Andy Hipsher is beginning his second year as an assistant coach for the
Western Michigan men’s basketball program after learning under some of
the best minds the game of basketball has to offer.
Hipsher has already worked on staffs with Bob Knight, Lon Kruger and
Dick Hunsaker and grew up and played for his father, Dan Hipsher, the
long-time head coach at Akron, former assistant at Arkansas and current
assistant at South Florida.
Hipsher will focus his coaching efforts on the Broncos’ wing players,
while also contributing selected scouting reports throughout the course
of the season and contributing to the Broncos’ recruiting efforts.
In his first season in Kalamazoo, Hipsher helped the Broncos reclaim
the MAC West title with a 12-4 mark in the league and a 20-12 record
overall. The Broncos reached 20 wins for the first time since 2004-05
and only the seventh time in school history.
He spent the 2006-07 season as an assistant coach at Utah Valley State
in Orem, Utah, under former Ball State head coach Hunsaker. The
Wolverines went 22-7, the best record by a Division I independent
school since Notre Dame went 23-6 during the 1985-86 season. Guard Ryan
Toolson was named CollegeInsider.com Independent MVP and First Team
All-Independent and forward David Heck was Second Team All-Independent.
Prior to joining the staff at UVSC, Hipsher spent three months as the
video coordinator at UNLV for Kruger. Even though he was there for just
a short time, Hipsher gained valuable knowledge and experience with a
staff that led the Runnin’ Rebels to the 2007 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.
Upon finishing his playing career with the Zips, Hipsher relocated to
Lubbock, Texas, to work with Knight, the all-time winningest coach in
Division I history. He was a graduate assistant coach for two years at
Texas Tech (2004-06) and was part of the Red Raiders’ success during
the 2004-05 season when they advanced to the 2005 NCAA Tournament Sweet
16 with wins over UCLA and Gonzaga and finished the year 22-11.
He also worked as a broadcast analyst for Texas Tech on the Texas Tech Sports Network for both television and radio.
Hipsher spent five seasons at Akron (1999-2004) playing for his father,
and became one of the best players in Zips history, despite a playing
career that was hampered by three back surgeries.
He finished his career with 1,136 points, which ranks 27th in UA
history, along with ranking fifth in career assists (344) and ninth in
blocks (48). He pulled down 594 rebounds and made 140 steals. Hipsher
finished his career shooting .502 (365-727) from the field, .337
(65-193) from behind the three-point line and .746 (341-457) at the
free throw line.
A team co-captain each of his last two seasons, Hipsher was a two-time
Academic All-MAC honoree (2003, 2004) and was named to the 2000 MAC
All-Freshman Team and 2003-04 Preseason All-MAC Team.
Hipsher was named Second Team All-Ohio Division II and Akron Beacon
Journal Player of the Year after leading Archbishop Hoban to the
state’s top ranking throughout most of his senior season with 20.1
points and 9.1 rebounds per game. He was also an All-Ohio Division I
Special Mention selection as a junior averaging 17 points per game at
Massillon Jackson.
Hipsher earned his bachelor’s degree in business management with a
minor in entrepreneurship from Akron in 2003 and then completed his
master’s in business administration with a concentration in marketing
from Akron in 2005.
