COACHING STAFF
NICK WHITMORE | ASSISTANT COACH
Nick Whitmore was added to the coaching staff in March of 2023 and enters his second season with the Brown and Gold.
Last season, Whitmore helped mentor Sam Girffin to All-MW honors. Griffin was named Third Team All-Mountain West by the media and Honorable Mention by the league coaches. He led the Cowboys in scoring last season at 16.9 points per game. He also led the team in assists with 3.4 per night. Griffin ranked in the top-five of the conference with 76 made three pointers. he along with fellow guard Akuel Kot signed professional contracts in Europe.
Whitmore came to Wyoming after serving as head coach at the Prep School level for nearly a decade producing 39 Division I players and one First Round NBA Draft pick. He has also coached 30 players that have gone to play professionally including a First Round NBA talent and recruited players from 11 different countries.
Whitmore has been the head coach at the Asheville School in Ashville, N.C. since 2019. He led Asheville to three-straight titles and attracted the first Top-100 player in school history. Whitmore is one of the top recruiters of national and international talent attracting National Team players from Turkey, Greece, Germany, France, Latvia Puerto Rico, United States, and the Netherlands.
He spent sent six years coaching at the New Hampton School one of the nation’s top prep programs. His teams were consistently in the Top-10 in the nation and were ranked as high as second. He reached the NEPSAC AAA Title game in just his second season at the helm of the program.
Whitmore spent time at the University of San Francisco as the director of operations from 2012-14. The Dons earned a second seed in the National Invitational Tournament after finishing second in the WCC. He also spent the previous two seasons on the staff as a volunteer assistant.
He also spent time at the Drew School in San Francisco as the head coach. He helped lead the team to their best season in 25 years.
Whitmore is a graduate of Boise State University and earned his master’s degree from Middlebury College in Vermont. He was a student assistant while at Boise State.
His father Bill was a long-time basketball coach spending time as the head coach at the University of Vermont.
SHAUN VANDIVER | ASSISTANT COACH
University of Wyoming assistant coach Shaun Vandiver enters his seventh season with the Cowboys.
He has served various roles including graduate assistant, special assistant to head coach and assistant coach. A veteran in the coahing ranks he is the longest tenured staff member on the Cowboy coaching staff.
The Cowboys reached the NCAA Tournament in 2022 finishing the season with a 25-9 overall record. The Pokes received their first at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament since 2002 and marked the first trip to the Big Dance since 2015. The Pokes recorded 24 wins in the regular season for the most since the 1951-52 campaign.
The Pokes, who were picked to finish eighth in the Conference ranked as high as No. 22 in the nation in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches' polls.
He helped mentor freshman Graham Ike during the 2020-21 season. Ike recorded a career-high 32 points against San Jose State in the first round of the MW Tournament. His 32 points was tied for the second most amongst freshman in a single game in the NCAA last season.
The Pokes went 6-1 in non-conference play in 2020-21 including a road win over an Elite Eight team in Oregon State. Wyoming won six total road games on the season for the most away from Laramie since the 2012-13 season. UW also had a winning record on the road since 2000-01 season.
In his first season back with the Brown and Gold, Vandiver helped the Pokes defeat South Carolina for Wyoming’s first win against an SEC team in Laramie since he served as a graduate assistant during the 2002-03 season. In his second season, he helped lead the Cowboys to the semifinals of the MW Tournament.
Vandiver was an assistant for the Pokes from 2005-10 serving under head coaches Steve McClain and Heath Schroyer. He also served as a graduate assist at Wyoming for the 2002-03 season.
As a member of the Wyoming coaching staff, Vandiver helped lead the Cowboys to the Championship game of the 2006 Mountain West Tournament. During his time with the Pokes, he mentored nine players who earned All-MW honors.
“I like the way the Cowboy basketball program has progressed, and my goal is to help the coaching staff keep it going and take it to another level,” Vandiver said.
Vandiver led the Hornets to five Mid-America Athletic Association tournaments during his time at Emporia State. In his first season as head coach, he became only the second coach in MIAA history to lead his team to the tournament championship game in his first season. Last season, Emporia State nearly knocked off Mizzou on the road before falling to the Tigers 67-62.
Prior to his time as head coach at Emporia State, Vandiver was an assistant coach at Boise State. He was a key part of one of the biggest turnarounds in Boise State history in 2010-11. The Broncos were 22-13 and advanced to the semifinals of the CBI Tournament before falling to the Oregon Ducks 79-71 in Eugene, Ore. The 22 wins were a seven-game improvement over the previous year.
