The Simpson College men’s basketball team is going to have a new look for the first time in over nine years after hiring the new head coach, Kyle Jones.

Jones is taking over for longtime coach Brad Bjorkgren, who stepped down this past year when he finished his tenure with a record of 103-111.

Jones spent the last three years as the top assistant coach at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh where the Titans had a record of 57-26.

Jones gave his thoughts on what drove him to becoming the basketball coach at Simpson.

“I knew the American Rivers Conference really well, as the schools I had been at played against some ARC teams and I always respected this league. I had heard a lot of great things about Simpson in my interview and meeting all the people here which is what sold me and my wife to come here,” Jones said.

Coming into a new environment coach Jones wants to focus on establishing a culture that is built around unity.

“We are looking forward to connecting and having a team that is together. We are big on great teammates and having guys who are high character which we know will help us out on the floor,” Jones said.

Building on the culture aspect, Jones is having his team read a book called “Legacy”, which is about the New Zealand All Blacks, a rugby team with an astonishing 83% win rate across their history.

“We are having meetings with the guys where we are talking about the book and their favorite passages and how that leads into our culture and what we are going to be about,” Jones said.

Jones addressed his long-term goals for the team going forward.

“We want to compete in our conference and nationally. We are not trying to shy away from that.,” Jones said.

Senior forward, Caden Rehmeier spoke about some of the differences he is seeing with having a new coach.

“Everything’s different and that’s very exciting. All the other guys are really buying into it and that’s awesome to see,” Rehmeier said.

Rehmeier went in-depth about his first impressions of the coaches so far.

“Their basketball IQ is phenomenal. They know exactly what they are talking about,
and they motivate me to play as hard as I possibly can,” Rehmeier said.

Jones is aware that stepping in as a new coach will come with challenges, but he’s eager to face them.

“There is going to be a lot of guys in new roles. We have to figure out everyone’s strengths as we haven’t been able to work on the floor with them yet. We have to develop those guys very quickly with the season right around the corner,” Jones said.

Another challenge that Jones is aware of is the task of competing in the ARC which sent four teams to the NCAA tournament last year.

“There are a lot of really good teams in this conference. Those schools have to learn one new coach and what our style is going to be while we have to learn eight. We are looking forward to having that challenge and attacking it,” Jones said.

Simpson men’s basketball will focus on getting ready for tip-off Nov. 9 against Olivet in Dubuque, Iowa.