Williamson Joins UMD Mens Basketball Coaching Staff

June 22, 2012

Northland Sports Online

Kevin Williamson spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach under Matt Bowen at Bemidji State University and now will work in that same capacity with his old boss at the University of Minnesota Duluth.

“By being with me the past two years, Kevin has a firm grasp of what I want to do here and how I want to do it,” said Bowen, who took over as the Bulldogs’ new head coach this past spring. “He certainly was integral in the success we had at Bemidji (which included an outright Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference title last season) and opened up some new recruiting avenues nationally for us up there — particularly on the west coast. As a coach, he relates extremely well with the players, having played himself not so long ago at the collegiate level.”

The 27-year old Williamson served as an assistant coach in 2009-10 at Glendale Community College (Phoenix, Ariz.) prior to his arrival in Bemidji. Before that, he was employed as a physical education teacher and boy’s basketball coach at Cathedral Catholic High School, where, during his one season of service, guided the Dons to a 17-13 overall record and a spot in the 2009 San Diego Section Division III title game.

Williamson’s prep head coaching resume also includes a one-year stint (2007-08) at Kofa High School in Yuma, Ariz. Under his watch, the Kings set a school single-season record for wins, going 22-11 on the year, captured the Gila Valley Region championship and gained an Arizona 5A II State Tournament semifinal round berth — the first ever by any Yuma public high school. For his efforts, Williamson was chosen the Gila Valley Region Coach of the Year.

A native of San Diego, Calif., Williamson was a two-sport athlete at the University of Great Falls (Mont.) from 2005-07, competing in both basketball and golf. As a senior while playing for head coach Steven Silsby, he secured National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Academic All-American honors and in addition to qualifying for the Frontier Conference All-Academic Team for a second time.

After graduating from Sedona Rock High School (Ariz.) in 2003, Williamson attended Arizona State University, but sat out his two years with the Sun Devil basketball program while nursing a torn ACL. In 2004-05, under then-head coach Rob Evans, ASU posted an 18-12 record and were part of the NIT Tournament field.

Williamson, who is single, earned a B.A. degree in secondary education (physical education and health) from the U. of Great Falls in 2007 and will complete his Master’s degree in sports studies from Bemidji State later this summer. His father, Craig, was the head boys basketball coach at Sedona High School during Kevin’s senior year, and his brother, Kyle, is currently the assistant boys basketball coach at Rancho Bernardo High School in San Diego.

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