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Former NIU men’s basketball coach Mark Montgomery, fired by the Huskies on Jan. 3, joined the coaching staff at Detroit Mercy, the school announced Friday.
He takes over for Keith Legree, who left before the start of the season to take over the boys basketball coaching duties at Statesboro High School in Georgia.
“To bring in a coach like coach Montgomery, you have a coach who has 10 years of head coaching experience and 10 years as an assistant, so a very experienced coach,” Detroit Mercy coach Mike Davis said. “We have been putting a lot of time in, and he has really helped us in just the short time he has been here.”
A native of Inkster, Michigan, Montgomery starred in the prep ranks at Aquinas High School, was a four-year starter at Michigan State and eventually became an assistant coach for 10 years at his alma mater before spending 10 years with the Huskies.
The Huskies were 1-7 this season when Montgomery was fired. They are in the midst of a five-game postponement streak because of COVID-19 and are next scheduled to play Feb. 6 at home against Central Michigan. NIU is 2-10 under former assistant Lamar Chapman as interim head coach.
Mercy (4-8, 3-5 Horizon League) takes on Youngstown State on Friday.