ASU men’s basketball associate head coach Rashon Burno has been named the next head coach at Northern Illinois, according to an announcement made by NIU Athletics Saturday.
Burno will be formally introduced as the head coach on March 8, according to the announcement.
"I am extremely excited about this opportunity," Burno said in the announcement. "I was very impressed with the overall vision and that made it easy for me to want to be at NIU."
Burno will replace former Northern Illinois head coach Mark Montgomery, who was fired in January after starting the season 1-7. Montgomery compiled a 126-179 record in 10 seasons with the school.
Burno spent the past six seasons at ASU serving under head coach Bobby Hurley. He has helped the program earn two consecutive NCAA Tournament berths from 2017-19 and compile a 63-34 record from 2017-20.
Burno served an instrumental role in the program's recruiting efforts, including producing one of the best classes in the nation last year when it landed forward Marcus Bagley and guard Josh Christopher, the highest-rated recruit the program has ever landed.
Before coming to ASU, Burno served as an assistant coach for three seasons at Florida, helping then-head coach and current Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan lead the team to an 81-28 record in that time.
Burno also served coaching stints at Manhattan College and Towson University.
"I am extremely excited by his level of professionalism and overall basketball pedigree," Northern Illinois Director of Athletics Sean T. Frazier said in the announcement. "He has matured quickly in the coaching circles and we feel that his time is now to take NIU men's basketball to the next level."
Reach the reporter at jhorst2@asu.edu and follow @HorseySeven on Twitter.
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Jeffrey Horst is the digital editor-in-chief of The State Press. He previously served as the publication's sports editor and worked at Cronkite News and ArizonaSports.com.
