Idaho basketball coach ejects his own assistant during loss to NAU
Feb 21, 2015, 9:54 PM | Updated: 9:55 pm
It’s not often you see assistant coaches get ejected from a basketball, but a recent incident in Flagstaff, Arizona, takes the rare sight one step further.
Idaho assistant Chris Helbling was “ejected” during the team’s 72-65 loss to Northern Arizona on Thursday, but the referees weren’t responsible for kicking him out.
No, it was Vandals head coach Don Verlin who played judge, jury and executioner on the sidelines.
Verlin can be seen in a video berating the seated Helbling for several seconds before ripping a binder out of the assistant’s hands and throwing it behind the bench.
The head coach then clearly motions for Helbling to head to the showers — or somewhere else, anywhere else.
The game was intense for most of the evening, but it must have become downright uncomfortable for the Vandals’ bench after the two coaches’ heated exchange.
The Idaho Statesman reports a news director for a Flagstaff radio station said Helbling rode to the Vandals’ following game against Southern Utah with the team’s play-by-play radio broadcaster — rather than with the players and coaching staff. A university spokesperson confirmed that report, but said it was unrelated to the incident at NAU.
Helbling has served on Idaho’s staff since 2008.
