Changes Idaho Vandals basketball staff as Helbling, Palacio leave program

Chris Helbling, who served as assistant coach, and Milt Palacio, who served as Director of Player Development, are no longer with the Idaho men’s basketball program, Idaho athletic director Rob Spear has confirmed to The Spokesman-Review. 

Helbling has left to pursue opportunities outside of coaching, Spear said. 

Helbling joined the Idaho coaching staff in 2008 as director of basketball operations and was promoted to assistant coach in 2012. 

Helbling was involved in a spat with head coach Don Verlin last February in a game at Northern Arizona in which Verlin was shown tossing a binder and ejecting Helbling from the bench. Both parties  accepted disciplinary action and Helbling returned to the bench during the next game at Southern Utah and finished the season with the team. 

Palacio has spent the last two seasons as director of player development. He left Idaho to pursue positions in the NBA and  has spent recent weeks in Las Vegas as a  guest coach of the Toronto Raptors during the NBA Summer League.

Kirk Earlywine and Tim Murphy are listed as assistant coaches on the school’s official website. Landon Tatum is the director of basketball operations.