North Texas men’s basketball head coach Grant McCasland has completed his support staff by hiring Andrew Hudiburg as director of scouting, Phil Baier as assistant director of strength and conditioning, and Jon Trilli as director of basketball operations, announced.
“Our program is all about serving each other with great energy and effort as each one of these guys embodies everything we want our program to be about,” McCasland said.
Hudiburg comes to North Texas after serving as the director of scouting at Arkansas State last season under McCasland. Hudiburg joined McCasland’s staff after two years as an assistant coach at Southwestern Oklahoma State University. While working for the Bulldogs, Hudiburg helped the program to two conference tournament appearances and a 33-24 record. The 2014-15 campaign saw SWOSU become the first No. 8 seed to upset the No. 1 seed in the Great American Conference Tournament. The Bulldogs finished the 2014-15 campaign ranked No. 3 nationally in fewest turnovers. Hudiburg helped develop three all-conference selections in his time with the Bulldogs.
“Coach Hudiburg is my go-to for all things North Texas basketball,” McCasland said. “He has a great basketball mind and truly cares for each individual student-athlete.”
Hudiburg spent the summer of 2015 as a personal assistant and intern for Phoenix Suns player development coach, Irving Roland. In that role, Hudiburg assisted with offseason and pre-draft workouts, including individual workouts and skill development with current Suns players. He also reviewed game film and player tendencies of Western Conference all-stars.
Baier joins the Mean Green after spending two seasons at Arkansas State as an assistant director of strength and conditioning. At Arkansas State, he was responsible for the development and implementation of strength and conditioning programs for the men’s basketball team and men’s and women’s track and field team, while also assisting with the football program.
“Coach Phil brings it every day with his energy and passion for getting better in all areas of life,” McCasland said. “He will make a huge impact on our program in preparing our guys to win championships.”
Prior to joining Arkansas State, Baier served as a graduate assistant strength and conditioning coach at Southeast Missouri State University. During his time at SEMO, Baier was responsible for all aspects of strength and conditioning for the men’s and women’s basketball teams, tennis, and assisting with the football program. He was also the founder of the Redhawk Performance Camp, a summer strength and conditioning camp for middle and high school athletes.
Trilli arrived at North Texas after spending two seasons at Arkansas Little Rock under head coach Wes Flanigan. Trilli spent the past year at the director of basketball operations and one season as the video coordinator at Little Rock.
Trilli’s father, Vic, is the Director of Athletics and Vice President of Student Affairs at Newman University. He served as head men’s basketball coach at North Texas from 1997-01 and Lon Morris College from 1981-89.
“Coach Trilli was a former player and staff member of mine that has a sincere love for North Texas and the Denton community,” McCasland said. “He is an extremely bright young coach that brings a great basketball background to our staff but more importantly he cares about seeing our student-athletes excel in the classroom, community, and on the court.”
Trilli came to Little Rock in Sept. 2015 after spending the previous seven years at Midwestern State. After three years as a member of the basketball team, he spent two seasons on the MSU staff as a graduate assistant before serving as a second assistant in his final two years.
Between his time at Little Rock and MSU, Trilli has gone to eight straight NCAA Tournaments, with each of those teams advancing beyond the first round. Over the same span, those teams have won regular-season championships in six of eight years.
He helped the Mustangs to three regular-season Lone Star Conference Championships and four NCAA Division II Tournament appearances while on staff. In his first season at Little Rock, the Trojans won a program-record 30 games while winning Sun Belt Conference regular-season and tournament championships before earning a bid to the NCAA Tournament.
http://www.meangreensports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/060717aaa.html
