Oregon men's basketball announces coaching staff additions
On Friday, Oregon men’s basketball announced a flurry of additions to Dana Altman’s staff.
The Ducks have added Brian Fish as the program’s executive director, Armon Gates as an assistant coach, and Cliff Spiller as director of strength and conditioning.
Fish comes to Oregon after spending the last three years as Georgia’s executive director. Prior to that, he was the head coach at Montana State from 2014-19. Before he got his start as a head coach, though, Fish served as an assistant on Dana Altman’s Oregon staff from 2010-2014. In total, he has worked with Altman for 13 years during stints at Oregon, Creighton, Kansas State, and Marshall.
The addition of Fish to Altman’s staff comes after Oregon’s longtime executive director, Josh Jamieson, took an assistant job on Kanny Payne’s Lousiivllle staff in April.
Gates’ move to Oregon was first reported by On3’s Robin Washut in July. He spent the past four seasons as an assistant at Nebraska and was retained by Huskers’ head coach Fred Hoiberg following the departure of former head coach Tim Miles.
According to On3, Gates worked primarily with the program’s guards — and also played a large role in player development and opponent scouting — but was not the lead recruiter on any player who signed with UN during the past four seasons.
The addition of Gates fills the opening left by longtime Oregon assistant Kevin McKenna, who is now the Ducks’ director of player development.
Spiller joins Altman’s staff after spending last season as an assistant strength and conditioning coach with the Utah Jazz. Prior to his time in Utah, he worked on the staff of the Phoenix Suns and Philadelphia 76er’s G-League affiliates. Spiller received his Bachelor’s Degree from Wagner College and his MS from PennWest California.
The addition of Spiller to Altman’s staff comes after his predecessor, Evan VanBecelaere, was recently hired as the head coach of student-athlete performance at Pittsburg State.
