Mentioned this earlier today in the blog – thanks to great sources for getting us out in front of this one…

Dr. Carson Cunningham, the head boys’ basketball coach at Andrean High School in Indiana, has been named the new head men’s basketball coach at Carroll College, announced Saints’ Director of Athletics Bruce Parker Monday. Cunningham replaces Brandon Veltri, whose contract was not renewed after last season.

The former standout at both Oregon State and Purdue has spent the last five years at Andrean High School (his alma mater) in Merrillville, Indiana, where his teams have won 43 of their last 50 games. In five years at the helm, Cunningham has turned a program around that had won two games the season before he arrived into one that has won four straight sectional titles and has improved its win totals for five years running. This year, his Andrean team made it to the final four in Indiana’s second biggest class (3A) and was ranked #3 in the state.

“We are very excited that Carson has agreed to be our new head coach,” said Parker. “He brings tremendous enthusiasm and knowledge of the game to our program. He was an outstanding player and is a rising star in the coaching profession. His passion for the game is contagious and I have great confidence in his coaching and recruiting abilities.

“It was a very intense search process and I was pleased with the outstanding pool of candidates (217 applicants) that were interested in the job,” Parker added. “We feel that we have hired a great fit for Carroll College and a coach that will take our program back to the top of the Frontier Conference and the NAIA.”

Cunningham has also been an instructor in the history department and the department of cinema and digital media at DePaul University in Chicago since 2006. He earned his bachelor’s degree in history at Purdue University (2000), a Master of Arts in Modern American History (2001) and a PhD in History (2006), also at Purdue. He is also scheduled to complete his MBA at DePaul this spring.

"Carson brings with him a remarkable combination of excellent basketball and academic credentials,” said Dr. Tom Evans, President of Carroll College. “We welcome him and his family to the Carroll family."

The move to Montana from the basketball-crazy state of Indiana is exciting for the 36-year-old Cunningham.

“I’m thrilled to be named the head men’s basketball coach at Carroll College,” said Cunningham. “My family and I have a deep appreciation for Carroll’s values and its academic and athletic excellence, and we can’t wait to become a part of the Helena community. The Carroll basketball program has a great tradition, and I look forward to adding to it.

“My family and I are leaving a great state, in Indiana, and a great school, in Andrean, but we cherish the opportunity to become a part of a world-class institution of higher-learning in wondrous Montana,” he added. “We are pumped to be Fighting Saints!”

Cunningham’s basketball resume is also quite impressive. He was a four-year starter at Andrean High School where he was the Region’s “player of the Year” as a junior and senior, a first team All-State selection and honorable mention All-America selection as well as earning the distinction as one of the nation’s top 100 players. He took his talents across the country to Oregon State University, where he was a starter as a true freshman at point guard, earning freshman All-America honors. Cunningham had 28 points against Texas and 26 vs. Nebraska as a freshman, when he scored in double figures in 22 games.

Following his freshman season, he transferred back to his home state of Indiana, joining Coach Gene Keady’s Purdue Boilermakers. He became a three-year starter and led Purdue to a pair of “Sweet 16” appearances and one spot in the “Elite Eight.” In his three seasons, Cunningham scored nearly 1,000 points, handed out near 400 assists and had 163 rebounds. He was also one of only three two-time Academic All-America selections in the history of Purdue, with the late legendary Coach John Wooden being one of the others.

Cunningham also spent three seasons playing professional basketball. He was with the Gary Steelheads (2001-2002) and the Rockford Lightning (2002-2003 and 2004-2005) of the CBA and the Estonian Basketball Association (2003). If his playing career wasn’t enough, he is also the author of three books – American Hoops, Underbelly Hoops – Adventures in the CBA and Before the Curse, a collection of vintage stories about the Chicago Cubs during their glory years.

“My approach to coaching is rooted in the very things that my collegiate coach, six-time national coach of the year Gene Keady, stressed while I played as the starting point guard at Purdue University; make academics and upstanding behavior paramount, embrace the concept of personal responsibility and have a positive impact on the community,” Cunningham noted. “These types of values translate into the development of quality basketball players, who are willing to work. I firmly believe that the lessons I learned from Coach Keady are invaluable, and will serve me well at Carroll.”

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