He began his coaching career in 2001-02 as volunteer assistant coach with Colorado while finishing his degree in sociology. In 2002-03, he moved on to Wyoming as a graduate assistant where he helped guide the Cowboys to a 21-11 record and an NIT berth. His first full-time coaching position was at Bowling Green State in 2003-04. He moved on to Northern Colorado for the 2004-05 season as the Bears were finishing their transition to NCAA Division I.
Vandiver transferred to Colorado following his freshman year at Hutchison Community College and was named Big Eight Newcomer of the Year in 1989. His senior season, he led the Buffs to the National Invitation Tournament finals in New York City, where they finished third. He averaged a double-double in his career for the Buffaloes and ended his career as the third leading scorer (1,876) and rebounder (962) in CU history. After earning First-Team All-Big Eight honors as a junior and senior, he was selected by the Golden State Warriors with the 25th pick of the 1991 NBA Draft. After his collegiate career, Vandiver enjoyed a nine-year professional playing career in Europe. He played for teams in: Bologna, Italy (1991-92); Bilbao, Spain (1992-93); Girona, Spain (1993-94); Reggio Calabria, Italy (1994-95); Las Palmas, Spain (1995-97); and Madrid, Spain (1997-2001).
Vandiver, a native of Bolingbrook, Ill.., is married to the former Danielle Dodgion. They have five children: Aubrey, a former Cowgirl basketball player; Amber, a former Emporia State basketball player; Garin, a former Emporia State player; Alessandra and Gage.
NIC REYNOLDS | ASSISTANT COACH
Cowboy basketball head coach Sundance Wicks announced the addition of Nic Reynolds to the Cowboy coaching staff on May 15. The Peoria, Ill. native comes to Wyoming from Green Bay spending one season with Wicks as an assistant coach for the Phoenix.
"Nic Reynolds has one trait that a lot of people preach, but very few actually practice, and that is loyalty," Wicks said. "He loves at a high level and serves with great passion and purpose. A true mentor leader, Nic does not tell you the way, he shows you the way. I am not sure there is a job in this profession that Coach Reynolds has not done. He understands the grit and grind of this profession and that the mission is the man. Without first leading the man, there can be no mission. Committed, competitive and all about the culture, Cowboy Country please welcome coach Reynolds to the Wild West."
Reynolds is the brother of former Cowboy guard Noah Reynolds. He spent time on the front range serving as the Director of Operations at Denver.
"It is one of those situations where you are a little overwhelmed, but I'm so excited and thankful for the opportunity," Reynolds said. "I'm so happy for coach Wicks and this opportunity for him and his family. This is a full circle moment for the both of us. To be able to share this with Sundance is special as he has done so much for our family and I'm happy to get to come home with him. He is a big brother, a mentor and working with him every day is truly special. We are ready to get to work."
Last season at UWGB, Reynolds helped the Phoenix to 18-14 record after the program finished at 3-29 during the 2022-23 season. That 15-game turnaround tied for the ninth-best turnaround in NCAA DI history.
Reynolds also helped mentored numerous players to award-winning seasons at Green Bay. Noah Reynolds was named the Horizon League Newcomer of the Year, All-Horizon League First Team, and NABC District 12 All-Region First Team. For the first time in program history, Green Bay also saw two freshmen named to the Horizon League All-Freshman Team in David Douglas Jr. and Marcus Hall. Douglas Jr. was named the Freshman of the Year in the conference.
Prior to his time in Green Bay, Reynolds spent one season at NCAA Division II Southern Arkansas. The Muleriders finished the GAC (Great American Conference) regular season in second place and won the GAC Tournament and an NCAA Tournament Appearance.
He served as the Director of Basketball Operations at Denver during the 2021-22 season, holding responsibility for all logistics of team travel including scheduling, meals, and lodging in addition to handling all team film and video editing, scheduling of practice times, and plans both home and away.
He coached at Division II Illinois-Springfield where he served as a graduate assistant for the Prairie Stars during the 2019-20 campaign. In addition to overseeing of the scouting report and video operations, Reynolds was instrumental in the planning and execution of player workouts and skill developmental sessions. Reynolds would depart for Purdue Northwest of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) for the 2020-21 season where he was a top assistant. Reynolds produced the team scouting reports and handled opponent film analysis as well as directing in-game substitutions, adjustments, and defensive matchups. Additionally, Reynolds oversaw academics for the program.
