USU hires new coach from Oral Roberts
A new era has began at Utah State University.
48 hours before the Athletics Department revamps its look with a new logo, the USU women’s basketball team has a new look at head coach.
Athletic Director Scott Barnes introduced Jerry Finkbeiner as head coach of the Aggies in a press conference Thursday.
The ninth coach in USU history, Finkbeiner has spent the past 16 seasons as head coach of the women’s basketball team at Oral Roberts University in Oklahoma, compiling a 273-208 record during his tenure.
Prior to Finkbeiner arriving at ORU, the Golden Eagles had never made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. In his third season, Finkbeiner led his squad to its first ever March Madness, and Oral Roberts made five NCAA appearances in his 16 seasons at the helm.
Finkbeiner said he will bring a “run, gun and have fun” philosophy to Utah State, emphasizing offense and fast-paced tempo. Oral Roberts led the nation in scoring last season under Finkbeiner, who said he wants to put up a lot of points.
Finkbeiner biggest goal for the Aggies is a trip to the Big Dance.
“I came here to get to the NCAA tournament,” Finkbeiner said. “At my previous school, the first time they ever went to the tournament was in 1999 under our tenure. Coming here to Utah State, we want to be the first women’s basketball team at Utah State to get to the NCAA Tournament.”
Another plan Finkbeiner said he hopes to implement is a foreign basketball tour. While at Oral Roberts, every four years the team would travel out of the country on a combination basketball and service trip.
“The hallmark memory of our young women in the past has been not necessarily the NCAA Tournaments, but helping a child in the Dominican Republic; giving them a pair of shoes,” Finkbeiner said. “If we can bring both those aspects to this program here with that kind of experience and leaving their careers at Utah State with a big dance ring on their fingers, that’s what it’s all about.”
Returning Aggies, such as guards Devyn Christensen and Jenna Johnson, helped interview prospective coaches, and Christensen said the players knew Finkbeiner was what they needed.
“We are so excited,” Christensen said. “When we had the first interview with him, we were like ‘this is the guy.’ The way he talks about basketball, you can just feel his energy and his passion. That’s something we were all sold on. By the end of the meeting we wanted to go play right then and practice for him.”
Johnson echoed Christensen’s optimism.
“I’m just excited, the way he plays, this is a great opportunity for Utah State and our program. This is just going to be a leap for us,” Johnson said. “My first impression of him was walking into the room and he had nicknames for all of us already. He watched film on us, he knew us, he knew how we played, and I think that was the key factor of ‘this coach is going to be ours. We need him.'”
Christensen – the Aggies’ leading scorer last season – said she is excited that a variety of players will receive greater recognition.
“Even more importantly I know that my teammates who maybe haven’t gotten some of the recognition or playing time that I have, in a system like this, everybody is going to shine,” Christensen said. “This the bread and butter of what our player personnel is made up of.”
Finkbeiner met with the players again Thursday afternoon and said he and the team will discuss plans for the summer and how the players can help recruit future athletes.
“Recruiting has a lot to do with your team,” Finkbeiner said. “A lot of our success at our previous school was the players and how they represented their school, how they represented me, how they represented the city.”
– curtis.lundstrom@aggiemail.usu.edu