Hutchinson Community College men’s basketball head coach Steve Eck completed his coaching staff for the 2018-19 season with the announcement of two hires that went to and were approved by the HutchCC Board of Trustees meeting on Thursday night.

One of the hires is very familiar with Blue Dragon fans as former men’s assistant Cortland Carney returns to the bench this season. Eck also announced the hiring of Javin Tindall as the third assistant. Carney and Tindall replace Reggie Freeman and Dallas Comstock.

Carney was on the bench with Eck and the Blue Dragons from 2011 through 2017. In that time, over those six seasons, the Blue Dragons won 178 games, a pair of Region VI championships, four trips to the NJCAA Tournament with a national runner-up finish in 2016 and national championship in 2017.

Carney left the program after the 2017 season to spend more time with his family.

Carney played for the Blue Dragons in the 2000-01 season for head coach Tim Duryea. Before coming to Hutchinson, Carney was at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and initially started his collegiate career at Butler County Community College, which at that time was coached by Eck.

After Hutchinson, Carney went on to have a stellar two seasons at Newman University in Wichita in 2002 and 2003. He was selected as a team captain in both seasons with the Jets. He earned all-conference honors in both seasons and was an NAIA All-American in 2002.

Tindall played in high school at Wichita South and then played for Eck at Redlands University in 2001 and 2002.

Tindall played professionally in the ABA for the Chicago Soldiers and internationally for teams in Brazil and Mexico.

Assistant coach Jay Cyriac returns to the Blue Dragons for his eighth season on the bench in 2018-19.

http://www.bluedragonsports.com/sports/mbkb/2017-18/releases/20180615idn3mp