HoopDirt.com reported these moves this past weekend (North Dakota Dirt…) – they have now been announced officially by North Dakota head coach Brian Jones. Jeff Horner will be promoted to an assistant coaching role on his staff and Craig Heatherly will fill Horner’s previous role as the program’s director of basketball operations.
“I am extremely excited with the promotion of Jeff and the addition of Craig to our program,” Jones said. “Jeff did a great job in just one season as our director of operations and is well deserving of this promotion. He has unbelievable passion for this game and a wealth of knowledge to continue mentoring our players.”
Horner joined the men’s basketball staff last summer and provided administrative support, including team travel and summer camp coordination. He will return to on-court instruction after spending the four seasons before moving to Grand Forks as the head coach at Valley High School in West Des Moines, Iowa. Horner was an All-Big Ten point guard at Iowa and played professionally in the United State and Europe before joining the coaching ranks.
“I would like to thank Coach Jones and the North Dakota Men’s Basketball program for giving me the opportunity to be an assistant coach for this great program,” Horner said. “The coaches, administration, and the people of Grand Forks have really welcomed my family into this great community. I look forward to getting back in a coaching role and being able to help our team reach its goals.”
Heatherly arrives in Grand Forks after spending six seasons as an assistant coach at Davenport (Mich.) University, including the last two as the program’s associate head coach. While in Grand Rapids, Heatherly helped the Panthers win back-to-back WHAC titles in 2012 and 2013 and a share of the title in 2015.
“Craig comes to us from a successful NAIA program and is a young man I was quickly impressed with upon meeting him,” Jones said. “He is a very energetic and detail-oriented person that will do a great job for us in the operations role.”
Heatherly played collegiately at UMass-Lowell (2007-10) and graduated with a degree in business administration from the school in 2010. Originally from Mishawaka, Ind., Heatherly was the Northern Indiana Conference MVP for Mishawaka High School following his senior season.
“Words cannot express the excitement that I have to work with Coach Jones, his staff, and the program as a whole here at the University of North Dakota,” Heatherly said. “This is a great opportunity for me to grow in this industry and my wife and I are looking forward to being part of this community.”
Horner and Heatherly are getting an early start to the season as the team wraps up a two-week training session prior to departing for a 10-day European Tour on Monday, Aug. 10 that will consists of four games in Italy and France.
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