Men's Basketball | 4/22/2024 4:14:00 PM
April 22, 2024-Emporia State men's basketball head coach Tom Billeter has announced his assistant coaches for his first year with the Hornets. Casey Schlatter and Devin Whitelow will join the Hornets while former Hornet and current assistant
Marquis McCray will remain on staff.
"I feel extremely fortunate to have such a hardworking and knowledgeable staff," said Coach Billeter. "Associate Head Coach Schlatter has been with me the last five years at Augustana and is the complete package. His work ethic, teaching ability and basketball experience brings a definitive level of excellence to our program. He is a tremendous big man coach and has a great overall feel for the game."
Schlatter was named Associate Head Coach after spending the past five seasons with Coach Billeter at Augustana. He was a key member of the Viking coaching staff that won the 2022 NSIC Championship. He has coached nine members of the All-NSIC teams. He helped tutor Tyler Riemersma to All-America honors while Isaac Fink was named first-team All-Region. Within the NSIC, Riemersma was the South Division's Player of the Year while Dylan LeBrun was named the NSIC Defensive Player of the Year. In addition, Adam Dykman earned First Team All-NSIC honors.
"I couldn't be happier to be joining Coach Billeter's staff as his Associate Head Coach," said Schlatter. "Coach Billeter is one of the best coaches in all of college basketball regardless of level. Coach Billeter, Coach Whitelow, and I have all worked together prior to Emporia State and I know it will be an exciting journey. We can't wait to put a product out that not only the university, but also the Emporia community will love to watch."
Prior to his coaching career, Schlatter had a successful playing career first at Drake University followed by Grand View University, where he played his final season as a graduate transfer.
At Drake, Schlatter played in 95 games with ten starts for Drake over his career, tallying 361 points and securing 282 rebounds. He helped the Bulldogs advance to the second round of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.
At Grand View, Schlatter started all 30 games for the Vikings, averaging 13.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per game while earning Second Team All-Conference accolades.
Schlatter was the Iowa HS Class 2A Player of the Year in 2014 and Iowa Mr. Basketball Runner Up as he led all scorers in the state of Iowa with 35.7 points per game and two 50-point performances. He is Iowa Falls-Alden High School's all-time leading scorer, surpassing former Kansas Jayhawk and Oklahoma City Thunder star Nick Collison for the top spot.
Schlatter earned his undergraduate degree in business administration and marketing from Drake in 2018 and his master's degree in organizational leadership from Grand View in 2019.
"Coach Whitelow was with me for a season at Augustana before moving on to Winona State University," said Coach Billeter. "He was an excellent player in the NSIC and has carried his outstanding basketball IQ and toughness over to the coaching side of things. He is excellent with skill development and is an outstanding recruiter."
Whitelow joins the Emporia State after spending last season at his alma mater Winona State.
"I'm extremely grateful and excited for the opportunity to be a part of Coach Billeter's staff as an assistant coach here at Emporia State," said Whitelow. "Working under Coach B a few years ago was a great experience and I can't wait to get started with him and Coach Schlatter. We are looking forward to competing at a high level in a great conference."
One of the best point guards in Warrior history, he returned to Winona State after serving as a graduate assistant for Coach Billeter at Augustana.
The Peoria, Illinois native led the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio at 5.96 during the 2018-19 season at Winona State. Whitelow was a NSIC All-Academic honoree and also earned the Bob Olson NSIC Outstanding Senior of the Year for the 2021-22 following his final season for the Warriors. He earned NABC Honors Court honors while also serving as a team captain.
Whitelow earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Winona State in May, 2021.
Marquis McCray will be retained beginning his seventh season as a former player and coach," said Coach Billeter. "We are fortunate to have someone with Marquis's knowledge of the community as well as the league. He is a tireless worker and loves being in the gym. He has great rapport with not only the current team but entire Emporia Community."
McCray just completed his second season on the coaching staff at Emporia State after spending four years as a student-athlete at ESU. McCray went from walk-on student-athlete at Emporia State to earning a scholarship in his final season of eligibility. He played in 48 games as a Hornet and finished his career as .488 shooter from the field and .500 from the three-point line.
McCray, a native of Wichita, KS, played two seasons at Dodge City Community College prior to coming to Emporia. He holds a bachelor's degree in health and human performance from Emporia State and recently completed his master's degree in the same field.
"I am anxious and extremely excited to get to work towards next season with such a talented young group of coaches," said Coach Billeter. "I know they will represent the program with pride and energy, as well as continue outstanding relationships with our student athletes."
Coach Billeter comes to Emporia State after 21 seasons as the head coach at NCAA Division II Augustana. He went 393-224 in 21 seasons with the Vikings and is 490-274 in 26 seasons as a head coach. He took the Vikings to nine NCAA Tournaments, won three regular season NSIC Championships and two NSIC Tournament Championships and 18 consecutive winnings seasons since 2007.
Emporia State went 19-12 last season and has averaged 20.3 wins per game over the past three seasons.
