Colorado men’s basketball coach Tad Boyle is ready to add Bill Grier to his coaching staff.
Sources confirmed on Monday that Grier, most recently an assistant at Oklahoma State, will join CU’s staff. Grier takes the place of Rodney Billups, who left the Buffs following the NCAA Tournament to take the head coach position at the University of Denver.
Grier spent just one season at Oklahoma State and was let go alongside head coach Travis Ford after the 2015-16 season.
Prior to his season at OSU, Grier was a successful head coach at the University of San Diego, winning 117 games in eight seasons. That run was highlighted by a championship in the 2008 West Coast Conference tournament and a first-round win against fourth-seeded UConn in the NCAA Tournament. It remains the only NCAA tourney win in San Diego’s history.
Grier also spent 15 years as an assistant at Gonzaga, serving as the program’s recruiting coordinator during the final 10 years of his tenure at a time when the Bulldogs rose to national prominence.
Billups’ departure for his alma mater at DU was a rare shake-up of Boyle’s staff, as Billups was promoted from director of basketball operations to assistant coach after Tom Abatemarco’s departure following the 2011-12 season. Boyle’s other two assistants, Jean Prioleau and Mike Rohn, have remained at CU since Boyle was hired in 2010.
Pat Rooney: rooneyp@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/prooney07
