Korn introduced as Redhawks men's basketball head coach Tuesday

Southeast Missouri formally introduced Brad Korn as its next men's basketball head coach in a small private gathering Tuesday afternoon.

Korn is the seventh head coach in SEMO's NCAA Division I era (since 1991-92). He spent five years at Big 12 Conference member Kansas State working the last four seasons as an assistant coach and one as the program's Director of Operations.

In four years back at K-State after returning following a three-year stint at Missouri State (2013-16), Korn helped the Wildcats to 82 wins and three-straight NCAA Tournament appearances. K-State posted back-to-back 25-win campaigns for the first time in school history (2017-18, 2018-19).

During his first year back in 2016-17, the squad won 21 games, including eight over teams that advanced to the postseason, and knocked off Wake Forest in the NCAA First Four before losing to #18 Cincinnati in the NCAA South Regional First Round.

Working primarily with the post players, Korn was a big influence on the development of two-time All-Big 12 First Team selection Dean Wade, who became the fourth Wildcat to earn All-Big 12 First-Team honors in 2018 and just the second to do so in back-to-back seasons. Wade is one of just three players to rank in the school's Top 10 in both career scoring (1,510) and rebounding (685). He was instrumental in the progress of Makol Mawien, who has started all 103 games in his K-State career and emerged as one of the top big men in the Big 12.

Korn was also key in the growth of All-Big 12 selections Wesley Iwundu and D.J. Johnson during his first season as an assistant coach in 2016-17. Iwundu, who was twice named Third Team All-Big 12, became the first Wildcat since 2008 to be taken in the NBA Draft when he was selected with 33rd overall pick by the Orlando Magic. Johnson, an honorable mention all-league selection, broke the career field goal percentage record at 59.5 percent, while setting the single-season mark for the second consecutive season at 62.3 percent in 2016-17.

Korn spent one season on Bruce Weber's inaugural staff at K-State as Director of Operations in 2012-13, helping the Wildcats to a 27-8 overall record and their first-ever Big 12 regular-season title. It was the school's first conference title since 1977, while the 27 wins rated second-most in school history.

Overall, he has 15 years of Division I experience, which includes time at his alma mater - Southern Illinois (2004-12).

Korn has extensive ties to Weber after playing his first four years (1999-2003) for him at Southern Illinois. He redshirted in 1999-2000 before playing the next three years for Weber. He concluded his playing career for (current Purdue head coach) Matt Painter in 2003-04 before spending the next eight years (2004-12) at SIU as an assistant for then-Saluki head coach and current K-State associate head coach Chris Lowery.

Korn returned to Manhattan in May 2016 after three seasons at Missouri State, where he served as an assistant coach to then-head coach Paul Lusk from 2013-16. At MSU, he helped the Bears to 44 wins, including a 20 -win season and a trip to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament in 2013-14.

Korn helped mentor a number of All-Missouri Valley honorees during his stay at Missouri State, including 2014 All-MVC Second-Team selection Jarmar Gulley and 2016 MVC Newcomer of the Year Dequon Miller. In addition, he coached three MVC All-Freshman Team honorees in Austin Ruder in 2014 and Obediah Church and Jarred Dixon in 2016 as well as two Most Improved Team members (Dorrian Williams in 2015 and Chris Kendrix in 2016).

Prior to his first stint at K-State, Korn spent eight years (2004-12) at Southern Illinois, including his final six years as a full-time assistant under Lowery. He helped the Salukis post a 145-116 (.556) overall record with four postseason appearances, two Missouri Valley Conference championships and one State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title. The squad won 20 or more games and advanced to the NCAA Tournament on three occasions (2005, 2006, 2007) during his tenure as an assistant coach, including a 2007 trip to the Sweet 16. He was a graduate assistant at SIU his first two years before being elevated to a full-time assistant coach on Jan. 31, 2006.

A native of Plano, Illinois, Korn helped the Salukis through one of their greatest periods of success from 1999 to 2004. The squad went from 16 wins his redshirt-freshman season to three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances under Weber and Painter. He was also a part of three Missouri Valley regular season championships as a player.

The 6-foot-9 forward saw action in 121 games in his career, averaging 5.2 points and 2.3 rebounds in 14.5 minutes per game. As a senior, he averaged 9.7 points on 41 percent shooting with four rebounds and 1.9 assists in helping SIU to 25 wins and a 17-1 mark in MVC play. He was named to the league's Most Improved Team.

Korn earned a bachelor's degree in marketing from Southern Illinois in 2004 and earned credits towards a Master's degree in Sports Studies.

<b>What They Are Saying About Brad Korn . . .</b>

<b>Bruce Weber, Kansas State Head Coach</b>

"I'm just super excited for Brad on earning this well-deserved opportunity to become the head coach at Southeast Missouri State. Obviously, I have known him for a long time, having recruited him to Southern Illinois, and then hiring him twice at K-State, so I have seen his growth first hand and how he has worked his way up and paid his dues to get this chance. He has really developed and matured as a coach since we hired him back in 2016 (as an assistant coach) after his time at Missouri State. He is really good with the players and in recruiting, is great with the X's and O's and has all the qualities to be a great head coach. Every job has its challenges, but he has an athletic director (Brady Barke) that we are both familiar with during our time at SIU. Brady will work together with Brad to help make SEMO as successful as possible. He knows the region very well, having spent time as an assistant at both SIU and Missouri State, and will have a good understanding on how to win there. We will miss Brad, Kristin, Brielyn and Ashtyn being in our program, but are excited for them as they take this new journey at SEMO."

<b>Chris Lowery, Kansas State Associate Head Coach</b>

"I'm very excited for Brad on getting the opportunity to become a head coach. I've literally watched him grow from a player to an assistant and now into having the chance to run his own program."

<b>Dean Wade, Kansas State All-Big 12 Selection; Currently with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA G-League</b>

"When Coach Korn came to K-State, I was really thinking about transferring or not playing at all. I really lost that fire, the love of the game or however you want to phrase that. With Coach Korn being there and the way he went about coaching and connecting with the players were reasons why I didn't stop playing basketball. That is why I am still playing and loving this game today. The footwork stuff and the way Coach Korn challenged me as a player every day made me so much better and really took me to another level, and the conference and nation noticed. I wasn't just some kid from Kansas anymore, I was an actual basketball player!"