Olney Central College Interim Head Coach Casey Wyllie has added KJ Conklin to his coaching staff for the upcoming season.
Conklin has spent the last two seasons as a graduate assistant coach at Louisiana Tech University. During his two years at LA Tech, Conklin assisted in all day to day operations of the program including travel arrangements, recruiting efforts, and summer basketball camp. The the Bulldogs compiled a 42-21 record during his time at LA Tech. During his second season, LA Tech finished tied for second in the Conference USA standings with Western Kentucky and led Conference USA in total wins with (22).
Prior to his arrival in Ruston, Conklin served as a varsity assistant basketball coach at Sterling High School in Illinois for the 2017-18 season under coach Ryan Vasquez. In that season, Sterling went 23-10, won the Northern Illinois Big 12 Conference Championship and made a IHSA 3A Sweet 16 appearance while also amassing a 15-game winning streak.
Before Sterling, Conklin served as a student manager for four years at Illinois State under head coach Dan Muller and received his bachelor’s degree in Social Science Education. During his time at ISU, Conklin aided in opponent individual player scouting, supervision of team managers, and contributed in recruiting evaluations and letters.
A native of Rock Falls, Illinois, Conklin has also been a Pure Sweat intern under NBA Skills trainer Drew Hanlen during the summers of 2018 and 2019. In his time as an intern, he has helped with the development of several premier NBA and college players in the pre-draft process.
He has previously worked college basketball camps at Iowa, Marquette, Kentucky, Illinois State, and Louisiana Tech.
Coach Wyllie on Conklin: “I’m very excited to officially welcome KJ Conklin to our school, community, and basketball program. He is a worker that will bring a tremendous amount of energy on a daily basis that will benefit our program. KJ came very highly recommended from the entire Louisiana Tech basketball staff. His experiences at the division one level will be valuable for our players and entire program.”
https://www.olneycentralathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2019-20/releases/20200629fnl3g0
