Weber State University Athletics
Men's Basketball
Patrick Zipfel
- Title:
- Associate Head Coach
Patrick Zipfel is in his first season as the Associate Head Coach of the Weber State men’s basketball program. He was hired in July 2026 as part of the first staff under new WSU head coach Kaleb Canales.
Zipfel joins the program after more than 24 years in the NBA as an assistant coach and an advance scout, having spent the last three seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Zipfel arrives in Ogden following an NBA career that included stints with the Los Angeles Clippers (2000-03), Portland Trail Blazers (2003-05), Houston Rockets (2005-09), Minnesota Timberwolves (2009-13, 2018-19), Chicago Bulls (2013-15), Phoenix Suns (2019-23) and most recently, the Philadelphia 76ers (2023-26). Called “one of the sharpest strategic minds in the NBA” and rated by his peers as “one of the league’s best” advance scouts according to ESPN.com, Zipfel was a member of the Monty Williams-led Phoenix Suns staff that captured the 2021 Western Conference championship and advanced to the NBA Finals. He was a part of the longest winning streaks in both Suns and Rockets franchise history. The 58-year-old spent the past three seasons as an advance scout for the 76ers under head coach Nick Nurse.
During Zipfel’s four seasons in Houston (2005-09), Daryl Morey, the Rockets general manager at the time, credited him as a “secret weapon” in the team’s 2009 first-round playoff series victory, the franchise’s first series win in more than a decade. “We felt like we were a little tick ahead because we had Pat Zipfel on the bench,” Morey said. The hiring reunites Zipfel with Canales more than 20 years after the two first crossed paths during their time in Portland on former Blazers head coach Maurice Cheeks’ staff.
“Kaleb is the only person I would have left the NBA for,” Zipfel said. “Over our 20-year relationship, I’ve developed total belief in him. Belief in him as a coach, as a leader, and as a person, I knew the chance to work alongside him again and help build the Weber State program with an NBA great like Damian Lillard was one I couldn’t pass up.”
“Zip was a big part of my growth in Minnesota,” said Utah Jazz forward Kevin Love, who played for the Timberwolves during Zipfel’s tenure on the staff from 2009-13. “The preparation he put in front of us night after night was as good as anything I’ve seen in this league. Those Weber State players are lucky to have him.”
The longtime North Carolina resident also brings collegiate head coaching experience to the Wildcats’ bench. From 2015-18, he served as the head men’s basketball coach at Mansfield University, where his program posted a 100 percent graduation rate and stunned Division I Duquesne 79-74 in an exhibition game in Pittsburgh. Earlier in his career, he served as head coach and director of athletics at Centenary College (N.J.), where he remains the all-time winningest coach in program history, and was head coach at Bucks County Community College. He began his coaching career at NCAA Division I -The Citadel.
Internationally, Zipfel served as an advance scout for the Ukrainian National team under Mike Fratello, the Dominican Republic National team under John Calipari (2012-13), and the Canadian National team under Nick Nurse (2019). Zipfel played point guard at Cabrini College and graduated in 1989 with a degree in English/communications. He has two children, Megan and Aidan.
Zipfel joins the program after more than 24 years in the NBA as an assistant coach and an advance scout, having spent the last three seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Zipfel arrives in Ogden following an NBA career that included stints with the Los Angeles Clippers (2000-03), Portland Trail Blazers (2003-05), Houston Rockets (2005-09), Minnesota Timberwolves (2009-13, 2018-19), Chicago Bulls (2013-15), Phoenix Suns (2019-23) and most recently, the Philadelphia 76ers (2023-26). Called “one of the sharpest strategic minds in the NBA” and rated by his peers as “one of the league’s best” advance scouts according to ESPN.com, Zipfel was a member of the Monty Williams-led Phoenix Suns staff that captured the 2021 Western Conference championship and advanced to the NBA Finals. He was a part of the longest winning streaks in both Suns and Rockets franchise history. The 58-year-old spent the past three seasons as an advance scout for the 76ers under head coach Nick Nurse.
During Zipfel’s four seasons in Houston (2005-09), Daryl Morey, the Rockets general manager at the time, credited him as a “secret weapon” in the team’s 2009 first-round playoff series victory, the franchise’s first series win in more than a decade. “We felt like we were a little tick ahead because we had Pat Zipfel on the bench,” Morey said. The hiring reunites Zipfel with Canales more than 20 years after the two first crossed paths during their time in Portland on former Blazers head coach Maurice Cheeks’ staff.
“Kaleb is the only person I would have left the NBA for,” Zipfel said. “Over our 20-year relationship, I’ve developed total belief in him. Belief in him as a coach, as a leader, and as a person, I knew the chance to work alongside him again and help build the Weber State program with an NBA great like Damian Lillard was one I couldn’t pass up.”
“Zip was a big part of my growth in Minnesota,” said Utah Jazz forward Kevin Love, who played for the Timberwolves during Zipfel’s tenure on the staff from 2009-13. “The preparation he put in front of us night after night was as good as anything I’ve seen in this league. Those Weber State players are lucky to have him.”
The longtime North Carolina resident also brings collegiate head coaching experience to the Wildcats’ bench. From 2015-18, he served as the head men’s basketball coach at Mansfield University, where his program posted a 100 percent graduation rate and stunned Division I Duquesne 79-74 in an exhibition game in Pittsburgh. Earlier in his career, he served as head coach and director of athletics at Centenary College (N.J.), where he remains the all-time winningest coach in program history, and was head coach at Bucks County Community College. He began his coaching career at NCAA Division I -The Citadel.
Internationally, Zipfel served as an advance scout for the Ukrainian National team under Mike Fratello, the Dominican Republic National team under John Calipari (2012-13), and the Canadian National team under Nick Nurse (2019). Zipfel played point guard at Cabrini College and graduated in 1989 with a degree in English/communications. He has two children, Megan and Aidan.
Monday, June 22
Monday, June 22
Monday, May 11
Monday, May 11
