David Dunham is leaving the University of Idaho men’s basketball program to become the head coach of Squalicum High School boys basketball.
“Once I left the University of Idaho, I was going to take some time off then be back at the college level,” Dunham said. “I never expected to be doing high school. When I heard about it, I thought it would be interesting.”
Dunham was an assistant coach for Idaho last season and finished the season with an 8-21 record. Although Dunham loved his experience coaching at the Division 1 level, he said he needed to step down to focus on his family in Bellingham.
“Having two households was tough itself, but in February my brother and sister were dealing with health issues, which weighed heavily on my mind,” Dunham said. “In late February, my mother passed away and that was really tough. I needed to be back with my family not knowing what next was.”
Before coaching Idaho, Dunham was the head coach at Whatcom Community College from 2013-16, leading the Orcas to a pair of playoff appearances and runner-up finish in the conference championship game.
Afterward, Dunham became the assistant head coach at Western Washington University for seven seasons, leading the Vikings to a 110-66 record, two Great Northwest Athletic Conference titles and a couple of NCAA Division 2 Championship tournament appearances.
Dunham will be coaching at the high school level for the first time in nearly two decades, previously coaching at Independence High School in San Jose, California. Dunham described it as similar to coaching junior college basketball.
“You are getting kids that are at the high school skill level,” Dunham said. “My expectation is I can get to them earlier and hopefully turn them into college players at the high school level.”
Dunham is taking over for former coach Tyler Hannigan, who resigned after coaching three seasons.
“We thank (Tyler) for his time and commitment to Squalicum athletics. He will continue to teach social studies, and we look forward to him continuing as a part of our Storm family,” Squalicum’s Athletic Director Patrick Brown said in a news release.
Dunham has ties to Squalicum High as well. His wife, Meghan Dunham, is an assistant principal and his children attended the school. Dunham will focus on coaching at the school and said he hopes to build the confidence and passing and defending skills of his new players.
“A lot of times, guys just play without knowing why they are doing the things they are doing,” Dunham said. “I just want to be the best version of Squalicum we can be. I want to build a great culture, compete and have everyone play at their peak.”
With ties to several colleges, Dunham hopes to give his players the connections and tools to play at the next level. Although Dunham is still learning about his team, he is happy to be back in Bellingham and compete in the Northwest Conference.
“My hope is that we prepare better than anybody,” Dunham said. “When we step on the floor, we are confident and have a great culture in our program. When they come to watch, they will be impressed by how we compete.”
Nick Zeller-Singh is CDN's sports reporter; reach him at nickzellersingh@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 104.
