Bill Grier expected to join CU Buffs basketball staff

Tad Boyle is expected to add Bill Grier to his Colorado Buffaloes Basketball staff, as originally reported by Pat Rooney of the Daily Camera. Grier, most recently an assistant at Oklahoma State takes the position which was vacated by Rodney Billups when he left to take the Denver Pioneers head coaching job.

Tad Boyle was unable to comment on the expected addition on Tuesday, noting that nothing was official with the search yet but BSN Denver can confirm that Grier has been on campus this week and will be officially announced to the position soon.

Grier had only been at OSU for one year, he was let go when Travis Ford was fired earlier in March. The soon-to-be new Buffs staff member spent eight years as the head coach at the University of San Diego where he led the Toreros to a 117-144 record. He coached San Diego to six wins over top 25 teams, notably taking down Kentucky in Rupp Arena. His tenure in Southern California was highlighted by a 2008 WCC Tournament title and a subsequent upset of fourth-seeded Connecticut in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The 52-year old served 16 years as an assistant at Gonzaga where he was eventually named the recruiting director under Mark Few. Gonzaga’s 2007 class was the program’s best to that point. That class was ranked 11th in the nation by Rivals, and four recruits were among the top-100 in the country.

“He is one heck of a basketball mind,” said Gonzaga head coach Mark Few. “Bill is hard working and loyal, and he played a huge part in building Gonzaga basketball to where it is now. And then he became a pain in the rear when he went down to San Diego. He’s extremely detail oriented, and a great scouter and game planner. I leaned on him heavily up here at Gonzaga, especially on the defensive side of the floor. When he went to San Diego he really evolved on the offensive side, and did some special things with those teams. Bill is an unbelievable student of the game who is always looking to learn and get better.”

Now word yet on when to expect an official announcement from the school.