T. J. Otzelberger

Thomas John "T. J." Otzelberger (born September 17, 1977) is an American basketball coach who is currently head coach for South Dakota State University.

Early and personal life

Otzelberger was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the son of Thomas L. and Jackie A. Otzelberger. He attended Thomas More High School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he was a three-year starter on the varsity basketball team. He played college basketball at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, and was team captain for two years. On June 1, 2013, he married Alison Lacey, former ISU Women's Basketball standout, former WNBA player, and former coach of the Marshalltown Community College Women's Basketball Team.

Early coaching career

From 2001 to 2004 Otzelberger served as a basketball coach at Burlington Catholic Central High School in Burlington, Wisconsin. He was promoted to varsity head coach and athletic director in 2003. For the 2004-2005 season, he moved to Marianna, Florida to join the Chipola College staff as an assistant coach. In that season, the Indians finished 33-4, won the Panhandle Conference and placed third at the 2005. NJCAA national tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas

Iowa State University

Otzelberger served on the Cyclones' coaching staff for seven years. He initially joined the Iowa State coaching staff under former Iowa State Head Coach Greg McDermott in 2006, and served under him as an assistant through the 2009-2010 season. When McDermott was succeeded by Fred Hoiberg "The Mayor" in May 2010, Otzelberger was promoted to the position of Associate Head Coach.

In 2011-2012, Hoiberg led Iowa State to a 23-11 overall record and a third place finish in the Big 12 Conference, advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005. The Cyclones defeated reigning national champion Connecticut in third round tourney action, before falling to eventual national champion Kentucky. In 2012-2013, the Cyclones finished 4th in the Big 12 Conference while advancing to the third round of the NCAA Tournament before losing to Ohio State on a buzzer beater. During this stretch, the Cyclones were among the nation's leading teams in scoring, returning the team to national prominence.

Otzelberger has been widely regarded as one of the top recruiters in the nation. His efforts have helped secure the services of Cyclone greats Mike Taylor, Craig Brackins, Diante Garrett, Scott Christopherson, Chris Babb, Chris Allen, Will Clyburn, Korie Lucious, Melvin Ejim, Georges Niang, Naz Long, and Matt Thomas, among others. In addition to recruiting, Otzelberger was in charge of opponent scouting and game planning for the Cyclones tournament run in 2012 and 2013.

April, 2015; Otzelberger returned to be an assistant coach for Iowa State after leaving Washington.

University of Washington

On May 7, 2013, Washington Huskies Head Coach Lorenzo Romar announced that T.J. Otzelberger had joined his staff as an assistant coach. NBC Sports called Coach Otzelberger's hiring at Washington as one of the top 10 key assistant coaching hires for the 2013-14 season. Following the 2014 season, Jay Bilas and Jeff Goodman ranked TJ as one of the top college head coaching candidates. On April 1, 2015 it was announced that Otzelberger was returning to Iowa State to replace Matt Abdelmassih.

Community service

When it comes to community service, Coach Otzelberger is openly passionate about teaching young people and was actively involved in the National Association of Basketball Coaches "Stay in to Win" program. This program was set up to help students focus on making important decisions in order to become more successful in school and impact their overall quality of life. Otzelberger is also highly involved with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. He is also a member of the Villa 7 Consortium, which aims to develop the nation's top assistant coaches.

Head coaching record