Clovis West's Vance Walberg hired as the Fresno State Men's Basketball new head coach

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Vance Walberg has been hired as the new men's basketball coach at Fresno State, becoming the 20th head coach in program history.

The video above is from an earlier story and will be updated.

Walberg made a name in coaching circles as the developer of the "Dribble Drive Motion" offense. That system found success at Memphis and later Kentucky under John Calipari and most recently with Nate Oats' Final Four team at Alabama.

"Vance Walberg has an impressive, winning record in our Valley and comes with deep community ties that will enhance our men's basketball program and our student-athletes," Jiménez-Sandoval said in a news release. "With his decades-long track record as an authority in the field, his passion for Fresno State and his drive for excellence, Coach Walberg will take our men's basketball program to new heights. I am very pleased that a Valley native will lead us to higher levels of greatness."

It's the 67-year-old's second stint as a D-I head coach, following a brief spell in 2006 when he was the head coach at Pepperdine. He resigned midway through his second year leading the Waves, citing family issues. There, his teams had a record of 14-35.

He's been a high school coach for 31 years, including 20 at Clovis West. His coaching journey began in 1978 at Mountain View High School at the age of just 22. Future stops took him to Los Altos HS, Newark Memorial HS and ultimately, Clovis West, where he found the most success.

"I am thrilled to embark on this journey with Fresno State as the new head men's basketball coach," Walberg said in a news release. "I am grateful to both Fresno State and President Jiménez-Sandoval for entrusting me with this incredible opportunity. I am committed to not only fostering a winning culture on the court but also to galvanizing the community around our program while supporting our student-athletes so they can thrive academically and athletically."

From 1989 to 2002, Walberg led the Golden Eagles to 11 league and eight Central Section titles. However, championships in 1999 and 2000 were revoked because an ineligible player was used.

Charlie Rodriquez, a Dominican Republic born center, was found to have a forged birth certificate and was 21 years old when CW beat Mater Dei 71-64 in the D-I SoCal Regional final.

Walberg went on to coach at Fresno City College where, between 2002-2006, he amassed a record of 133-11, including a perfect 34-0 season that came in with a state championship in 2005.

After Pepperdine, he was an assistant coach at UMass from 2008 to 2011 before entering the NBA. From 2012 to 2016, he served as an assistant coach to the Denver Nuggets, Philadelphia 76ers, and Sacramento Kings. He was fired in 2016, a move head coach George Karl called disappointing and confusing.

Walberg, who now becomes the oldest hire in school history, comes into a program in flux. Justin Hutson had been the coach since 2018 and compiled a record of 92-94 during his six-year tenure.

In 2024-25, the team will be entirely new, with six players in the transfer portal and two others exhausting eligibility from last year's squad.

Fresno State hasn't been in the NCAA Tournament since winning the Mountain West Tournament in 2016 and hasn't won a conference title since playing in the Western Athletic Conference in 2003.

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