COACHING STAFF

Rob Zewe | Assistant Coach

Rob Zewe enters his third season as Assistant Coach for the Pioneers in 2023-24.

2022-23
Zewe continued to let his offensive mind shine in 2022-23, resulting in the Pioneers improving to 15-17 on the year, the most wins by the program since 2017-18. With Zewe handling the offensive playcalling, the Crimson and Gold averaged 72.7 points per game as a team this year, the most since 2017-18. Zewe helped in the development of point guard Tommy Bruner, who was selected to the Summit League All-Newcomer Team and Honorable Mention All-Summit League.

Not only did Zewe help in Bruner's success, but also contributed in a career year from graduate forward Lukas Kisunas, who tied for first in the NCAA in in total number of games with at least 10 points on 80 percent shooting-or-better this year with 10 games.

2021-22 Season
Zewe made an impact in his coaching debut in 2021-22, helping get the Pioneers to 11 wins on the year, the first time since 2017-18 the program has reached double-digit victories.
DU also record seven Summit League wins, matching the total of the three previous seasons combined, highlighted by picking up four road wins in year one with DU, matching the total of the previous four years combined.

Working with Head Coach Jeff Wulbrun, Zewe helped revitalize an offense that had been stagnant for several seasons, resulting in notable milestones set, including highest scoring output (70.5) since 2017-18, along with having the highest field goal percentage (46.0), made 3s (232), three-point percentage (36.8) and assists (397) in years for the program. Denver also dialed it up in league play, averaging 74.4 points per game, its best scoring output in league play since 2016-17.

Zewe was part of a staff that some big success in its first recruiting class, resulting in nine new players for the Pioneers in 2021-22, including a gifted freshmen class of Tevin Smith, Coban Porter, Touko Tainamo and Pedro Lopez-Sanvicente.

The freshmen trio of Smith, Porter and Tainamo made a major impact in year one with each have huge moments throughout the season. Smith, DU’s highest rated recruit to sign coming out high school ever, showcased his athletic abilities, getting 33 blocks on the season, the most by a Pioneer since Chris Udofia in 2013-14. Smith also made history, becoming the only player in college basketball this season to score at least 23 points and grab 10 rebounds while not missing a shot (7-7 FG, 8-8 FT) in a 63-53 win at Kansas City.

Smith also became the first Denver freshman to ever win Summit League Player of the Week award back on Jan. 24. He was the first true freshman to win the award in the league since South Dakota State's David Jenkins did back on Jan. 22, 2018.

Porter came in and provided elite-level shooting to the program immediately. The sharpshooting guard was just one of four players in all the NCAA freshmen class to make at least 70 3s on the year while shooting at least 41.3 percent as of Mar. 5. The Columbia, Mo. native led the Summit League in 3-point percentage for the season at 41.3 percent.

Porter’s 71 3s made rank tied for eighth out of all freshmen in the NCAA and set a new freshman record for DU in its DI era (1998-pres.). The freshmen also provided a scoring option off the bench with his 11.4 points per game average being the highest by a DU freshman since Joe Rosga’s 12.7 in 2015-16.

Tainamo brought efficient post play not seen by the Pioneers in a while. The Helsinki, Finland native was the first Denver freshman to record at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in a game on Dec. 20 against Western Illinois since Chris Udofia did it back on Jan. 15, 2011.

Tainamo recorded his second double-double of the season against Kansas City on Jan. 27, finishing with 15 points and 15 rebounds, first player since Daniel Amigo (24 points, 16 rebounds) to get at least 15 points and 15 rebounds in a game back on Nov. 25, 2017. His three double-doubles are the most by a Pioneer since Ade Murkey (4) in 2019-20 and most by a DU freshman since Royce O’Neale back in 2011-12.

Previous Coaching History
Zewe spent the past two seasons at Cal State Fullerton prior to coming to Denver.

As a Titan, Zewe was tasked with helping the coaching staff in development and implementation of recruiting strategies as well as helping with all aspects of opponents scouting including film breakdown and statistical analysis for player/team development purposes. He will also help create and organize creative content for recruiting and brand development purposes. He is also set to aid in the planning and execution of on campus recruiting visits and in the organization and coordination of all Titan Basketball Camps.

In his first year with the program, Zewe and the 2019-20 Titans had their season cut short just prior to the start of the Big West Tournament due to COVID-19. He helped Jackson Rowe and Brandon Kamga claim Second-Team All-Big West honors while Kamga was also named Big West Newcomer of the Year.

2019-20 Graduating seniors Rowe (France), Davon Clare (Portugal) and Austen Awosika (Austria) each signed professional contracts to play in their respective country's top leagues.

Zewe joined the Titans after spending the 2018-19 season as a graduate assistant coach at Nevada. The Wolf Pack reached the NCAA Tournament, won the Mountain West Championship for the third straight year and tied a school record by winning 29 games.

During his time at Nevada, Zewe helped Caroline and Caleb Martin earn first-team all-conference honors while Cody Martin was named to the third team. Jazz Johnson was chosen as the the Sixth Man of the Year. Caroline and both Martins were selected to the defensive team. Prior to the season, the Martin twins and Caroline were named to the 2018-19 MW media preseason team.

Caroline and Caleb Martin were also named to the United States Basketball Writers Association District VIII team today for the second year in a row. Caleb Martin was named the District VIII Player of the Year for the second consecutive season.

Cody Martin went on to be drafted No. 36 by the Charlotte Hornets in the 2019 NBA Draft. Also, Caleb Martin signed with the Charlotte Hornets, Jordan Caroline signed with the Los Angeles Lakers, and Tre’Shawn Thurman signed with the Detroit Pistons. In addition, Jalen Harris – who redshirted with the Wolf Pack during the 2018-19 season – went on to be drafted No. 59 by the Toronto Raptors in the 2020 NBA Draft.

