, Las Palmas, Spain, and Madrid, Spain.
Vandiver is a native of Bolingbrook, Illinois. He and his wife Danielle have five children, Aubrey, Amber, Garin, Alessandra, and Gage.
