UIC head men’s basketball coach Luke Yaklich announced the addition of Will Veasley to the Flames coaching staff on Monday, March 30. Veasley most recently worked at North Dakota State University where he spent the last four years as an assistant coach for the Bison.

“I am so excited that Will has made the commitment to join our staff and begin building our program at UIC,” said Yaklich. “He has experienced incredible success in the Horizon League as a player during his time at Butler. As a coach, he has been an integral part of the success of the programs at North Dakota State and Illinois State over the past seven years.”

“I want to thank Coach Yaklich for this unbelievable opportunity to be back in my home state and back in the Horizon League where I spent four years as a college player,” said Veasley. “I’ve known Coach Yaklich for quite some time now and there isn’t a better coach, teacher or person whose vision I’d want to help contribute to and carry out for building a winning program. Coach Yaklich and our teams will do incredible things for UIC and the City of Chicago. My family and I can’t wait to get to campus and get to work.”

Veasley and Yaklich will be reuniting on the bench after spending three seasons together at Illinois State. Yaklich was an assistant coach for the Redbirds while Veasley served as a video coordinator for two years (2013-15) and was the team’s director of basketball operations in his final season (2015-16).

“Will and I started our college coaching careers at Illinois State where I saw his ability to connect with players and form life-long relationships. Will is an incredibly hard worker. His passion for teaching and coaching, combined with his knowledge and passion for the Horizon League and Illinois high school basketball, will make him an incredible asset for our student-athletes,” added Yaklich.

Veasley joined the staff at North Dakota State as an assistant coach before the start of the 2016-17 campaign and helped turn the Bison into one of the top teams in the Summit League. NDSU posted winning records in three of Veasley’s four years, highlighted by back-to-back conference championships the last two seasons. During the 2018-19 year, the Bison captured the conference title and defeated North Carolina Central in the NCAA First Four before falling to eventual Elite 8 participant Duke. The Bison repeated as conference champions and were bound for the NCAA Tournament once more after compiling a 25-8 record and a 13-3 mark in league play during the 2019-20 season.

No stranger to the Horizon League, Veasley is the all-time winningest player in Butler history and was a starter on the Bulldogs’ 2010 national runner-up team. As a four-year letterwinner at Butler, Veasley helped his team make four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, including a Final Four run in 2010. Veasley and the Bulldogs were the regular-season Horizon League champions for four straight years and won the Horizon League Tournament in 2008 and 2010.

Following his collegiate career, Veasley played professionally for two years in Japan and in the NBA D-League before transitioning into coaching. He spent one season as the video coordinator at IUPUI (2012-13).

A native of Freeport, Ill., Veasley earned a degree in digital media production from Butler in 2010. He and his wife, Emily, have a son, Creighton, and a daughter, Dru.

https://uicflames.com/news/2020/3/30/will-veasley-joins-mens-basketball-staff.aspx