His primary responsibilities at Nevada included working with head coach Eric Musselman and assistant coach Gus Argenal in scouting preparation, video breakdowns, recruiting and on-court drills. He conducted individual workouts and developed creative content to send to recruits and their families.

Prior to Nevada, he was an assistant coach for two years at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He was responsible for player development, video analysis, scouting reports and recruiting. The team won back-to-back regular season PSAC Conference Championships and was ranked as high No. 2 in the country. He helped develop two All-Americans in Anthony Glover Jr. and Jacobo Diaz.

Zewe played collegiately at Grove City College and Penn State Behrend and is a native of Pittsburgh, Penn.

Rob Williams | Assistant Coach

Rob Williams enters his second season as Assistant Coach for the Pioneers in 2022-23.

2021-22 Season
Williams brought a toughness and tenacity to the program in his coaching debut in 2021-22, helping get the Pioneers to 11 wins on the year, the first time since 2017-18 the program has reached double-digit victories.

DU also record seven Summit League wins, matching the total of the three previous seasons combined, highlighted by picking up four road wins in year one with DU, matching the total of the previous four years combined.

Working with Head Coach Jeff Wulbrun, Williams helped revitalize the program and built a new culture that resulted in the team making leaps on the offensive and defensive end. On offense, it became efficient after being stagnant for several seasons, resulting in notable milestones set, including highest scoring output (70.5) since 2017-18, along with having the highest field goal percentage (46.0), made 3s (232), three-point percentage (36.8) and assists (397) in years for the program. Denver also dialed it up in league play, averaging 74.4 points per game, its best scoring output in league play since 2016-17.

Williams was part of a staff that some big success in its first recruiting class, resulting in nine new players for the Pioneers in 2021-22.

Highlighting that class was the freshmen trio of Tevin Smith, Coban Porter and Touko Tainamo , who made a major impact in year one with each have huge moments throughout the season. Smith, DU’s highest rated recruit to sign coming out high school ever, showcased his athletic abilities, getting 33 blocks on the season, the most by a Pioneer since Chris Udofia in 2013-14. Smith also made history, becoming the only player in college basketball this season to score at least 23 points and grab 10 rebounds while not missing a shot (7-7 FG, 8-8 FT) in a 63-53 win at Kansas City.

Williams played a pivotal in landing DU's first JUCO All-American signing in Jordan Johnson. Johnson immediately provided help to the DU backcourt with his shooting and playmaking. The sophomore from Memphis started most of the year and averaged 10.9 points per game.

Previous Coaching History
Williams spent the past three years as the Director of Player Relations at UAB and a fourth season on staff after serving as the team's Graduate Manager for two years prior to that.

Prior to his role on staff, Williams spent five years as a player in the Blazers' program and drew 81 starts in 123 career games played. He finished his career in 2014 with 580 rebounds and ranks 10th all-time at UAB. Williams also served as one of the Blazers' top threats from beyond the arc and knocked down 54 three-pointers over his final two seasons.

Williams was part of a 2010-11 Blazer team that won the Conference USA regular season title and reached the NCAA Tournament.

Following his graduation with a degree in communication studies, Williams toured the United States with an Athletes in Action team.

Williams returned to UAB in 2015 to pursue a master's degree in communication management.

Jerry Brown | Assistant Coach

Brown enters his first season as Assistant Coach for the Pioneers in 2022-23.

Brown previously spent the past three seasons in San Diego as an assistant coach for the Toreros.

Previous to his time at San Diego, he served as the Director of Player Development at Stanford, where he worked with current DU head coach Jeff Wulbrun. The first-year assistant comes to the Pioneers with a background in scouting and analytics

He served as the Director of Scouting and Game Preparation at UTEP in 2018-19 and video coordinator for the Detroit Pistons in 2017-18. He began his career as the operations manager for Team Esface Basketball Academy in Redwood City, California in 2017.

Following his career at Fresno State and Santa Clara, Brown played professionally with the Iserlohn Kangaroos in Germany (2015-16) and BCGO in Gries, France (2014-15).

In the one season with Santa Clara, Brown played in all 33 games (17 starts) and was the team leader in rebounds while averaging 7.6 points per game.

Prior to Santa Clara, Brown played three seasons at Fresno State, earning the team’s Defender of the Year award in 2013 and was an All-WAC selection in 2011-12.

A former team captain with Fresno State, Brown earned his degree in communications from Fresno State in 2013 and his master’s degree at Santa Clara in 2015.

Michael Orlich | Director of Basketball Operations

Michael Orlich enters his first year as Director of Basketball Operations in 2023-24 for the Pioneers.

Orlich comes to Denver after spending the past year at Menlo College.

At Menlo College, Orlich was tasked with helping the coaching staff implement offensive and defensive strategies as well as the implementation of Hustle Stats’, which is a very in-depth statistical tool for the evaluation of players and their development. He also led the way in recruiting and scouting.

Before his time Menlo College, he served as a Player Development Coach at Unlimited Potential Basketball with NBA Skills Trainer Packie Turner. In his time there he worked with multiple High School, College, and Professional basketball players.

In that time, he also worked the Bill Duffy Agencies NBA Pre-Draft. Working alongside 6 future draft picks. Most notable players include 2021-2022 Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes.

Prior to his time there, Orlich spent two years as a Graduate Assistant for Head Coach Kyle Smith at Washington State University. He had a majority of responsibilities with a background in Administration, Player Development, and Video/Analytics.

Orlich followed Head Coach Kyle Smith to WSU from the University of San Francisco where he was a player for the Dons for his final two seasons.

Orlich earned his degree in Psychology from the University of San Francisco in 2019 and his master’s degree at Washington State in 2021.