CALDWELL, Idaho - When it comes to the behind the scenes success of The College of Idaho men's basketball program, assistant coach
Trevor Stranger serves as a key component in making sure everything operates smoothly and efficiently.
A broad range of tasks define Stranger's position, some of which include handling the laundry, rebounding for shooting sessions, helping with travel itineraries, editing videos and anything else necessary to make sure the Yotes are ready come game day.
Regardless of what the job is, he'll figure out a way to get it done.
"Coach Stranger was a vital piece of our championship season and rise to the No. 1 team in the nation this past year," said College of Idaho men's basketball head coach
Colby Blaine. "Coach Stranger is the walking definition of humility. He constantly puts others before himself and devotes his time to making everyone else around him better. He spends countless hours on the court developing our players, hours breaking down film and preparing our team for games and hours doing all the little things behind the scenes that make our program special."
The long hours and willingness to do anything are requirements to moving up the coaching ladder, two things which Stranger has embraced.
"The best piece of advice I received when I was starting out this coaching journey was to be a sponge in the beginning," Stranger said. "Coach Blaine would give me some tasks that might not be the most appealing - like laundry - but he told me that it has to get done, and you have to learn how to do it anyways. Eventually, even when you get these smaller tasks, the trust starts to build and you get more and more responsibilities. I carry that with me every day with the mindset to just keep learning because if I want to hit my end goal in coaching and be the best, then I have a lot to learn."
In a short period of time, he has already learned plenty, serving as a student assistant under Leon Rice at Boise State and coaching the sophomore team at Rocky Mountain High to a district title in 2019.
"When I started at Boise State it was all just learning everything I could about the game to start my career in coaching," Stranger said. "By being at a Division I school, I was lucky enough to have some great mentors who taught me a lot about coaching, player development and what it takes day-to-day to run that type of program. I took everything I learned at Boise State and had the amazing opportunity to coach my own team at Rocky Mountain. At Rocky, I was able to learn more of what a head coach feels and what their responsibilities are in regards to scheduling, what to do for practice and handling 13 players who all want to play and get minutes every game."
Once he had his political economy degree from Boise State, he knew that he wanted to continue to pursue any opportunities that were available to stay involved with basketball.
"My goal after Boise State was to try and get a graduate assistant position in order to keep moving up the coaching ranks and continue to gain experience," Stranger said. "However, BSU and other opportunities for a GA position all had one more year left with the current GA. I was told to see if I could find some sort of experience for a year to help me to continue growing and learning, so I reached out to everyone I knew seeing if they had any opportunities. One of the people I reached out to was Colby, who was driving with Shelby [Lindley] when he received my text. He said he had a spot and I was brought on."
This past season the Yotes went 31-3, winning the Cascade Conference regular-season and tournament titles.
"Colby and Shelby have both been amazing in helping me learn and improve my own coaching style," Stranger said. "Colby has taught me a lot about the duties and responsibilities of a head coach and how you have to think and execute to be or to become one in today's game. He is truly one of the best. I have had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with Shelby as well, and a huge thing I have learned from him is learning about and always thinking about the players, whether it be with their grades, what to expect during finals week or how to help them with practice that week. There is a lot of the other side where there isn't any basketball involved that I knew very little of before this position. This staff is one of the best - if not the best - in the country, and I'm extremely lucky to just be a sponge in an amazing program and learn as much as I can."
Those who have worked around Stranger express that they are excited to see what he will go on to do in the coaching world.
"Trevor was such a huge asset to our program this year," Lindley said. "He is a relentless worker that is willing to do any job asked of him. Trevor did a great job with helping our players through film sessions and working them out on the court. The future is bright for Coach Stranger and I am excited to see where his path goes in coaching."
No matter where he ends up, the skills gained from handling a little bit of everything at C of I will always be beneficial.
"Honestly, I feel like it was the best thing for me, and that is why Colby set me up with all these different tasks," Stranger said. "I told him coming in that I just want to learn, and the best way to do that is to gain as many responsibilities as you can and learn from experience. When you are inside the program, you understand why C of I has been one of the best in the country for the last five years. A lot of it is little stuff behind the scenes, whether it's folding the jerseys and the presentation of them on game day or doing individual workouts every day to the point where some days you may not get a lunch. All of it matters."
While he is still relatively new to the coaching lifestyle, he has already seen how dramatically it can change your schedule.
"Basketball does take up anywhere from 80-90 percent of what I do in my day-to-day, but I do like to do some other things in my free time," Stranger said. "One of those things is golfing. I wouldn't say I'm good, but I enjoy the game and it's mainly during the summer when there is time off."
Another hobby in his free time has been collecting sports cards.
"One thing I do that's different is that I collect coaches autographs as well," Stranger said. "I will learn about a coach's career and what they did, and then I will go get that coaches autographed card. Some that I have are Jay Wright (Villanova), Mark Few (Gonzaga) and John Wooden (UCLA)."
Similar to each of those coaches, Stranger is willing to do whatever it takes to help those around him.
"Coach Stranger has a bright future in this business," Blaine said. "He has a great basketball mind and consistently has positive input that helps everyone around him. We are thankful to have him in our YoteFam and look forward to watching him grow."
The YoteFam is one of the many reasons that Stranger says he has enjoyed his time on the campus so far.
"My favorite part about working at C of I is how tight-knit the community and fan base is. A lot of people will tell you they see it at our games when our packed house is beating out attendance at Division I schools, but it's the everyday aspect of those fans showing that they care and believe in you. I had the opportunity to meet a lot of boosters and I really enjoyed how they would come by our office just to chat, watch individual workout in the gym or even come to practice. I always tell the staff and players that I lived 15-20 minutes down the road almost my whole life and never knew how special C of I was until I came here and experienced it."
