BILLINGS – Though he was hired nearly three weeks ago, MSU Billings on Monday officially introduced Mick Durham as its new men’s basketball coach.
Even after almost 40 years coaching, Durham still had butterflies before the media as he was officially welcomed back to Montana by MSUB athletic director Krista Montague.
“I don’t know why we should be nervous up here,” Durham smiled upon being introduced.
“First of all, I’d like to thank Krista and Chancellor Larson for the opportunity to bring me home,” he continued.
Home was a key word during Durham’s remarks, especially about the kind of team he wants to build.
“We talked about reconnecting the men’s program to the state of Montana,” he said. “Get a base of Montana kids, sand then supplement with out of state kids, high school kids, transfer kids, and that’s what we did at Montana State.”
MSUB’s current roster only has one Montanan: Skyview grad Zharon Richmond who impressed this past season as a freshman.
“He’s a kid who’s developing to be a prototype four man on the perimeter,” Durham said. “It seems like he’s still growing. I saw him three weeks ago when we played here, and then I saw him the other day, and it seems like he’s got another inch or two on him.”
And that’s exactly what Durham says is this program’s No. 1 need.
“I know we need to sign a few guys, and it’s some size guys, trying to find big guys. You don’t just see them walking around campus.”
Durham won 246 games as MSU’s head coach so he knows what this will take.
“I tell the recruits, we’re going to run this like a Division 1 program,” Durham said adamantly. The GNAC is really good, there isn’t much drop off. We need Big Sky type players like I had at Montana State here, and we’ll be successful.”
