Head coach Ray McCallum has announced that David Saltman and Matt Ryder have joined the basketball staff with Saltman filling the role of Director of Basketball Operations, while Ryder will be a graduate assistant coach. 

“I think it's always great when you can add people to your staff that you are familiar with and understand your expectations,” said McCallum. “Both David and Matt are hard workers who will fit right into our entire staff.” 

A veteran of both the collegiate and high school scene, Saltman is no stranger to McCallum after serving as his video coordinator at Houston during the 2003-04 season. After that, he worked as a graduate manager for two seasons at Illinois State (2004-06). His first collegiate coaching stop came as an assistant at Elon from 2002-03, where he handled film exchange, coordinated official visits of new recruits, assisted in recruiting, individual workouts and on-floor coaching. During that time, he helped guide the Phoenix to a second-place finish in the Big South Conference with two players earning Big South All-Freshman Team honors. 

He spent the last four years coaching high school with two as the head coach at Lake Region in Florida (2006-08). He led the Thunder to a district championship and regional runner-up in 2007 and a district title appearance in 2008. He helped mentor current Division I player Marcus Capers of Washington State as he was named second team All-Polk County as a sophomore and Polk County News Chief All-Area Player of the Year as a junior. 

He took a year off of coaching but got right back on the bench during the 2009-10 campaign as an assistant coach at Auburndale in Florida, a program that he once coached for six years in the late 1990's twice winning 20 games, with his 1998-99 squad ranked No. 2 in the state. Under his direction, he produced two first team All-State selections in Tyrhon Crawford and Theron Smith, with Smith signing with Ball State under McCallum and later playing in the NBA with the Memphis Grizzlies and the Charlotte Bobcats. 

He is a 1990 graduate of St. Andrews College in Laurinburg, N.C., where he earned a Bachelors Degree in Physical Education.
 
“David has a great background in the game and he brings with him a lot of experience to the position,” said McCallum. “Just with that alone, he will help make us a better team.” 

Ryder also has ties to McCallum as he was a team manager at Indiana for three seasons (2005-08), the last two with McCallum as an assistant coach at IU. For the Hoosiers, Ryder assisted in film exchange, practice preparation and daily office administration, helping the team to a 21-win campaign and a second round appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2007. 

Last year, Ryder was a graduate manager at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, helping the staff with a variety of duties. The 49ers went on to win 19 games, including posting a 9-1 record to start the year, the school's best start in 18 years, with wins over top 25 teams Louisville and Temple. 

A native of Boca Raton, FL, Ryder lettered in football and basketball at Boca Raton High School. He graduated from Indiana with a Bachelors Degree in Marketing and he is currently pursuing his Masters at UDM in Education Administration.

“Matt is an up and coming coach who has brings a lot of great qualities to the program. He has seen success during his times and he knows what it takes to get the job done,” added McCallum.