Murken on Minot St. short list

Talk about it

Winning almost 75 percent of your games will draw attention.

That’s what Jamestown College head men’s basketball coach Matt Murken has done and Minot State has noticed.

Murken, who is 46-16 in his two seasons leading the Jimmies, is one of three candidates for Minot State’s opening, which was created when Peter Stewart resigned last week.

Murken was not looking for another job, but had to listen when the NCAA Division II Beavers called.

“It’s a reflection of what we’ve been able to do here at Jamestown College,” Murken said. “When something like this happens it reminds you of the good things you have here and there are a lot of good things about Jamestown College.”

Murken, South Dakota Mines head coach Jason Henry, a Minot native and MSU alum, and Steve Keller, the head coach at University of Montana-Western, have been lined up to tour the MSU campus. Murken’s interview will be on Thursday.

“It’s an opportunity for them to get a feel for me and me for them,” Murken said. “I have a lot of questions that I have to ask and I’m sure that same thing is the case for them.”

Minot State could be a tough job. They’re a full-fledged member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Athletic Conference — one of the premier leagues in D-II. Stewart won just 17 of his 59 games the last two seasons, although the first two years of the transition up are considered to be the toughest.

“They’re kind of on the edge of that league (geographically). There’s a lot of travel and (the NSIC) is one of the top Division II conferences in the country,” Murken said. “But there’s a lot of excitement there too about the future and what they’re trying to build.”

Murken has successfully mixed kids from the region with a few key transfers to win with the Jimmies, which is the same formula Minot State will have to employ, albeit up a level.

He’s also excited about the newest addition to his staff — Byron Jones, who finished his stellar playing career for the Jimmies just last March, but was recently hired to replace Tyler Bormann, who left for a coaching job in Minnesota. Jones was a three-time all-conference player at JC, scoring over 1,000 career points.

“Just like anything else, there are pluses and minuses,” Murken said. “We have a good thing going here at Jamestown College and I recognize that.”

Sun sports editor Dave Selvig can be reached at (701) 952-8460 or by e-mail at dselvig@jamestownsun.com

Tags: college sports, sports, basketball