New Oregon men’s basketball head coach Dana Altman has hired Kevin McKenna for his second assistant coach, leaving only one more to be hired.
Former Indiana State Sycamores head coach McKenna joins Brian Fish on Altman’s staff. Altman will hire one more assistant coach to bring the number to three, and is expected to do that at any time.
McKenna left his head coaching position for the Sycamores of the Missouri Valley Conference after three years to join the Ducks. He previously had worked on Altman’s staff as an assistant at Creighton for nine years.
McKenna earned a 43-52 overall record in three years at ISU, with a 24-30 mark in conference. Last year, he led the Sycamores to the College Basketball Invitational for their first postseason bid in nine years and was named the MVC Coach of the Year by collegeinsider.com
In a release, Altman said, “We’re very excited that Kevin has chosen to join our program. He brings a wide variety of experiences and I think he’s someone who can benefit our program in a number of areas.”
One area McKenna should help improve is the Ducks’ mediocre free throw shooting. McKenna’s Sycamores were second in the NCAA in free throw shooting percentage at 76.9 percent. Oregon, meanwhile, shot 71.5 percent, good for 91st in the nation, and missed crucial free throws at the end of games.
Overall, McKenna brings 21 years of coaching experience to the Ducks, including seven years as a head coach. He is the only person in MVC history to win a regular-season title, tournament title, NBA championship and CBA championship as a player.
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