STEVENS POINT, Wis. - The UW-Stevens Point men's basketball program announced the addition of
Tyler Tillema and
Kevin Hurd to the program as graduate assistants. Tillema and Hurd will join Head Coach
Bob Semling and
Kent Dernbach, who has been promoted to associate head coach, on staff for the Pointers for the 2015-16 season.
Tillema was a member of the 2010 NCAA Division III National Championship team along with three Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Championship teams in his career at UWSP.
A Randolph native, Tillema played five seasons under Coach Semling after overcoming a medical hardship in his fourth year. He was a two-time member of the WIAC All-Conference team, two-time team captain and ended his career with 1,456 points ranking ninth all-time at UWSP.
During his senior season, UWSP started the season a program-best 20-0 and ended with the highest winning percentage in team history (29-2, .933). Tillema also was named a D3Hoops.com First Team All-American, NABC West District Player of the Year, D3Hoops.com West Region Player of the Year and First Team All-West Region, WIAC Player of the Year and played in the Reese's Division III College All-Star Game.
Tillema graduated from UW-Stevens Point in 2014 with a degree in business administration and a minor in sociology. He is currently working towards a Master's degree in business administration.
In addition to Tillema, Hurd begins his first season as a graduate assistant coach for the Pointers. In 2014-15, he was a graduate assistant at Division-II Minot State of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
Hurd played collegiately at Carroll University in Waukesha, Wisconsin. He was a four-year starter, a three-year captain and a three-time All-Midwest Conference player. Hurd ranks near the top in several categories at Carroll including: three-pointers made in a season, three-pointers made in a career, career three-point percentage and career wins.
As a sophomore, Hurd led the Pioneers on an improbable run to the NCAA round of 32 after upsetting No. 13 Transylvania on their home floor and the top two seeds in the Midwest Conference Tournament to claim a conference championship. It was the first time in league history that a team seeded fourth had won the tournament.
Hurd is originally from Portage, Wisconsin. His older brother, Louis, was a Pointer standout from 2008-11, winning a national championship in 2009-10. He is working on towards a Master's of Science in business management.
Dernbach, who served as the assistant coach for the UW-Stevens Point men's basketball program for the last four seasons, has been named associate head coach for the Pointers.
Coming to Stevens Point in October of 2011, Dernbach enters his fifth season with UWSP. He is involved in every facet of the men's basketball program. The Almond, Wis. native has helped the Pointers to three consecutive WIAC championships, including outright titles in 2013 and 2014. During the 2014 season, UWSP set a program record by starting 20-0. In addition, UWSP has made the NCAA Tournament the past four seasons, now totaling nine straight appearances and 21 total national tournament berths. Last year, UW-Stevens Point won its fourth national championship.
Before coming to UWSP, Dernbach was the director of basketball operations at Northern Illinois University for three years and spent the two previous seasons at George Mason University. During Dernbach's time at George Mason, the Colonials posted back-to-back 20-win seasons, captured the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Prior to his tenure at George Mason, Dernbach served a two-year stint as an assistant coach at Marymount University in Arlington, Va., where he was the primary recruiter and helped mentor two all-conference players and two league rookies of the year.
Dernbach graduated with a bachelor's degree in sport management and psychology from Carthage in May 2004 and completed his master's degree in physical activity and educational services from The Ohio State University in June 2006.
He is married to the former Amanda Turzinski and resides in Plover with their daughter, Camilla, born in October 2013.
