One of head coach Eric Musselman’s first additions to his staff when he was hired at Nevada was Anthony Ruta to be his director of basketball operations, for the Wolf Pack. Coach Musselman worked with Ruta when they were both at Arizona State.
Ruta spent two seasons as the Pack’s director of basketball operations but after the 2016-17 season he was promoted to assistant coach. The 2018-19 season will his fourth at Nevada working with coach Musselman.
Last season he helped guide the Wolf Pack to a second consecutive Mountain West outright title, just the second school in conference history to accomplish the feat. The Pack made a second consecutive NCAA Tournament and reached the Sweet 16 for the second time in school history. The team went 29-8 and 15-3 in MW play. The 29 wins tied the school record for victories.
In his three seasons the Pack has won 24, 28 and 29 games. The 81 wins equals the best three-year total in school history and is just the second time Nevada has put together a run of three consecutive 20 win seasons. The school record is seven consecutive 20 win seasons from 2003-2010.
In Ruta’s two years as director of operations he helped the Pack go from nine wins prior to his arrival, to 24 and 28. Nevada won the CBI Championship in year one which was the first postseason championship by a Mountain West or Nevada team. The 28 wins is tied for second most in school history.
Year two was even more impressive as the Wolf Pack captured the MW regular season and tournament titles. The tournament title, the first in school history earned the Pack its first NCAA Tournament bid in a decade.
Ruta handled scheduling, travel and overall organization of the Wolf Pack basketball program as director of operations prior to his promotion. In his new role as an assistant coach he will scout opponents, recruit student athletes and is in charge of scheduling. He is credited for the upgrade of non-conference opponents on the 2017-18 and 2018-19 schedules.
Prior to coming to Nevada, Ruta was an assistant coach with Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA Development League. He assisted in all areas with Mad Ants that included in game coaching and practice preparation. His primary responsibilities were defensive game planning.
Working with the guards and wings he coached NBA player Dahntay Jones and D-League All-Star game MVP Andre Emmett.
Prior to coaching in the NBADL he attended Arizona State where he was a graduate assistant for two seasons. The Sun Devils advanced to the postseason both years playing in the NCAA and NIT Championships.
While at ASU he assisted in scouting and game preparation. Additional duties included assisting in scheduling, team workouts primarily with the guards, team travel and summer camps. He also oversaw the team managers, organized the recruiting data base and served as the academics and facilities liaison.
As an undergraduate student at ASU, Ruta was the head student manager for two seasons. He assisted with the daily operations of the Sun Devils basketball program which included workouts. Additionally he worked summer camps and organized the team managers.
Ruta received his bachelors of arts degree in English literature from ASU in 2012 and a masters of education degree in higher education in 2014.
