Like father, like son
Utah State’s women’s basketball head coach Jerry Finkbeiner will be joined on the bench by his son, Ben Finkbeiner, in the 2014-15 basketball season. The announcement that Ben Finkbeiner would be hired as an assistant coach came on Thursday.
Ben Finkbeiner spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach for the Aggies’ in-conference opponent Boise State. Ben Finkbeiner was primarily involved with recruiting and defense at BSU.
“He is a coach that I trust. It will be a lot of fun on the sidelines. His wife (Alycia) played for me at Oral Roberts. He was a student assistant coach a few years ago. He knows our game plan, obviously. I have joked with people that we have a better chance of beating Boise State because he is not on their bench, knowing our game plan,” Jerry Finkbeiner said. “He comes in here with a very good recruiting background. He is known for that, and he is a good defensive coach. Those are the two areas that he will step right in and be given a lot of responsibility to fulfill.”
Ben Finkbeiner has been coaching for eight seasons, for three seasons at New Mexico junior college as an assistant before Boise State and for two seasons with University of Central Oklahoma men’s team as a graduate assistant coach.
“This is a good opportunity for my family and me to come work with my father, with whom I have close ideas about basketball. It is also a good chance to help out on the defensive side of the basketball and with recruiting,” Ben Finkbeiner said. “Having been the recruiting coordinator at Boise State, I know what it takes to win on this level in the Mountain West. Boise State also came into the Mountain West from the WAC, so I know what it is like to go through that transition and recruit a different type of player.”
Ben Finkbeiner worked with his father at Oral Roberts before any of his coaching experience. Jerry Finkbeiner coached at Oral Roberts for 16 years before coming to USU in 2012.
Ben Finkbeiner replaces former assistant coach Stu Sells, who left the team after the 2013-14 season.
–dahdah@gmail.com
Twitter: @dahdausu