Justin Wetzel begins his second season as assistant coach for men’s basketball at Montana State University Billings. Wetzel has had the opportunity to coach at every level, high school, professional and college. Prior to MSU Billings, Wetzel was most recently head coach in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) for the Butte Daredevils. When he was hired by the Daredevils in early 2008, he was the youngest head coach in professional basketball in the United States.
Despite being half the age of most of the opposing CBA coaches and coaching against former NBA stars such as Kenny Anderson, Michael Ray Richardson and Vincent Askew, Wetzel quickly gained respect around the league for his team’s hardnosed, competitive play and effort. The Daredevils showed immediate benefits as they improved their offense by six points a game while allowing eight fewer points per game.
“I have coaches for 30-plus years and Coach Wetzel is one of the strongest up-and-coming assistant coaches I have had the privilege to work with,” head coach George Pfeifer said. “People throw out the terms work ethic and long hours around a lot, but in Wetzel’s case, he not only is working 12 to 14 hour days, he is not confusing activity with accomplishment - work is getting done.”
In October of 2006, Wetzel was hired as an assistant coach for the Great Falls Explorers of the CBA. In the Explorers first year, led by head coach Steve Aggers, they were runner-up in the West Division to eventual CBA champions, Yakima Sunkings, and Wetzel helped Explorer Travis Garrison (University of Maryland) earn CBA Rookie of the Year. In 2007, Wetzel was named Director of Player Personnel for the Explorers. That same season as an assistant coach, Wetzel worked under former NBA sharp shooter and two-time world champion (Boston Celtics) Scott Wedman.
In his time in professional basketball Wetzel coached over 30 Division 1 athletes from numerous conferences including the ACC, Pac 10, SEC, Big East, and Big 12. He also has had the privilege of using some of his contacts at the professional level to closely observe and be involved with the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, Nev., this past summer.
Wetzel also was a head high school coach at Broadview/Lavina from 2004-2006 and prior to that he was a the coach at Ryegate High School and got his start in coaching at Joliet High School.
A native of Cut Bank, Mont., Wetzel played two years at Dawson Community College. He has a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from Montana State Billings. Wetzel is scheduled to finish his master’s in sports management this spring from MSUB. He is enrolled member of the Blackfeet Indian Tribe. He resides in Billings.
“He is someone everyone in our organization that I can count on and he is accountable. In our community and on our campus, I have never heard anyone say anything but kind things about him. He just won a campus wide award voted on by faculty and staff for what he does for everyone he touches, Pfeifer added.”
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