By Brian Moos / KVSC reporter

Open forums for the final 3 candidates for the St. Cloud State men’s basketball coaching position started this week. West Texas A&M Associate Head Coach Quincy Henderson kicked things off with his forum on Tuesday.

The self-proclaimed “Midwest Guy,” had high praise for the NSIC as a whole conference, as his experience playing for Winona State gave him plenty of time with the Northern Sun.

Henderson emphasized recruiting within the Midwest region and recruiting heavily at the high school level, rather than attacking the transfer portal. “I think it’s important to have regional kids here and ideally 4-year kids. I have a heavy emphasis on high school seniors… if you want connection between the community and your players you want them on your roster for more than 1 to 2 years.”

Quincy emphasized his want to have players with fire to add to the already existing roster of players who decided to stay post-coach Matt Reimer era.

Coach Henderson is looking to implement a high-possession offensive paired with a defense full of toughness and highlighted the importance of unselfishness on the court for his plan for Husky basketball.

When asked about the appeal for a job in central Minnesota, Henderson jumped at the opportunity to fond over the Midwest, as a guy who played college basketball in Iowa and grew up in Wisconsin, it’s not surprising in the slightest. “I still have a 608-area code number that’s never changed.”

Henderson made a very good case Tuesday to be the next Head Basketball Coach of the Huskies. The man who would follow him up is another Midwest guy, with strong ties to the SCSU Basketball Program.

Brett Putz was up next on Thursday, a former St. Cloud State basketball player from 2008-2012 and National Championship winning coach at the D-II level in the NJCAA.

Putz was very sentimental at the start of his forum, “The opportunity to lead the program here is something that I really dreamed of once I got into coaching… once we stepped into the room a lot of emotion came over me,”

Putz stressed re-finding the identity of St. Cloud State basketball that led the Huskies to a Final Four appearance when he played in 2010. He also showed a desire to connect the men’s basketball team with the rest of the sports on campus at SCSU. “I want to be engaging with the women’s basketball team, the volleyball team, soccer… I have a ton of friends from a lot of different programs from my time here.”

Putz preached about everyone in the St. Cloud community having a shared goal of not only wanting St. Cloud State men’s basketball to succeed, but SCSU athletics as a whole to be successful.

“I know there’s a lot of people that have a lot of pride in this place.”

In terms of recruiting and the skillset Putz wants in players he was adamant on recruiting players within a 7-hour radius of St. Cloud. The 10th all-time leader in steals at St. Cloud State University wants to disrupt on defense and create efficient looks on the offensive end. “Layups, free-throws, and kickout threes, those are the 3 shots we want to generate.”

Last up of the 3 coaching candidates is Hillsdale Associate Head Coach Keven Bradley. Bradley also has experience at the D-II level with coaching stints at Upper Iowa and Wisconsin Parkside.

Bradley is also a finalist for the head coaching vacancy at Minnesota State Moorhead.

Coach Bradley’s open forum will be at the Husky Den inside Herb Brooks National Hockey Center on Monday May 9, at 12:15 p.m.

If the first two forums are any indication, AD Heather Weems will have a very tough decision to make in this very competitive field of finalists.