NKU MBB announces assistant coaches for 2019-20 season

NKU Men’s basketball announced David Harris and Simon McCormack as assistant basketball coaches with Joey Kizel as Video Coordinator for the Norse on Friday afternoon.

Harris, a Cincinnati native, played basketball in high school for Wyoming. He spent three years playing for Ashland University and earned his degree in finance. He also spent two years as a student manager for Billy Donovan, head coach of the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder, at the University of Florida. He received his master’s degree in sports leadership from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU).

Prior to coming to the Norse, he was an assistant coach at the Naval Academy for a year. Before that, he spent three years serving as special assistant and video coordinator for the University of Texas. In 2013 he was hired by Shaka Smart at VCU as a graduate assistant and moved into the video coordinator role in 2014.

“Getting David Harris on our staff was a high priority for me,” Head Coach Darrin Horn said. “He is a Cincinnati native that knows the area and has recruited it. David brings great energy, is tremendous with player development and gained invaluable experience as a recruiter at Navy. In addition, he shares our commitment at NKU to always put the well-being of our student-athletes first.”

McCormack is a former Division I Basketball player from American University in Washington, D.C. who earned his business administration degree in marketing in 2012. McCormack spent his 2011 season as an NBA G League intern for the Maine Red Claws. After graduation, he spent three years as a sales analyst at GE Capital Real Estate.

McCormack has spent three years in Texas serving as graduate assistant from 2015-17 and spent last season as the Director of Program Development. Prior to spending his last season with the Longhorns, McCormack spent the 2017-18 season as the video coordinator at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut.

“I worked with Simon for three years at Texas and knew early on what a tremendous coach he could be if given the opportunity,” Horn said. “He was a very good player in a winning program at American University and knows what it takes for our players to be successful. He is bright, has tremendous work ethic and connects well with young people. I have no doubt he will do an outstanding job for Norse basketball.”

Joey Kizel hails from Middlebury College, where he was team captain and a three-time first team all-conference honoree. In 2014, after graduating he played professionally overseas for Kiryat Ata in the Liga Leumit (Israeli National League).

Afterward, Kizel spent two years as an analyst for Real Capital Analytics. Kizel joined the Texas staff as a graduate assistant, where he earned a master’s degree in sport management.

Kizel assisted in different aspects—such as player development, game preparation, scouting, logistical operations and film breakdown.

“Joey Kizel has been by my side as a [Graduate Assistant] the last two years at Texas and was the obvious choice for me as our video coordinator,” Horn said. “He is organized, a relentless worker and able to take on a variety of tasks and perform them well. We are fortunate to have someone of his ability in his position.”