Meet Alex Pribble – New Head Coach of Saint Martin’s Men’s Basketball

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Alex Pribble, new head coach of Saint Martin's men's basketball, is the former assistant coach of the Big Sky Champion, and NCAA tournament participant, Eastern Washington men’s basketball team.
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By Nikki McCoy

saint martins basketball
Alex Pribble, new head coach of Saint Martin’s men’s basketball, is the former assistant coach of the Big Sky Champion, and NCAA tournament participant, Eastern Washington men’s basketball team.

Alex Pribble said he always knew he wanted to coach basketball. Named as new head men’s basketball coach for the Saint Martin’s University Saints in April, he is now fulfilling that goal.

Pribble’s leadership abilities emerged at a young age, and he spent summers in his community tutoring and coaching kids, including Special Olympics athletes.

“At an early age, I was very comfortable interacting with my peers, from kind of a coach-on-the-floor standpoint,” Pribble said. “That quickly morphed into captain roles as a player. I tried to always be a student of the game – it was passion really.”

Throughout college at the University of California-Berkeley, where he played all four years, and during his upbringing in Marin County, Calif., Pribble kept his dream alive. Even while exploring jobs such as teaching, in the back of his mind, he knew coaching was where he wanted to be.

As an assistant coach at Eastern Washington University, Pribble helped the school capture its second NCAA Tournament berth in school history. During his time at Eastern, Pribble realized he was ready for another facet of the game, and one he feels crucial to coaching — community engagement.

“What I’ve been looking for in this career and what can be difficult to find in this profession is to build a community of support. That’s what you want,” explained Pribble. “I’ve been putting myself in the position of finding a home.”

saint martins basketball
“I want our program, and myself as a coach, to be as accessible as possible,” says Pribble. “If there is a way people want to be involved – I’d love them to send me an email. I’m all in, this is my community now.”

And with Saint Martin’s University and the Thurston County community, Pribble says he’s found his home. Pribble said his impression of the Lacey/Olympia area is that it’s very similar to his hometown and that it feels right to be here.

“I can really plant some roots, eventually have a family and just really give everything I am and everything I have to Saint Martin’s basketball,” he said.

Pribble already feels like a part of the community. He admires the connection with the people involved in Saint Martin’s basketball and the “passion they have for doing it the right way.”

And what does doing it the right way mean to Pribble?

“It means developing a whole student-athlete. At certain levels of college basketball, the focus gets put in the wrong spot. Here, it’s student-athlete first; it’s about the experience of the student; it’s about academics; it’s about earning a degree,” he said. “My hope is we can bring in student-athletes who are serious about an education from a great academic university like Saint Martin’s, then develop their on-the-court experience kind of in the same mold. We’re going to hold a really high standard [and] we’re going to have very high expectations for them, both in the classroom and on the court.”

While Pribble has only been with the Saints a few weeks, the core team is quickly warming up to him.

“We’re all really excited and looking forward to it,” said Isaac Binchini, who plays guard. “He’s young, so we get along really well. I think that’s important because a good player-coach relationship is needed … He’s a lot of fun to be around on and off the court, and he’s got the intensity to get things done … You can tell the program is in a good place right now with him. We’re just really excited.”

Excitement is what Pribble is all about. He plans to bring more of a European-style basketball to the University’s Marcus Pavilion, meaning a faster tempo, putting a lot of shooters out and spreading the floor. He’s also looking forward to building his team, which includes two new recruits, German transfer student Frederik Jörg, a 7-foot-1-inch center from Eastern, and Michael Painter, named the Marysville-Pilchuck High School boys basketball Most Valuable Player his sophomore, junior and senior year.

saint martins basketball
Coach Pribble and team will bring excitement and energy to Saint Martin’s University.

With a solid team and his strong vision of building community ties, Pribble also plans to have themed nights such as Military Appreciation and Breast Cancer Awareness, as well as autograph signings on the court after games.

“I hope to get the community invested, and that means putting a good product on the floor,” said Pribble. “I believe in a fun style of basketball…its entertaining even for the casual basketball fan to come and watch.”

In addition to his regular role at Saint Martin’s, Pribble will be engaging the community’s younger athletes this summer while coaching youth and teen summer camps, for ages 8-17.

“It’s a win-win,” said Pribble. “[It’s] a positive experience for the kids being on the college campus and for us generating more interest in our program. Everyone should have that dream of going to college; the more that kids can be on campus, the better.”

For schedules, mailing lists, summer camp information, tickets and more, visit Saint Martin’s University online.

To contact Pribble directly, email him at apribble@stmartin.edu.

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