Huntington University has turned to a familiar family in Indiana hoops lore to lead the Foresters men's basketball program.
Kory Alford was introduced as the new Huntington head coach during a virtual press conference on April 14.
"I'm extremely honored and blessed to be here," Alford says. "God has blessed me throughout my entire career and I just feel called to be here at Huntington. I cherish this opportunity."
This is the first head coaching job for Alford, who is the son of Steve Alford and grandson of Sam Alford. Kory comes to Huntington from the University of Nevada, where he was director of player development on his father's staff this past season. Prior to that, he spent 4 seasons with his dad at UCLA in various support roles.
Kory Alford cited his Hoosier roots, the Christian culture of Huntington's campus and the the competition of the NAIA's Crossroads League as significant reasons for coming to Northeast Indiana.
"I always wanted to be a head coach, but I never knew what level or where I wanted to be," he says. "When Huntington opened up, it just felt like a perfect fit for me and something I felt called to apply for and pursue very aggressivley. Ultimately, it worked out for both sides; and it's a really good fit."
Alford replaces longtime coach Ty Platt, who retired at the end of the season after 29 years.
Alford takes over the Huntington helm during challenging times. Beyond social distancing from his players, he's doing forced to do much of his recruiting by video conferencing, while assembling his coaching staff from a far.
Longterm, he wants his players to fully embrace student life at Huntington, embracing the local community, and potentially branch out with team mission trips in the future.
"We're looking forward to what he will do with the program moving it forward," Huntington athletic director Lori Culler says. "We really have some high expectations of what that will look like. I'm super excited about his ability to mentor our young men."
Before his coaching career, Alford was an accomplished player at both UCLA and New Mexico. He helped UCLA to back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances and UNM to two Mountain West Conference Tournament championships and one regular season league title. In high school, Alford twice led Albuqurque La Cueva to the New Mexico state championship.
Huntington is one of 5 universities that partners with Parkview Sports Medicine for athletic training, nutrition, sports performance, athletic rehab and other sports medicine services for Forester student-athletes. Learn more at www.parkviewsportsmedicine.com.