Cal Grad Alex Pribble Coaches Idaho to First NCAA Bid Since 1990

Ben Braun was the TV analyst courtside at Idaho Central Arena in Boise on Wednesday night when Idaho beat Montana 77-66 in the championship game of the Big Sky Conference.

As he watched the Vandals earn their first NCAA tournament bid in 36 years, Braun saw the same traits in the team as their coach exhibited two decades ago as a walk-on guard at Cal.

Alex Pribble is the biggest thing in Moscow, Idaho right now after getting the Vandals back into March Madness for the first time since 1990. He hadn’t yet turned 5 when Idaho lost to Louisville in its NCAA game at Salt Lake City that year.

“Alex’s team has just gotten better,” said Braun, alluding to the Vandals run of four victories in five days as the tournament’s No. 7 seed. “He’s got a team that reflects his personality — they’re unselfish, there’s not a lot of ego. They dig in on the defensive end, they give you a lot of different looks, they try to disrupt you. They do all the things he did as a player.”

Teammate Richard Midgley, now a scout for the Brooklyn Nets, remembered Midgley in much the same terms.

“He was tough, physical, good practice player, smart. Sort of ran the walk-on group really well. He always played hard,” said Midgley, who is not surprised that Pribble is finding success as a coach.

“Without a doubt. He has a poise to him, has leadership qualities, was smart. Wasn’t the best athlete but still was able to be productive. A lot of traits that benefit him now as a coach.”

Pribble, 40, grew up in Marin County, came to Cal as a non-scholarship player for the 2003-04 season and spent four years at Berkeley. He was put on scholarship his junior season and twice won the program’s Hustle Award. He also was a first-team Pac-12 All-Academic honoree in 2005-06.

Although never a scorer, he was part of the Bears’ 2006 team, featuring Leon Powe, Ayinde Ubaka and Midgley, that played in the NCAA tournament. He started eight games as a senior the next season.

Pribble cut his teeth as a young coach his first year after his playing days ended, serving as a grad assistant for Braun in 2007-08. He then coached three seasons at Tamalpais High in Marin County, two as an assistant at San Francisco State and two as an assistant at Eastern Washington.

He landed his first college head-coaching job in 2015-16 at Saint Martin’s, a Division II program in Lacey, Washington. He was 83-40 in four seasons, including 51-14 the final two years. He led the team to its first two Division II playoff appearances, advancing to the Sweet 16 round in 2019.

Then it was on to four years as an assistant at Seattle U, alma mater of legendary 1950s star Elgin Baylor. He coached the final two seasons under Chris Victor, helping the Redhawks post a combined record of 43-21.

Now in his third season at Idaho, he and his players will experience the NCAA tournament for just the fifth time in the 112-year history of the program.

“I say it a lot, but I really love this team, and I’ve felt this way from the start,” Pribble told the Idaho Statesman after Wednesday night’s championship game. “I’ve been around and a part of a lot of basketball teams, and sometimes you just have this sense, like the internal leadership, the day-to-day process, the joy the guys play the game with, the competitiveness.

“It feels like a championship group. It feels like a winning group. I’ve felt that way all year, and so during some of the ups and downs, we just had to trust the process and stay with what we were doing, and it clicked for us at the right time.”

To win the title, the Vandals had to beat defending tournament champion Montana, coached by Travis DeCuire, a former Cal assistant under Mike Montgomery.

“He’s got an instinct. He’s got a knack,” Braun said of the skills Pribble brings to coaching. “I always felt he was built to lead. He was a leader, even as a walk-on. People respected him.”

Midgley was among that crowd. “Super-excited for him. I think it’s an incredible achievement,” Midgley said. “Super-proud that he’s crushing it and excited to see what he can do in the tournament.”

Idaho won just one game in its four previous trips to the NCAAs, beating Iowa 69-67 in overtime in 1982. The Vandals lost 60-42 to Oregon State in the next round, but finished the season with a sparkling 27-3 record.

The Vandals will find out who and where they will play in the NCAA tournament on Sunday afternoon when the 68-team field is unveiled.

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