Bradley assistant coach Mike Bargen is expected to join Darian DeVries’ IU basketball staff, according to a report.
His role with the program is not clear at the moment.
The news appears to have been first reported by Aaron Ferguson of the Indy Star. Sources have not been able to confirm the report as of early Friday afternoon.
For the last 10 years Bargen has been an assistant coach at Bradley. Prior to that he spent eight years as head coach at Butler Community College, and three years prior to that he was there as an assistant.
Bargen was on the staff at Creighton as a graduate assistant (1999-2004) with DeVries more than 20 years ago.
Bargen played college basketball at Marquette from 1995-99.
Here is Bargen’s full profile from the Bradley site:
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Continuing to succeed at every level during his career, Mike Bargen is now in his 10th season as an associate head coach with the Bradley basketball program. After totaling 163 wins in one of the nation’s toughest junior college leagues and a standout playing career at Marquette, Bargen has added back-to-back Missouri Valley Conference Championships with the Braves in 2019 and 2020.
In seven years on campus, Bargen has been a key member of a staff that rebuilt the Bradley program from the nation’s youngest team in 2015-16 into MVC Champions in 2019 and 2020. The Braves won their first Valley Tournament title in 31 years to cap the program’s resurgence in 2019 before repeating the feat a year later and qualifying for the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1954 and 1955. Bargen has worked directly with and helped recruit six All-MVC selections and seven All-Freshman honorees during his time on The Hilltop as Bradley has once again reached the top of the Valley.
Bargen joined the Bradley sideline after an eight-year run as head coach at Butler Community College. During his tenure on the El Dorado, Kansas, campus, Bargen was twice named Jayhawk Conference Coach of the Year and led the Grizzlies to a 164-93 (.683) record. He averaged more than 20 wins per season at Butler, highlighted by a 29-4 record during the 2014-15 campaign and an at-large berth into the NJCAA National Tournament.
While climbing to as high as No. 4 in the 2014-15 NJCAA Top 25, Bargen’s final Grizzlies team set school records for the most wins in a regular season (28), conference wins in a season (14), best winning percentage (.879) and consecutive wins (22), while enjoying a perfect 16-0 home record.
In addition to his team success, Bargen helped 21 players move on to NCAA Division I (13) and II (eight) programs. His players earned 15 All-Jayhawk Conference awards and he produced 10 NJCAA All-Region VI honorees, as well as a first-team NJCAA All-American.
Bargen played collegiately from 1995-99 at Marquette, where his career overlapped with current Braves head coach Brian Wardle. A two-year starter for the Golden Eagles, Bargen was the team captain and Most Valuable Player during his senior season in 1998-99, when he led team in rebounds and blocked shots and finished second in scoring.
After earning his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Marquette in 1999, Bargen received his master’s degree in business administration in 2004 from Creighton University, where he served as a graduate manager on Dana Altman’s Bluejays staff. In the three seasons Bargen spent with the Bluejays, Creighton amassed a 72-23 (.758) record, won the 2002 Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title, claimed two MVC Tournament titles (2002, 2003) and played in two NCAA Tournaments (2002, 2003) with a first-round win against Florida in 2002. During that time, Bargen also had an opportunity to work with a quartet of All-MVC players, including current NBA players Anthony Tolliver (Memphis Grizzlies) and Kyle Korver (Milwaukee Bucks).
Bargen began his tenure at Butler Community College as an assistant coach for three seasons from 2004-07. He was promoted to head coach for the 2007-08 season and by his third year in 2009-10, he led the Grizzlies to their first Jayhawk West Conference championship since 2001. His 2009-10 squad finished with 29 wins and Butler won the Region VI championship for the first time since 1996, qualifying for the NJCAA National Tournament for the fourth time in program history.
