Todd Simon relishes challenge of reviving Southern Utah program

CEDAR CITY, Utah — The 9-8 record next to Todd Simon’s resume as the UNLV interim basketball coach probably doesn’t sit well with those entrenched in the program.

Simon’s chances of becoming the Rebels’ permanent coach were slim, and if he somehow landed the gig, the groans coming out of Las Vegas would be heard in Utah.

There were no whimpers coming out of Cedar City on Tuesday when Simon agreed to become the head coach of Southern Utah.

Simon, 35, was introduced as the Thunderbirds’ coach at a news conference Thursday. Terms of the contract weren’t released.

“It’s been unbelievable everywhere you go,” Simon said. “You can just sense the hunger for this program to take off. It’s an incredible challenge, but when you have that, my goodness, I don’t know how you not get goosebumps and are ready to go.”

The challenge won’t be easy. Southern Utah has posted 15 straight losing seasons and regularly has been at the bottom of the Big Sky Conference standings. The Thunderbirds haven’t played in the NCAA Tournament since 2001. The previous regime went 28-90 in four seasons, so a 9-8 record sounds decent at Southern Utah. But athletic director Jason Butikofer said he didn’t pay attention to Simon’s record at UNLV.

Butikofer said he had a casual lunch with UNLV athletic director Tina Kunzer-Murphy six weeks ago and Simon’s name came up. Kunzer-Murphy raved about the job Simon had done since being named interim coach Jan. 10 after Dave Rice was fired.

“When we first had the opportunity to sit down with Simon when the UNLV season was completed, just hearing what happened during those 60 days and the process and how he reshaped and refocused and moved that program forward, it was impressive,” Butikofer said. “To go 9-8 probably doesn’t look sexy for those that are uneducated, but when you dig into it and you understand all the dynamics of the situation and challenges that they faced throughout, it’s pretty impressive.”

Simon coached UNLV for only two months, but he endured a season’s worth of ups and downs.

The Fowler, Michigan, native took over the Rebels after an 0-3 start in Mountain West play and led the team to three straight wins.

Then the injuries started piling up. First it was Ben Carter, the heart and soul of the team. Then it was Stephen Zimmerman Jr., the potential one-and-done NBA prospect.

Dwayne Morgan then sustained a shoulder injury toward the end of the season, and Derrick Jones Jr. was ineligible to compete in the Mountain West tournament because of an NCAA Clearinghouse issue.

The Rebels’ frontcourt was depleted, but there were still games to be played. Simon relied on walk-ons and asked the six scholarship players to play extensive minutes.

“The wins that we were able to accomplish during that stretch were as difficult and as rewarding as I may ever have,” said Simon, who interviewed for the UNLV job after the season. “I felt like the staff and I did the best we could, and to be able to pull wins with the deck stacked so much against us on and off the court, I was really proud.

“It was a great experience. We got very creative from an X’s and O’s standpoint, and it was a true test of character and ability to get guys on the same page and continue to battle adversity.”

Playing with those six scholarships players during the final stretch, which included an overtime win against UNR and a triple overtime victory over Air Force in the first round of the conference tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center, probably won Simon his second Division I gig in a 75-day span.

“It’s been a whirlwind, and it’s been surreal to some degree, but I’m a big believer in not just being ready but being prepared,” Simon said. “I have had people believe in me along the way, but, yeah, but to kind of do this twice in 75 days is not exactly a script I would have written.”

Simon was named interim coach instead of assistants Stacey Augmon and Ryan Miller, and all three interviewed for the permanent job. Augmon made it clear he badly wanted the position after opening up to the Review-Journal on Feb. 13 with six games remaining.

“As long as it didn’t affect the guys on the floor and in the locker room,” Simon said about assistant coaches speaking to the media. “I think we did a good job of laying some ground rules to be respectful on how that’s going to go. I was a little more quiet on those type of things. My role being in the head spot, I think it was important for me to not be public about about the future. I was just trying to keep the guys in the moment, and in that leadership role, it was important for me to stay in the moment so I could practice what I’m preaching to those players.

“I tried to control what I could control, and everyone has different ways on how they want to go about things.”

Simon, who coached Findlay Prep to a 35-1 record and the mythical high school national championship in the 2012-13 season, said he left UNLV on good terms after jumping at the opportunity to coach the Thunderbirds. He said he wishes the school the best as it continues its search for a coach, one that has focused the past three days on Cincinnati’s Mick Cronin.

“Tina (Kunzer-Murphy) is an incredible person, and I consider her a friend,” Simon said. “I want nothing but the best for them and to get the right person to get them going. She’s strong-willed, and she’s going to do what’s right, and UNLV is a very tricky place, and there’s certainly a lot going on in such a passionate place for basketball, and she’s the right person to sit through all that.”

Simon is happy to be 180 miles north in a quiet town of 29,000 with mountains covered in snow in March.

“I quickly realized I need to get a heater and a scraper for the car,” Simon said. “You forget those necessities livng in Vegas.”

Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0492. Follow him on Twitter: @gmanzano24