|
Sports  |
|
|
|
The man who could be crowned king
Reed Shackelford
The Advocate
While MHCC’s men’s basketball head coach Rob Nielson leads his team in the spotlight, assistant coach Geoff Gibor takes the role of, as one student said, “the guy next to the coach.”
But with the announcement last week that Nielson will be stepping down after this season, Gibor might find himself holding a new spot on the bench.
For the last 10 years, Gibor has been a staple to the team’s success with his recruiting and communication skills, according to Nielson, and is a likely candidate for the position of head coach next year.
But who is he?
The 34 year-old assistant coach and family man lives in Gresham with Rhonda, his wife of nine years, and his 7-year-old son Jordan. In his daily schedule he juggles his family life, coaching, and a career as an IT manager for Vanport International in Boring.
“I’ve always had to manage my time well. I’ve always had a career and a family and I have a 7-year-old son, so it’s busy schedule. I try to just be as efficient as possible.”
Throughout it all, basketball has been key part of his routine. He started to play ball in middle school, and has continued with the sport throughout the military, college, parenthood and a career.
“I played in 7th and 8th grade and I moved around from high school to high school so I didn’t play organized ball then. I was actually cut in high school my junior and senior year, so I just played a lot of pick-up ball.”
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
|
After high school, Gibor went into the Navy for four years, where once again basketball was an important theme.
“I remember at one point I was playing in seven leagues at a time, so I had practice or a game seven days a week. That’s kind of where I learned. That would have been the equivalent of high school for me.
“I kind of made that maturity and progression through the four years I was in the military.” While in the military, training and service took him from boot camp in Chicago to training in Boston and Florida, to service at Fort Meade in Maryland, all the while playing basketball.
But when Gibor left the military and went off to college, he took basketball with him. Gibor continued his education in both academics and basketball at Blue Mountain Community College in Pendelton where he majored in general studies and played basketball for two years. “It was a real eye-opening experience for me,” Gibor said. “I just enjoyed the relationships and had fun.”
Once his playing days were over, Gibor decided to try coaching, and that’s when Mt. Hood came into the picture.
“When I got out of college, I was looking for a coaching position, so I called around to a couple schools, and then finally I called Mt. Hood,” Gibor said.\
“I called the previous coach (Fred Schnell) and he told me to call back the next summer. So I called back and they had hired a new coach (Nielson), so they put me in contact with Rob and he invited me over to his house. We talked for a bit — and he gave me the job (as assistant coach).”
Since he started in 1999, Gibor has made a name for himself at Mt. Hood and in college basketball. The right-hand man to the Saints’ head coach is regarded as one of the top recruiters in the NWAACC, having recruited many of the program’s current players, including point guard Earl Jones.
“His ability to relate and his love for talking to people, recruiting and inspiring and motivating people to play hard are his strengths,” said Nielson. “He does a lot of recruiting, and he does a lot with people here and once the season starts he takes care of all the issues they have, like housing and that kind of stuff.”
Off the court, Gibor recruits and maintains the inner workings of the team; on the court, it’s all about the players and the game.
“I enjoy hanging out with the guys. You know, laughing with them and having a good time. I mean, it’s great to watch those guys set goals and reach them, and do the necessary things to grow,” said Gibor.
With the future of the program’s leadership left open-ended, some talk of the team’s direction leads to Gibor.
“We’ve talked to him about what he wants to do next year in regard to coaching,” said Athletic Director Fred Schnell, “ but right now it’s still up in the air.”
According to Nielson, Gibor is ready for whatever he wants to do. “I think he (Gibor) can be as good as he wants to be. He’s learned a lot, and progressed over time, so if he’s looking to do that (be head coach), I think he’d be successful at it.”
But is he looking to coach?
“We’ll see,” said Gibor, “The job hasn’t been offered to me yet, but if the opportunity presents itself, it’s definitely a decision I look forward to making. It’s hard to think about not coaching.”