Joe Kuhn figured familiarity would help in his first season as head coach of the College of DuPage men’s basketball team.
 
The former Joliet Junior College head coach plucked his JJC coaching staff of Keith Kinzler and Eric Garcia, along with former Wolves’ guard Antwan Hill to comprise the Chaps’ coaching staff.
 
“Having continuity with your staff is incredibly important,” Kuhn said. “A successful working relationship that goes back several years makes everything we do that much easier and better.”
 
Kinzler served all 25 seasons with Kuhn at Joliet, where it played in seven NJCAA national tournaments, three title games and captured the 2010 national title. The success included playing in the Region 4 title games in 19 times with 16 All-Americans and more than 40 All-Region players.
 
The Kuhn-Kinzler connection goes beyond the 25 years they coached together as Kinzler played while Kuhn served as a JJC assistant coach in 1992-93.
 
Kinzler later played at Division I Morehead State.
 
“Keith sees things on the court that maybe I don’t because of his background,” Kuhn said. “He’s a role model with his background as a junior college player, who had the ability to play at Division I. He’s relatable to the guys and we’ve had a lot of success working together.”
 
Garcia’s skill-set centers on recruiting and studying film. This year will mark his fourth year working with Kuhn.
 
“Eric is a student of the game,” Kuhn said. “His off-the-court work is critical in terms of our scouting and prep work.”
 
Hill played two seasons for Kuhn (2011-13) before completing his collegiate career at Johnson & Wales University in Florida.
 
“Antwan will tell you that I was pretty tough on him when he played for me,” Kuhn said. “He can relate to our guards, what they’re going through, both in practice and in games.”

Story Courtesy: Mark Reinhiller, Sports Information Coordinator, College of DuPage