NEW ORLEANS - University of New Orleans men's basketball coach
Mark Slessinger formally announced the additions of
Kris Arkenberg and
Kerwin Forges to his coaching staff on Thursday afternoon.
An assistant basketball coach at Panola College in Texas last season, Arkenberg will have responsibilities for recruiting, guard development, strength and conditioning, academics, scouting and video.
"Kris is a bright young assistant with so much potential," said Slessinger. "He is an extremely hard worker who does not shy away from opportunities to get involved."
Arkenberg began his collegiate coaching career as a student assistant at Division I IUPUI in the Summit League, where he graduated with a Bachelors of Science degree in General Studies.
"Kris worked as an undergrad in a very good IUPUI program in Indianapolis," said Slessinger. "He graduated from there and is familiar with the setting of athletics on an urban University campus like ours."
"It is a unique set of experiences that helped separate him during the hiring process."
Prior to a year at Panola, Arkenberg served as an assistant at Lincoln Trail College. At both stops, he worked under successful junior college coach Junsie Cotten.
"Kris worked with who I think is one of better junior college coaches in the country the last two years in Junsie Cotten," said Slessinger. "He was able to hit the road recruiting gain a lot of valuable experience."
Outside of coaching collegiately, Arkenberg has served as an assistant coach with Spiece AAU and at several high schools.
With Spiece AAU, Arkenberg worked with 28 players who have gone on to earn Division I scholarships. This group includes 2011 Indiana All-Stars Justin Gant of Indiana State and Austin Etherington of Big 10 institution Indiana.
At the high school level, the former offensive lineman at Thomas More College and Franklin College was a member of football coaching staffs at Columbus North (Ind.) and Lafayette Central Catholic (Ind.).
"Kris has a very good basketball mind and really does a great job on the floor with the student-athletes," said Slessinger. "He will add to our recruiting base with his strength in the Midwest."
Arkenberg is excited about the opportunity to work at UNO.
“I am so blessed for the opportunity to work at the University of New Orleans during such a pivotal time in this program's storied history,” said Arkenberg. “From our locker room to our film room and practice facility, everything here is first class and I could not ask for more.”
“There is so much potential for this program to be one of the best in the country and I am elated to have a role in building it up. We have excellent facilities, a great recruiting base right here in New Orleans and in the state of Louisiana, along with a tremendous staff.”
Arkenberg also looks forward to working with Slessinger, a coach he feels provides an excellent opportunity to learn under.
“I am excited about working with and learning from Coach Slessinger here at UNO,” said Arkenberg. “He helped build some very successful teams at Northwestern and I think he can continue that success as a head coach.”
“He and I share a lot of the same values in terms of hard work, disciple and toughness and I look forward to growing as a coach under his leadership.”
Joining Arkenberg will be Forges, a former Northwestern State standout.
Coaching at UNO will be the foray into collegiate coaching for Forges after he spent five seasons on the staff at St. Mary's High School in Natchitoches, La. The move to the high school came after three years of playing for Slessinger at NSU.
“Having Kerwin as an assistant coach is a great asset for our program,” said Slessinger. “He brings knowledge of our program, my style, and our system.”
“I still remember recruiting him to come to Northwestern State in 2003 time goes fast. He had a great career for us at NSU and was an integral part of the greatest team in school history in 2006 that reached the second round of the NCAA tournament. “
A consistent presence on the floor for Demons' head coach Mike McConathy, Forges made 89 appearances at the Southland Conference school over three years, topping 45 percent shooting from the field in his final three seasons. The native of Marrero was also a career 77 percent free throw shooter.
“Kerwin has a great knowledge of the game that started at a very young age coming from a great family of players and prepping for Coach Reggie Frilot at John Ehret,” said Slessinger. “He has a very good on the floor demeanor and has a great way of teaching skills. “
“Kerwin has a lot of insights that he has the ability to pass along from playing multiple positions in our system to having played four seasons at NSU. “
Forges' responsibilities will include recruiting, post development, academic monitoring, scouting and team travel.
The two assistant coaches are currently working with Slessinger in preparation for the start of official practice on Saturday. UNO opens the season on Nov. 11 at New Mexico.
TRANSACTION
University of New Orleans – Announced the addition of
Kris Arkenberg and
Kerwin Forges as assistant men's basketball coaches.
