Meet Coach Michael Plank

Portland State Assistant Coach Michael Plank is in a category of his own: Renaissance Multi-Sport Man, specifically basketball. football, baseball and track. Add to that a display of the mindset, values and sense of humor that connects well with his fellow humans and it's no surprise he is a rising name in college coaching circles.

"I played a lot of sports in high school -- football, baseball, basketball and track," Plank, who grew up in Stockton, California recalled. "My coaches were very impactful and it was important for me to have those people in my life." Influential enough that he eventually entered that very profession.

But participating in one activity in particular stood out for him. "Basketball was the sport I played everyday as a kid, sunup to sundown. I also watched basketball on television and the Kings were good then with Mike Bibby, Vlade Divac and Chris Webber."

Then it was on to Willamette University in Salem, Oregon where he took to the court for four years as a point guard, the field for five at both quarterback and wide receiver (counting a redshirt season) and the diamond as an outfielder and shortstop.

While there, he also began coaching the Portland Hoop Kings (South) program, working with talents from Salem and Corvallis. Eventually, that encompassed leading such prospects as AJ Lapray (Pepperdine), Avry Holmes (Clemson), Jake Ehlers (Seattle Pacific) and Maximo Espitia (a linebacker at California). "I looked liked the coach of the year," Plank joked.

Post Willamette, Plank realized he wanted to enter the college coaching ranks. Certainly not for the money or the prestige, he entered the field as a hoops assistant at his alma mater beginning in 2008. "That's where I developed a lot of my relationships [in the college coaching ranks] because I met a lot of Dl, D2 and NAIA coaches, including current PSU Head Coach Tyler Geving." I also worked with the point guards in our dribble-drive system."

Always staying connected, he also landed a spot as an assistant to Head Coach Josh Erickson (a college teammate) with the Costa Rican Senior National Team. "I feel fortunate that I was invited to help train."

In 2012, Plank moved to being a Graduate Assistant at USF under Head Coach Rex Walters. That evolved into a promotion to video coordinator. But Plank wanted to get back on the court working with players and an offer to assist at Casper College in Wyoming proved too difficult to pass up. "I called a number of my coaching friends -- Travis DeCuire, Andy Hill, Doug Stewart, Rob Lanier -- talked with them and decided to pack up my NIssan Sentra."

So 2013 saw him in the second largest city in The Cowboy State at a national junior college program. After the season, Plank departed Casper for a graduate assistant position with Washington State's Ernie Kent but soon after faced a major decision. Two weeks into his job in Pullman, Portland State Coach Geving dialed him up and offered an assistant spot in The Rose City. Plank conferred with Kent and decided "Portland State was too good to pass up."

Now two years in and with such northern California talents as Armani (Stuart Hall High) Collins, Isaiah (Placer High/Sierra Junior College) Pineiro and De'Sean (Grant High/Salt Lake CC) Parsons on the Viking roster, Plank has demonstrated his recruiting bonafides.

Asked why he is a good assistant coach, Plank self-effacingly answered, "I don't know that I am yet." Detailing his method of operation, he offered "developing relationships at a high level, researching kids, their families and who they lean on." Once on campus, it's "staying on top of our guys, knowing where they will be Fridays and Saturdays and seeing a problem before it happens. I'm easy-going but assertive."

Regarding the future, Plank said, "my goal is to do such a good job where I'm at, helping in bringing success to where I'm at."

Consider this: just a few years beyond playing college basketball, he's already a resident of a D1 coaching staff. That's a remarkable advancement and with the best surely yet to come.