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Men’s Basketball: Roberts leaves Vanguard to coach Trinity

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Brian “Boomer” Roberts, an assistant men’s basketball coach at Vanguard the past four seasons who also coached two seasons as a women’s assistant after playing at the school, has been named head coach at Trinity International University in Deerfield, Ill.

Roberts, 28, was the top assistant for Coach Rhett Soliday last season, helping the Lions go 32-6 and claim the school’s first NAIA national championship. The team also won the Golden State Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament titles in 2013-14.

“I am blessed by this great opportunity to lead the men’s basketball program at Trinity International [an NAIA Division II program],” Roberts said in a statement announcing his hiring this week. “It is an exciting time at TIU with the new leadership, and my family and I are ready to jump into the great community at TIU. I look forward to the challenges that lie ahead of us as a basketball program. We will be committed to diving into the lives of our young men to help mold them into men of character, men who compete at a high level in everything they do, and men who love each other and the Lord.”

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Responsible for scouting, recruiting, and player development at Vanguard, Roberts worked primarily on the offensive game plan and worked individually with the team’s guards and wing players. He also worked with the team on its conditioning, maintained the program’s academic performance, and led Bible studies with the coaches and players.

In his two seasons as an assistant coach with the women’s program, Vanguard went 58-7 and reached the quarterfinals of the NAIA Tournament. The program was ranked no worse than No. 5 in the nation in those two seasons.

In four seasons as a reserve guard from 2004 through 2008, Roberts was twice an NAIA Scholar-Athlete. He shot 40% from three-point range for his career and helped the team post a pair of 20-win seasons, including one trip to the NAIA Tournament.

Roberts graduated from Vanguard in 2008, and he earned a master’s degree in coaching and athletic administration in 2013. He and his wife Brittney have one son, Griffin.

Trinity International, which competes in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference, went 3-25 last season, 3-16 in conference play. The Trojans have had losing seasons in at least a dozen years.

— From staff reports

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