‘Pretty surreal:' Matt Wilber begins at Northern State
ABERDEEN, S.D. (KELO) — Northern State announced it would be making a change with the leadership of its men's basketball program one day after its season ended in late February. The search culminated with the hiring of Matt Wilber, who was introduced Monday in Aberdeen.
Wilber is the 23rd coach in program history and just the seventh head man since 1946. As the school narrowed the search, his name stood out from the rest.
'Matt was the guy for us that from early in the process,' Northern State Director of Athletics Nate Davis said. 'We knew he was going to be a really strong contender and strong candidate. And obviously he was the guy that rose to the top.'
Wilber is no stranger to college coaching, serving in a leading role at Dakota Wesleyan for 11 years and guided the Tigers to six straight trips to the NAIA National Tournament, including a runner-up finish in 2015. Most recently, he spent last summer as an assistant coach with the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury. While that experience provided him a new perspective, the opportunity to lead his own program once again was too tempting.
'I used to joke I was a pretty well paid graduate assistant down there,' Wilber said. 'And then you're jumping back into this where you're like, hey, everything's on you, and you kind of do some soul searching and go, who are you? And I just have always felt at my core being able to lead a program and do that. That's what I am hopefully built to do.'
The Miller, S.D., native grew up a Northern State fan and attended games with his father, who played both basketball and baseball for the Wolves, which cements a homecoming for Wilber.
'The place I grew up,' Wilber said. 'My dad would throw me in the car, a lot of different nights and we'd go watch a lot of different teams. I mean, he's a basketball junkie, and I absorbed that. But our Northern and the Barnett Center was our No. 1 destination. There's a personal connection, and this is a full-circle moment and pretty surreal to have this opportunity.'
The Wolves have won just 12 games in the past two seasons, but Wilber says with the right players, he believes Northern State can have a quick turnaround.
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