MU basketball director Bryan Tibaldi leaves for DePaul

An already busy offseason has at least one more task on the to-do list for Missouri men’s basketball coach Kim Anderson.

He must find a new director of basketball operations after the Tigers announced Monday that Bryan Tibaldi would join Dave Leitao’s staff at DePaul.

Tibaldi, 30, started his career with Missouri in 2011, serving as video coordinator for two seasons under former coach Frank Haith, before he was promoted to director of basketball operations in Haith’s final season.

Tibaldi, a native of Traverse City, Mich., and a former assistant video coordinator with the Chicago Bulls, remained on MU’s staff in that capacity last season under Anderson.

Now, he’ll be reunited with Leitao, who was an assistant coach at Missouri in 2013-14 and then followed Haith to Tulsa last year.

Tibaldi will serve as the Blue Demons’ director of basketball operations on a staff that also includes another former Tigers assistant, Rick Carter, who was tapped as associate head coach.

Leitao went 58-34 as DePaul’s head coach during 2002-05 before going 63-60 in four seasons at Virginia. He also coached at Northeastern, posting a 22-35 record during 1994-96, and coached the Maine Red Claws of the NBA Developmental League.

“Dave Leitao and Rick Carter are two men that have been great friends and mentors to me in this business,” Tibaldi said. “I’ve had the privilege of working with them both previously, so the chance to help them build a winner at DePaul was an opportunity I simply could not pass up.”

Tibaldi, a walk-on and two-year letterman at Michigan State, served as Tom Izzo’s graduate assistant during 2007-09.

“Congratulations to Bryan for having the chance to reconnect with coach Leitao at DePaul,” Anderson said. “We are certainly appreciative of Bryan’s outstanding work this last season during my first year as head coach, as well as his overall efforts during his previous four seasons at Mizzou. Bryan has a great basketball mind, and I certainly expect him to have continued success in our profession.”

Anderson filled four scholarships after going 9-23 in his first season as head coach at his alma mater. He also hired Corey Tate as an assistant coach, filling the void left by Tim Fuller’s departure.

The Tigers landed Blue Springs South forward Kevin Puryear, the 2015 DiRenna Award winner as the top high school player in Kansas City, and Pacific (Mo.) shooting guard Cullen VanLeer during the early recruiting period.

This spring, Missouri added Oak Hill Academy point guard Terrence Phillips, Brownsburg (Ind.) shooting guard K.J. Walton and former John A. Logan College teammates Martavian Payne, a combo guard, and Russell Woods, a forward, to the 2015-16 roster.

This story was originally published June 1, 2015 at 3:14 PM with the headline "MU basketball director Bryan Tibaldi leaves for DePaul."