Reynolds' coaching experience began in 2018 as an assistant for his alma mater, Columbia College. A 2018 graduate of the school, Reynolds was part of three league championships, a conference tournament title, and four national tournament appearances as a player at Columbia College.
PAT MONAGHAN | ASSISTANT COACH
Monaghan begins his first season with the Pokes and his 19th overall at the collegiate level. In June 2024 he was selected to attend Top Connect Basketball Symposium in Las Vegas, NV. While in May 2022 he was selected to attend the Jay Bilas Coaches Leadership Program. Both programs are designed to identify and develop up-and-coming assistants who have the potential to be Division I College Head Coaches.
In his lone season in Green Bay he helped the Phoenix win 18 games, the most regular season wins since the 2016-17 season. Green Bay also achieved Horizon League success, winning 13 HL games for the first time since the 2013-14 season, and finishing third for the first time since 2019-20.
In addition to Green Bay's team success, Monaghan also helped guide numerous players to award-winning seasons. Lead guard Noah Reynolds was named the Horizon League Newcomer of the Year, All-Horizon League First Team, and NABC District 12 All-Region First Team after an outstanding season. For the first time in program history, Green Bay also saw two freshmen named to the Horizon League All-Freshman Team, David Douglas Jr. (Freshman of the Year) and Marcus Hall.
In total, the Phoenix went 18-14 in 2023-24 after a 3-29 season in (2023-24). That 15 game turnaround is tied for ninth-best turnaround in NCAA DI history. The 13 Horizon League wins is also the most by a first-year head coach in Green Bay men's basketball history.
Success has followed Monaghan to all previous stops. Previously, before Green Bay he spent four years at Southern Illinois, helping the Salukis to a 67-55 record from (2019-23), which included 23 wins in 2022-23, the most in program history since the 2006-07 season.
Monaghan was influential in the recruitment and development of Marcus Domask, who had one the best freshman seasons in Southern Illinois history, earning Freshman All-America honors, along with the league's Freshman and Newcomer of the Year awards. Domask was one of only four freshmen in the nation to average at least 13.5 points, 5 rebounds, and 2.5 steals.
Monaghan was also instrumental in signing one of the best recruiting classes in school history. Troy D'Amico and Scottie Ebube were both ranked as top-10 players in the state of Illinois, and D'Amico was the highest-rated in-state recruit to sign with SIU since 2008. Foster Wonders, the runner-up for Michigan Mr. Basketball in 2021 and the No. 5 ranked player in the state of Michigan, also signed with SIU.
Prior to Southern Illinois, Monaghan spent two seasons (2017-19) at Milwaukee. The Panthers were among just a handful of teams to beat nationally ranked Loyola in 2017-18, topping the eventual Final Four-bound Ramblers by 17 points in non-conference play.
Before his stop in the Cream City, Monaghan was an assistant for six seasons at Division II powerhouse Minnesota State University (2011-17), where he helped the Mavericks to four NCAA Tournament appearances and a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference titles. He was also the recruiting coordinator for the Mavericks, and 13 players earned All-NSIC honors during his tenure. The Mavericks won 28 games in 2012-13 and topped that with a 30-5 mark in 2013-14. The Mavs won 20 or more games in each of his final five campaigns.
He served as the director of basketball operations at Loyola Chicago (2010-11) and two years as an assistant at Coffeyville Community College (2008-10), where he helped guide the Ravens to a 46-20 record, including a Jayhawk East Conference Championship in 2009.
Monaghan played collegiately at Division II institution Lewis University and led the Flyers in scoring with 14.0 points per game as a senior in 2005-06. Prior to Lewis, he played two seasons at Harper Junior College and was named Third-Team NJCAA All-American in 2004.
TIM O'FLANNIGAN | ASSISTANT COACH / DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
O’Flannigan is in his fifth season with the Cowboys as the Director of Basketball Operations.
A native of Laramie returned to UW after spending two seasons as director of operations at Weber State. Prior to heading to Weber State, O’Flannigan was a graduate assistant for the Pokes helping lead Wyoming to the College Basketball Insider Championship in 2017. Before his duties as a graduate assistant, he spent four years as a student manager for the Cowboys.