When Weber State moved former men’s basketball head coach Eric Duft into an administrative role a few weeks ago, there was a sense that the Wildcats would try to hire someone in his place who had a connection with Damian Lillard, the program’s most famous alum who now has the title of general manager within the program.
That has indeed happened.
On Friday, Weber State announced that it has hired Kaleb Canales to be the next head coach of the program.
By all measures, it’s a home run hire. Canales, 47, was an NBA assistant coach from 2008-23, including a stint as the Portland Trail Blazers’ interim head coach just before Lillard arrived there in 2012.
Canales was with Portland from 2008-13 and then had stops with four other NBA teams. During that time, he was also a candidate for several head coaching jobs in the league.
Canales also has experience at the collegiate level, as he was the associate head coach at Troy this last season.
“I’m very excited to welcome K to the Weber State family,” Lillard said in a statement. “A major change like this is hard for me as someone so connected to the program through (former) coach (Randy) Rahe and coach Duft’s tenure. As GM, my goal is to help build the program to a high level, and someone with coaching experience at all levels, like Kaleb, is perfect for that.”
Said Canales in a statement: “I am truly honored and humbled to be named the head coach of Weber State men’s basketball. We will build a culture that is connected on both ends of the floor, connected in the classroom, and connected to the community. This is a program with a proud tradition, a world-class institution, and a passionate fan base. I’m ready to get to work.”
