Missouri State University men’s basketball head coach Paul Lusk announced today (May 22) that Brad Korn will join his staff as an assistant coach for the upcoming season.
Korn, who has spent the last year as director of basketball operations at Kansas State, will begin his new role at MSU on June 3. He replaces Patrick Baldwin who departed this spring for a coaching opportunity at Northwestern University, his alma mater, after two years with Lusk at Missouri State.
"I’m very excited to add Brad Korn to our staff," said Lusk. "He has experienced a lot of success in this league as a player and a coach. He understands this league and what it takes to win in the Missouri Valley. He’s a well-rounded coach and is a great addition to Missouri State."
A former Southern Illinois player and assistant coach, Korn spent the 2012-13 season as the director of operations at K-State under his former head coach Bruce Weber and alongside his former boss Chris Lowery. Korn played his first four years (1999-2003) for Weber at SIU. After redshirting his first season in Carbondale (1999-2000), he played the next three years for Weber. He concluded his playing career for current Purdue head coach Matt Painter (2003-04) before spending the next eight years (2004-12) as a graduate assistant (2004-06) then a full-time assistant coach (2006-12) for Lowery at SIU. Lusk was an assistant coach for Painter during Korn’s senior season.
As an assistant coach at Southern, Korn helped the Salukis post a 145-116 (.556) overall record with four postseason appearances, two MVC regular-season titles (2005 and 2007) and one MVC Tournament title (2006). The Salukis won 20 or more games and advanced to three straight NCAA Tournaments (2005-07) during his coaching tenure, including a 2007 trip to the NCAA Sweet 16.
"Any time you get an opportunity to be with good people and good places in this business, you feel fortunate," said Korn. "I’ve had an opportunity to experience that here at Kansas State, and I look forward to the same with Coach Lusk at Missouri State. There’s such great tradition in The Valley, and it’s such a great brand of basketball, I’m excited to be a part of it again.
"When this opportunity came up (at MSU), I had a chance to really see the whole campus and experience the city for the first time, and it was eye opening. I really like what I’ve seen, and I know we’re excited to be a part of something special in Springfield."
In Korn’s one season in Manhattan, Kansas State finished 27-8 overall and claimed its first regular-season conference title since 1977 with a 14-4 mark in Big 12 play. The Wildcats were also 16-1 at home and earned a trip to the 2013 NCAA Tournament. Weber’s squad finished as runners-up in both the NIT Season Tip-Off and Big 12 Conference Tournament and later earned the No. 4 seed in the NCAA West Region. K-State eventually bowed out to LaSalle, 63-61, in the NCAA Tournament second round.
During his playing career, Korn helped the Salukis through one of their most-successful periods, from 1999 to 2004. The Salukis went from 16 wins his redshirt freshman season to three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and three Missouri Valley regular season championships. The 6-foot-9 forward saw action in 121 games in his career, averaging 5.2 points and 2.3 rebounds in 14.5 minutes per game. As a senior, he was named to the MVC’s Most Improved Team, averaged 9.7 points on 41 percent shooting with 4.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists in helping Southern to 25 wins and a 17-1 mark in MVC play in 2003-04.
A native of Plano, Ill., the 31-year-old earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Southern Illinois in 2004, while he earned credits towards a Master’s in Sports Studies. He and wife, Kristin, have a daughter, Brielyn.
He joins a Missouri State staff that also includes assistants Jermaine Henderson and Derrick Tilmon as well as basketball operations director Sam McMahon. Like Lusk (1992-95), Tilmon also played his college basketball at Southern Illinois (1997-2000). The Bears return eight lettermen and four players with significant starting experience, including 2013 MVC Freshman of the Year Marcus Marshall, while adding a pair of transfer players and three freshmen for the 2013-14 campaign.
Korn’s hire is pending formal approval by the Missouri State Board of Governors at its next regular-scheduled meeting.
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