Montana Names Rupp Assistant Men’s Hoops Coach

MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — Montana men's basketball coach Wayne Tinkle has named former Louisiana Tech coach Kerry Rupp as an assistant coach for the Grizzlies.

Rupp comes to Montana from Hawaii, where he served as director of operations this past season.

He was head coach at Louisiana Tech from 2007-11, posting a 24-11 record during the 2009-10 season. Prior to that, Rupp was an assistant at Alabama-Birmingham, Indiana and Utah and developed a reputation as one of the top recruiters in college basketball.

Rupp recruited Andrew Bogut to Utah, where he became the National Player of the Year and the top pick in the 2005 NBA Draft.

Tinkle says he's thrilled to add someone with Rupp's experience, energy, intensity and wisdom to the program.

Rupp played basketball for two years at Utah State before transferring to Southern Utah.

His was named his team's MVP as a senior.