Colorado MBB elevates Tyson Gilbert to assistant coach
Colorado men’s basketball announced via press release on Wednesday that the program is elevating graduate assistant Tyson Gilbert to assistant coach/quality control analyst.
The move came more than a month after former CU associate head coach Mike Rohn left to take on the same position with the Kansas City Roos, leaving a spot open on Tad Boyle‘s staff. The Buffs have yet to announce if an associate head coach has been decided for next season.
Gilbert’s rank-up arrived after just two seasons in Boulder, having become a graduate assistant ahead of the 2024-2025 season.
“These past two years I’ve learned a ton and have been able to just grow as a coach and more importantly as a person,” Gilbert said in the release. “I’d like to thank Coach Boyle and the entire staff for allowing me to grow. I’m extremely excited for the future in this role.”
As a graduate assistant, Gilbert helped gather information for scouting reports, worked individually with players, led the student managers and ran practice drills. Having played four years of Division-II basketball, though, splitting four years between CSU-Pueblo and Alaska Anchorage, he has functioned as another scout team player at times. He averaged 15.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists his senior year with UAA, being named the school’s athlete of the year for his on-court performance and overall leadership.
Naturally, while his ability as a player has made him unique as a coach, Gilbert’s desire to help others and get to know his players has stood out.
“This whole business is about relationships,” Gilbert said in the release. “I just try to learn from everybody I encounter, try to learn from everything. Coach Boyle has a quote, ‘When you’re done learning, you’re through.’ So, the last couple of years, I’ve tried to dive into player development, learning what it takes to be successful at this level of coaching, working hard and grinding. The whole staff is full of guys who sacrifice a lot and work extremely hard.”
Growing up in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, and starring at Rock Canyon High School before his collegiate career, Gilbert has local roots.
Boyle commends Gilbert
While experience is irreplaceable, so is youth. Gilbert, born almost a year after fellow assistant Evan Battey, is the youngest on Boyle’s staff.
And for that reason, Boyle saw fit to appoint the young man despite missing Rohn’s experience.
“Tyson has a very unique ability to connect with our players, and our players really respond to him,” Boyle said in the release. “Obviously, he’s young and can speak their language, so to speak. He’s from their era, and he’s a guy who’s got great energy and just has an infectious personality. He’s a guy that you enjoy being around.”
With Gilbert’s traits, Boyle was reminded of the last time the program made an in-house hire. Back in 2016, Steve Englehart was promoted to the men’s basketball strength coach after originally working across several of CU’s athletic teams; he worked well with the players.
While the situation is slightly different with Gilbert, Boyle sees a similarly undeniable connection between him and players.
“Sometimes the best people for the job are right under your nose and in your own ranks,” Boyle said in the release. “He’s mature beyond his years, so he can deal with adults and handle himself in recruiting circles and recruiting conversations, yet, he’s young enough to really connect and identify with our players, and so he’s going to be a really, really good coach.”