Pepperdine Staff Passes Geography

Jan van Breda Kolff has only distant ties to Southern California, having spent some of his formative years living in Palos Verdes when his father, Butch, was coach of the Lakers.

But van Breda Kolff, in his first season at Pepperdine, has surrounded himself with assistants familiar with the area.

Chris Walker, the Waves’ associate head coach, was with van Breda Kolff the last three seasons at Vanderbilt. Before that he spent four years as an assistant at Loyola Marymount.

Assistant Gib Arnold has a similar pedigree, serving as an assistant at Loyola Marymount for two years before joining van Breda Kolff’s Vanderbilt staff last season.

Arnold’s father, Frank, was an assistant at UCLA under John Wooden for many years.

“It’s important to have West Coast ties,” van Breda Kolff said.

Assistant Damon Archibald also is the son of a coach. Lynn Archibald was head coach at Utah and Idaho State.