New Portland State Men's Basketball Coach Tyler Geving has announced the hiring of Nate Duchesne as his top assistant for the Viking basketball program.

DuChesne joins the Vikings after three years as an assistant coach at the University of Montana.

"Nate brings head coaching experience, which is something I wanted and was looking for in an assistant. He is someone I can lean on from the "X and O's" standpoint," said Geving. "He has also been in the league for three years so he understands the Big Sky Conference. He knows what it takes to win in the league "X-and-O"-wise, scouting-wise, and with recruiting. Nate is going to be my right-hand man when it comes to recruiting and game preparation next year."

Duchesne will also take over Geving's primary responsibility in past seasons as being in charge of the team's defense. He looks forward to working and living in Portland. "I'm happy to have the opportunity to come in and be a right-hand man and contribute to game planning and recruiting. I believe in Tyler and the direction he is going at Portland State. I'm from Seattle, so the opportunity to get back to the west coast was important to me as well," said Duchesne.

Geving and DuChesne have ties that go back a decade. When Geving was an assistant coach at Seattle Pacific and Seattle University, he recruited some of DuChesne's players while he was the Head Coach at Stanwood (WA) High School. In addition, DuChesne took over as Head Coach at Edmonds Community College after Geving left that program to become an assistant at Portland State (2005-06).

DuChesne joins the staff of Geving, who was elevated from Associate Head Coach to Head Coach at Portland State on April 13. Geving will be starting his fifth season with the Vikings in 2009-10, but his first as the Head Coach. Also on Geving's staff is holdover Eric Harper, who has been a Viking assistant coach the past four seasons. The other Viking assistant, Curtis Allen, has moved on to Washington State to join former Viking coach Ken Bone's staff. Geving has yet to fill his fourth coaching position.

DuChesne worked in the high school ranks in Washington for 14 years before moving on to Edmonds CC. He spent eight seasons as head coach at Stanwood, where he led his 2000-01 and 2001-02 teams to the 4A state semifinals.

While at Edmonds, DuChesne coached the Tritons to a 13-13 record. Following that season, DuChesne moved on to be an assistant coach at Montana under Wayne Tinkle. The Grizzlies were 48-43 in DuChesne's three seasons there as an assistant.

DuChesne played for the Grizzlies from 1986-89. He was a teammate of Tinkle's, playing in 79 career games and starting 38. The team compiled an overall record of 56-33 during that time. DuChesne set a school record with 14 assists against Simon Fraser his senior season. Twice he was voted the recipient of UM's Allan Nielsen Award, given to the student-athlete who “best represents Griz basketball.”

Before arriving as a player at Montana, DuChesne played the 1985-86 season for Edmonds CC, where he was named the league's co-MVP. He averaged 18.5 points per game and 7.5 assists per game while leading the Tritons to a 21-6 record.

A 1991 graduate of Montana with a degree in secondary education, Duchesne earned his master's degree in educational technology from City University of Washington.

THE NATE DUCHESNE FILE
Name pronunciation: doo-SHANE

Hometown: Snohomish, WA
Alma Mater: Montana, 1991, Secondary Education; MA, City University of Washington, Educational Technology
Date of Birth: January 30, 1967
Family: Wife, Paula; son, Luke (14) ; daughters, Emma (14) and Maya (8)

Coaching Experience:
2006-09    Montana - Assistant Coach
2005-06    Edmonds CC - Head Coach
1997-05    Stanwood (WA) HS - Head Coach
1993-96    LaConner (WA) HS - Head Coach
1991-93    Casmere (WA) HS - JV Coach
1989-90    Montana - Graduate Assistant