Hillsdale College is pleased to announce two new additions to the Charger men’s basketball coaching staff for the upcoming 2020-21 season.
Keven Bradley will take over as the Associate Head Coach and Eric Weiss as an Assistant Coach under Hillsdale College head coach John Tharp, who is entering the 14th season of a very successful run with the Charger men’s basketball program this winter. Bradley and Weiss are filling the spots opened by the departure of Ryan Choiniere and Brandon Pritzl, who both left the program to pursue other coaching opportunities this summer.
“This spring, we lost two really talented assistants who have done a lot to build up this program over the past few years, and who I’m eternally grateful for their time here and the impact they had,” Tharp said. “That said, I think with Keven and Eric we’ve got two high-quality assistants who are more than capable of helping us maintain the standard that has been set in this program over the past few years, and to continue to build on the foundation that’s been laid.”
Keven Bradley comes to Hillsdale with over a decade of assistant coaching experience at the Division II level, working with successful programs at Upper Iowa and Wisconsin-Parkside since 2009.
Most recently, Bradley has been an assistant coach at Parkside for the past seven seasons and Associate Head Men’s Basketball coach for the past six, helping the Rangers to a 131-74 record overall and an 86-44 record in conference play during that time.
During his tenure as the lead assistant, the Rangers won four division titles in the GLVC and GLIAC, qualified for four NCAA Division II Tournaments, and set a program record for wins with 26 in 2014-15. Bradley coached two Division II All-Americans at Parkside, including 2015-16 GLVC Player of the Year Andy Mazurczak.
As an assistant at Upper Iowa from 2009-2013, he played a significant role in the program’s turnaround, helping the Peacocks to a school record in wins (20) and a NCAA DII tournament berth in his final season in 2012-13.
A 2006 graduate of Division III Lawrence University in Wisconsin, Bradley played for Tharp during the coach’s tenure with the Vikings prior to coming to Hillsdale in 2007-08. At Lawrence, Bradley was a starter and helped the Vikings to two NCAA tournament appearances, including a Sweet 16 berth in 2005-06. He finished his collegiate career with a combined record of 98-16.
“Everywhere Keven has gone, from his collegiate playing days to his coaching career, he’s been a part of teams that win and compete for championships, and that’s no accident,” Tharp said. “He’s one of the best human beings I know, he’s got a tremendous basketball IQ, and he’s an excellent teacher of the game.
“His experience and his character make him a perfect fit for this role. To have someone as accomplished as Keven on this staff is really going to help us both this season and in the future.”
Eric Weiss comes to Hillsdale with an impressive amount of basketball experience for someone who’s just two seasons removed from his collegiate playing days. He spent the past two seasons working at Division I University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, serving first as a graduate manager for the Panthers men’s basketball team for the 2018-19 season and then as Milwaukee’s Director of Basketball Operations for the 2019-20 season.
In his position with the Panthers, Weiss filled several roles, including managing the team’s schedule, budget, transportation, marketing and compliance efforts, serving as the team’s recruiting coordinator and taking a lead role in opposition scouting and player development. He also spent time as a head coach on the AAU circuit with the Wisconsin Swing in 2018, and served as an assistant coach with the Wisconsin Playground Warriors in 2016, as well as a runner intern at the Hoop Group Elite Camp in both 2016 and 2017.
Like Bradley, Weiss is a Lawrence University alumnus, having graduated in 2018. During his four-year career with the Vikings, Weiss was named a team captain, received the Tony Kirkpatrick Award, and earned both Academic All-Midwest Conference honors and a spot on the 2017-18 NABC Honors Court.
“Eric is a young coach with a very bright future ahead of him, and we’re thrilled to have him as a part of this staff,” Tharp said. “He’s extremely intelligent, has a great deal of knowledge of the game and already is showing traits that will make him a tenacious and effective recruiter.
“To have someone who’s coming from a Division I program and who got to learn from an excellent coach like (Wisconsin-Milwaukee head coach) Pat Baldwin, that’s a tremendous asset to have on staff. We’re already seeing that new perspective and some of those fresh ideas paying dividends in summer workouts with our players.”
https://www.hillsdalechargers.com/sports/mbkb/2019-20/schedule
