The familiar face of Zach Ruebesam has taken over the vacant CU men’s basketball Director of Player Development position, Ruebesam was a student manager for the Buffs from 2012-2016.
Head coach Tad Boyle announced the move on Monday.
“I’m a Buff, I bleed black & gold, and I love Colorado basketball more than anything,” Ruebesam said. “It’s a huge honor for coach Boyle to hire me on his staff full time.”
He will replace Nate Tomlinson, who took an assistant coaching position at the former-Buff hotbed of George Mason.
Upon graduating from CU with a business management degree in 2016, the Berthoud, Colorado native then earned a master’s degree in sports coaching from the University of Denver. While completing his master’s degree, he was a graduate assistant for the Pioneers before becoming their Director of Player Development for the 2018-2019 season.
TY @CoachTadBoyle, @RickGeorgeCU, & Ch. DiStefano for the opportunity come home to the CU Basketball family!
Hallie & I are extremely excited be in Boulder for the season ahead! I can’t wait to work & serve our athletes to help them become the best they can be!
GO BUFFS! 🦬🦬🦬 pic.twitter.com/6LoyRZQBpw
— Zach Ruebesam (@Coach_Rueb) September 13, 2021
Ruebesam then moved to Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina to become an assistant coach prior to the 2019-2020 season. The Division II program went 39-15 with two NCAA Tournament appearances during Ruebesam’s tenure.
In 2019, Ruebesam was an assistant coach for Team Colorado, an alumni team that competes in The Basketball Tournament. He was going to be its head coach in 2021 before COVID-19 canceled the event.
Boyle had high praises for his regained asset.
“Zach brings a lot to the table,” Boyle said. “He’s one of the best managers we’ve ever had at Colorado since I’ve been here, and we’ve had a lot of good ones. He’s got a good feel for not only how our program works, but he’s going to be a big asset to our players in the sense that he can relate back to some of the players that were here when he was a manager, what they were like as teammates and why they were successful.”