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Garner will coach at DSU
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By ARIY-EL BOYNTON, Staff Reporter
| 04/22/2009 |
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After a two-year assistant coaching stint in the NBA Development League, Gary Garner, the 1996 NCAA Division II Coach of the Year, wanted to get back to his love: college basketball.
Garner will take the reins as Dakota State University's men's basketball coach, as announced on Wednesday by Athletic Director Gene Wockenfuss.
Garner replaces Wade Kooiman, who coached for four years at DSU.
The previous head coach at Drake University and Missouri Southern University, Garner is thrilled to be back in a college setting and head up a program.
"I told my wife Barb that it's been a long time since I have been this excited about getting up in the morning and getting to the office," said Garner, a 65-year-old alumnus from the University of Missouri.
Wockenfuss likes his selection.
"Gary's prior experience as a Division I and II coach at highly successful collegiate programs will be invaluable as he readies to lead our team," said Wockenfuss in a press release. "He brings a tremendous amount of basketball experience and knowledge to Dakota State."
A month ago, Garner was coaching for the Iowa Energy (Des Moines). He saw DSU's coaching vacancy in the Bismarck Tribune when his team was playing the Dakota Wizards (Bismarck, N.D.). He then asked Duane Ticknor, a South Dakota native and the Wizards' head coach, about Madison.
Ticknor had great things to say about Lake County, and Garner sent his resume to Wockenfuss.
Wockenfuss selected Garner from several applicants.
Garner is aware of DSU's basketball's lack of success recently and is ready to turn things around.
"I know the school hasn't seen much success over a number of years, and I am excited about that," said Garner. "When I came out here for the visit, everything seem to fit and I thought Gene's vision for the program is exactly what I was looking for. It will take some work to turn this thing around, but I'm ready."
Garner said that he looks to instill in his Trojans the desire to play hard and work together as a team.
"If your team doesn't play hard and you don't play together, all the other things are for naught," he said. "You can be the greatest X's and O's guy in the world, but if your team doesn't play with energy and unity, then all that other stuff doesn't make a lot of difference."
While Garner is new to the DAC Conference, he is very focused on championships in the conference.
"Any coach, including me, wants to win championships, and it's not going to happen overnight," said Garner, who is from West Plains, Mo. "But the sooner the better, and that's what we plan on doing."
He emphasizes recruiting as an important part of his team's championship journey.
Garner is not a big fan of putting players' last names on jerseys, but he will do it if that means attracting potential recruits.
"I don't care how good of a coach you are, if you had bad players, you're not going to win," said Garner.
A 3-year letterwinner at the University of Missouri (Columbia) in the 1960s, he said that his goal for the team this year is "to have the best basketball team we can have."
After a year, he said, he can have more specific goals in the future.
Garner has not seen the 2009-10 schedule in detail, but he hopes his team can build confidence through the non-conference schedule.
An ex-coach at NCAA Div. II Fort Hays State and Southeast Missouri State, Garner doesn't mind playing NCAA Div. II teams.
"That would be fine. D-II does have some good basketball teams, but I like that. If we have a good team and we can have a swagger about us, we can compete with them if we can get together and play great," said Garner.
"It's about getting better every day. If everybody buys their role, gets better as an individual and plays as a team, then our job is done."
Garner said he would like to hire his own staff. The status of the current staff is unknown at this time.
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