Cobb recognized by TopConnect as rising assistant coach

One of the greatest honors an assistant coach can receive is praise from an outsider who sees potential in you and what you're doing. Montana associate head coach Chris Cobb has received plenty of that, most recently being selected to participate at the prestigious TopConnect Basketball Symposium at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

TopConnect, formerly Villa 7, originated in 2003 by then-VCU director of athletics Dr. Richard Sandler with the purpose of identifying the top assistant basketball coaches in the country and connecting them with athletics directors to provide tremendous networking and leadership development opportunities.

Cobb wants to be clear: He and his family enjoy living in Missoula and working with the Griz basketball program.

Who can blame him? The California native has been part of three Big Sky Conference regular-season and two tournament championships in his eight seasons at Montana, including back-to-back trips to the NCAA tournament in 2018 and 2019. His boss, Travis DeCuire, ranks second in Montana history with 160 victories, third in Big Sky history with 103 conference wins and was the fastest Big Sky coach to ever pick up his 50^th conference win.

Cobb has been by DeCuire's side for each of those accomplishments, likely putting him on the fast-track to someday become a head coach.

Originally hired as a 27-year-old recruiting coordinator on DeCuire's first staff at Montana, Cobb made an immediate impression, being elevated to an assistant coach after his first season and associate head coach just one year later.

So, while Cobb is grateful to be at Montana and looks forward to bringing another championship back to Missoula, he was honored when he received news of his invitation to the TopConnect symposium.

"It was nice when I found out that I had been selected and it was beneficial to get to be part of the event in Las Vegas," Cobb said. "The first thing they asked us was, 'Why do you coach college basketball?' For me, I had such a good experience as a player that I felt like I could deliver that same experience as a coach, including building life-long relationships, winning games and delivering great results.

"Getting to be in a room full of like-minded, motivated coaches was neat because you realize how many good people there are in basketball trying to do the same thing that you're doing."

We're fired up to be back in person for #TopConnect22 presented by @Teamworks & @INFLCR! pic.twitter.com/Mq8A28J0SS
— TopConnect Leaders (@TopConnectLead) June 27, 2022

At this summer's event, assistant coaches received educational programming from a wide variety of successful leaders and speakers. The content seems to work, too.

Over the past four years, 35 assistant coaches or assistant athletics directors who participated in the TopConnect symposium have been promoted to head coach or athletics director, as well as one conference commissioner.

"It's always good to start thinking about the philosophies and the pillars that you would have as a head coach," Cobb said. "There was a lot to take in from the event because it was so informative and interactive."

In addition to panel discussions led by several prominent basketball coaches and leaders – including former college and NBA coach Lon Kruger, who led both Florida and Oklahoma to Final Fours – the symposium also featured breakout sessions. The sessions covered a wide range of topics, including: expectations of a head coach; preparing for the interview; the first 365 days; managing a season; developing real expectations; what ADs are looking for; scheduling; NIL; discipline and motivation; mental health; core values; building support; and the future of college basketball.

The most impactful part for Cobb was the 'speed dating' segment, where he had mini mock interviews with actual athletics directors and got to hear feedback about what they look for in a future head coach.

"My energy was something that came off as a strength," Cobb said. "One of the things that was also good for me to hear is to portray confidence when I speak. One of the ADs looked at what we've done at Montana and told me, 'You've had a lot of success. When you're articulating, don't say I think this works, verbalize that you know something works, because you do.

"That was good to hear and kind of reaffirmed that the things that we're doing here at Montana are leading to success."

Thank you @TopConnectLead for opportunity to get better and learn from great leaders and coaches! https://t.co/tVGGgWSgKl
— Chris Cobb (@CoachCCobb) July 1, 2022

University of Montana Athletics

Cobb recognized by TopConnect as rising assistant coach

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