OUTRAGE ALTMAN.jpg

Oregon coach Dana Altman must replace longtime assistant coach Brian Fish (seated, with glasses), who is set to become Montana State's head coach.

(AP photo)

EUGENE --

, an Oregon basketball assistant whose ties to coach Dana Altman date to 1989, will be leaving the UO staff this week to become head coach at Montana State.

the news of his hiring, which was confirmed by two sources. Montana State had yet to announce the hiring Monday evening.

Fish, 48, will become a head coach for the first time in the college ranks and will take over a team that finished 14-17 overall and ninth in the Big Sky Conference this season. Former coach Brad Huse resigned after a 107-133 record over eight seasons on March 18.

"I wish him the best at Montana State," said outgoing senior center Waverly Austin in a phone interview, describing Fish as a "player's coach." Fish worked with Oregon's forwards and centers in practice.

"You can have a good relationship on and off the court. He's funny but also very serious about the game. I think it's important for coaches to have that relationship, it brings a comfort level for a player. That's what he can do for that team."

Fish was one of the primary recruiters on Oregon's staff, joining Tony Stubblefield in that role. His one-year contract, worth $215,000, was

.

Altman informed Duck players and recruits with the news Monday evening. One call was to junior college transfer forward Dwayne Benjamin, whose recruitment from Mount San Jacinto College was led by Fish. Benjamin, a 6-foot-7 forward, signed a letter of intent

.

"(Altman) just told me the news and he told me that nothing's changed for me," Benjamin said.

"I'm happy for Fish, this is a great thing. I'm happy for him, he deserves it. He was one of the major reasons why I joined Oregon because it was like a family."

Fish first coached with Altman at Marshall in 1989, when Altman was the head coach and Fish a graduate assistant, and they worked together for 14 seasons since. After Marshall, Fish joined Altman's staff at Kansas State as a video coordinator, then at Creighton from 1994-96 and 2004-10 until he was hired at Oregon as Altman's first assistant. Between his stints at Creighton, Fish was an assistant at TCU, then San Diego.

Fish was a standout prep player in Indiana at Seymour High School and was named to that state hall of fame's "Silver Anniversary" prep team in 2009. He went on to play collegiately at Western Kentucky and Marshall.

"If someone wants to be a head coach at the Division I level and feels the opportunity's right I'm all for that," Austin said. "That's a good opportunity for him."