Don Holst was a high school coach in the state of Montana before joining Stew Morrill's staff as an assistant at the University of Montana. He spent 11 seasons as an assistant under Morrill and Blaine Taylor before becoming the head coach at the University of Montana. His 2001-2002 Montana team won the Big Sky Tournament to advance to the NCAA Tournament, but he was not retained after that. ESPN Missoula's Ryan Tootell and Colter Nuanez spoke with Holst about his journey from the high school ranks to becoming the head man at the University of Montana and why he decided to stay in Missoula.
Griz Greats: The Coaching Tree brought to you by Blackfoot Communications, Berkshire Hathaway, and Stockman's Bar is an interview series hosted by Ryan Tootell and Colter Nuanez from ESPN Missoula. University of Montana basketball has an illustrious reputation for producing some of the best college basketball coaches that the game has ever seen, and it can be traced back to legendary Michigan State head men's basketball coach Jud Heathcote, who got his first college head coaching job at the University of Montana. The coaches that have followed him have gone on to make their own significant marks in college basketball at places like Stanford, Old Dominion, and Utah to name a few. Ryan and Colter sat down with every Montana head men's basketball coach who followed Jud Heathcote to talk about what makes Montana basketball and Missoula special. Bonus episodes include interviews with some former Montana basketball players and other significant influences on the program.