 
Vic Couch enters his second year as the Assistant Head Coach on Dan Monson's staff at Long Beach State. Couch and Monson will be entering their eighth year of collaboration as Couch served on Monson's staff for seven years at the University of Minnesota. Couch has worked at the collegiate level for the past 10 years, as he was an assistant coach at Santa Clara University for three season before heading to Minneapolis. An outstanding recruiter and tactician, Couch helped lead Minnesota to five post-season appearances during his tenure (1 NCAA, 4 NIT). For the past five years Couch served as an assistant coach for the Gophers after spending his first two campaigns serving as the Director of Basketball Operations. Couch assisted in off-campus recruiting, offensive game-planning, while working specifically with the Golden Gopher guards and wings. As the Director of Basketball Operations, Coach oversaw all administrative areas in the men's basketball program, as well as the Dan Monson GopherBall Basketball Camps. During his time at Minnesota he helped recruit numerous high-profile players including, Rick Rickert (McDonald's All-American), Jerry Holman (NJCAA All-American), Kris Humphries (McDonald's All-American) and Vincent Grier (NJCAA All-American, two-time All-Big Ten). In 2005 the Gophers went 21-11, 10-6 in the Big Ten, and received the school's first bid to the NCAA Tournament since 1999. In 2003 the squad went 19-14 and advanced to the Final Four of the NIT and in 2002 and 2006 Minnesota advanced to the second round of the NIT. Couch came to Minnesota after spending three years as an assistant (1997-2000) at Santa Clara University. A former standout player for the Broncos, Couch was the defensive coordinator and recruiter for the Broncos, as well as directing the Santa Clara basketball camps. Notable recruits during his time with the Broncos included Brian Jones, a USA Top 100 player and the 1996 Los Angeles City Player of the Year, and Jason Morrisette, the 1998 Los Angeles City Player of the Year. Prior to SCU, Couch spent a successful six years coaching high school basketball in the state of California. From 1986-88 he was the Associate Head Coach at John. F. Kennedy High School in Fremont, where he helped lead the Titans to a quarterfinal appearance in the 1988 CIF Northern Section Playoffs. He then spent one year as an assistant coach at St. Anthony's High School in Long Beach before spending three years as the Associate Head Basketball Coach at Servite High School in Anaheim. While at Servite, he helped lead the squad to the 1991 CIF Division III State Championships, as well as the 1991 CIF Southern Section title. In 1992 the squad also captured the CIF Southern Section championship. A native of Davenport, Iowa, Coach began his collegiate career at Clinton Community College in Clinton, Iowa. He was named all-region and honorable mention All-America is sophomore season. In addition, he was the recipient of the NJC Sportsmanship Award in 1983. From there he transferred to Santa Clara where he was a two-year starting forward (1983-85) for the Broncos. A defensive leader, Couch guarded some of the nation's, and NBA's, top players while at SCU, including John Stockton, Reggie Miller, Kevin Johnson and A.C. Green. Couch earned his bachelor's degree in English from Santa Clara in 1985. Couch and his wife Sherry, have a daughter, Brittany (16) and a son, Juston Kace (14). |
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