NORMAL, ILL. – A legendary former Mohawk basketball player has taken a job with Illinois State as an assistant basketball coach.
Dean Oliver said last week via social media that he is “excited to be part of the future of Illinois State basketball”.
Oliver spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach at the University of North Dakota, in Grand Forks, N.D. Prior to joining the coaching ranks, Oliver prospered as a professional basketball player for nearly a decade, including a two-year stint in the NBA with the Golden State Warriors. He also served as a standout point guard at the University of Iowa, from 1997-2001.
Prior to beginning his coaching career at UND, Oliver played professional basketball for nine years, including stints in the NBA, the NBA Development League and a variety of leagues overseas. Oliver spent his final season playing for JL Bourg in a French league, after playing a season in Slovenia, a season in Croatia, a season in Poland and three seasons with the EiffelTowers in the Netherlands.
After a productive four-year career at Iowa, Oliver spent his first two professional seasons (2001-03) with the Golden State Warriors in the NBA.
Oliver started all but two games for the Hawkeyes in his four collegiate seasons. He earned All-Big Ten Conference Third-Team honors after his sophomore, junior and senior seasons. Only two other Big Ten players besides Oliver have collected more than 1,500 points, 500 assists and 200 steals in their careers. He still remains sixth all-time at Iowa in three-point field goals made (161) and third in free throws made (468), while holding third on the career charts in assists (561) and second in steals (205).
As a senior, Oliver led the Big Ten Conference in assist-to-turnover ratio and assists per game. He played a key role in helping his squad advance to the Sweet Sixteen as a sophomore. Iowa won the Big Ten Tournament and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament during his senior season.
Oliver earned his degree in business administration from Iowa in 2001. He and his wife, Sarah, have two children: a son Isaiah (6) and a daughter, Isabella (3).
