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Tim Jankovich Position: Head Coach Alma Mater: Kansas State, 1981

His coaching pedigree is unmatched. His attention to detail is precise. His ability to mentor young athletes is fatherly. And his competitiveness is off the charts.

That said, it shouldn't have come as a surprise that Illinois State first-year head coach Tim Jankovich molded and guided an inherited team that finished ninth in the Missouri Valley Conference race a year before, and turned it into a league power one year later.

As a result, the Redbirds equaled their highest win total in school history (25) in 2007-08, and Jankovich posted the most victories by any Illinois State first-year head coach. ISU went on to compete in postseason play for the first time since 2001, and posted its first postseason win since 1998, with a 61-57 victory over Utah State in the first round of the 2008 MasterCard National Invitation Tournament (NIT).

Before arriving at Illinois State, the Gary, Ind., native spent five years under current Kansas head coach Bill Self, which resulted in five-straight NCAA Tournament appearances, two trips to the Elite Eight and the foundation for a National Championship in 2008. Jankovich was an assistant coach under Self for one season at Illinois, before spending the last four campaigns as his top assistant with the Jayhawks. In all, Jankovich has helped coach teams that have advanced to the postseason in seven-straight seasons, and eight of the last nine years.

In Jankovich's four years at Kansas, the Jayhawks compiled a combined 105-29 (.784) record and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in all four campaigns. In Jankovich's final season as an assistant at Kansas (2006-07), the Jayhawks went 33-5, and advanced to the Elite Eight for the second time in four years. The Jayhawks finished the season ranked No. 2 in both the final Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Top-25 Coaches' polls.

The Jayhawks entered the 2005-06 season with a young and inexperienced squad. But Kansas tied Texas for the Big 12 title with a 13-3 conference record, and captured the Big 12 Tournament championship for the second-consecutive season. The Jayhawks went 22-4 in their final 26 games, including winning 12 of their final 13 Big 12 regular-season contests. Kansas led the nation in field-goal percentage defense in 2005-06, holding its opponents to just a 37-percent clip from the field.

Kansas finished the 2004-05 campaign tied for first place in the Big 12 with a 12-4 conference record, en route to a 23-7 overall mark. The Jayhawks started the season 14-0, and weren't defeated by a conference foe until Feb. 14, 2005, when they dropped a one-point decision at Texas Tech. Kansas finished the season ranked No. 12 in the AP poll, and 15th in the coaches' poll.

In Jankovich's first year under Self at Kansas (2003-04), the Jayhawks went 24-9, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight, before narrowly missing a Final Four berth following an overtime loss to Georgia Tech. Kansas finished the season ranked ninth in the coaches' poll.

Overall, the Jayhawks never finished a season ranked lower than No. 16 nationally during Jankovich's tenure.

In Jankovich's one year at Illinois (2002-03), the Illini finished 25-7, won the Big Ten Tournament championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament's second round. Illinois finished the season ranked No. 11 in the final AP poll.

Over the past 25 years, Jankovich has played a key role in recruiting and player development. He was also responsible for attracting and coaching some of the most accomplished recruiting classes in college basketball. Jankovich has coached 24 current or former NBA players during his tenure.

In addition to working under Self, Jankovich has served as an assistant coach for the likes of Eddie Sutton, Jack Hartman, Lon Kruger, Boyd Grant, Gene Iba, Bob Weltlich and former Illinois State head coach Kevin Stallings. Other than Kansas and Illinois, his list of employers includes Vanderbilt, Texas, Oklahoma State and Colorado State. In addition, Jankovich served as a head coach for four years at the University of North Texas and two seasons at Hutchinson Community College.

In his first season as head coach at UNT (1993-94), Jankovich took over a squad that had posted a 5-22 mark and tallied the second-biggest turnaround in the nation that year, advancing his team just one win away from an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. In his first three seasons, Jankovich took his team to the Southland Conference Tournament championship two times. In his fourth season, the Eagles moved to the Big West Conference. In all, Jankovich's four years at North Texas comprised the second-best winning percentage by a head basketball coach in school history.

Jankovich also guided Hutchinson Community College, home of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) National Tournament, to back-to-back 20-win campaigns, posting a 50-14 record and national rankings both seasons.

At Vanderbilt, he played a key role in turning around a struggling program and helped lead the Commodores to two postseason appearances in three years. The core of Jankovich's recruited players at Vandy later advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2004.

One of the winningest players in Kansas State history, Jankovich was a four-year starter at point guard (one year at Washington State and three years for legendary coach Jack Hartman at K-State). In each of his three seasons, at K-State, the Wildcats were ranked in the top-20 and posted three-straight NCAA Tournament appearances. A 1981 Elite Eight appearance and a 1982 Sweet 16 berth highlighted his playing career. Jankovich played in a total of nine NCAA Tournament games in college.

A three-time academic All-American and honorable mention All-Big Eight player, Jankovich finished his career at Kansas State in the school's top-10 in nine categories, including first in season free-throw percentage (.917) and eighth in career field-goal percentage (.510). In addition, he holds the Big Eight Tournament record for single-game assists (14).

Jankovich graduated cum laude in 1982 with a 3.63 grade-point average in business finance and received his master's degree in radio/television from Kansas State in 1985. He and his wife, Cindy, have a son, Michael, 9. The family resides in Bloomington, Ill.

What They're Saying About Tim Jankovich:
Bill Self, head basketball coach at the University of Kansas
"Tim is one of the brightest coaches, at any level, that I've had the pleasure to be around. He has a great basketball mind, one that is very creative, and he has the ability to get a team to play to its full potential. He is talented, sharp, hard-working and has great people skills. I have been blessed to be around some great assistant coaches, and Tim is as talented as any of them. This should be an exciting time for Illinois State."

Eddie Sutton, former head basketball coach at Oklahoma State
"I've had a lot of wonderful assistant coaches, but Tim was certainly a first-teamer, and his knowledge of basketball is as good as any assistant I've ever had. There are a lot of outstanding young coaches in the Missouri Valley Conference, but I do believe that Tim will, in a very short period of time, reach the elite level in that league. He's a great basketball coach, but might be an even finer person."

Boyd Grant, former head basketball coach at Colorado State and Fresno State
"When I was the head coach at Colorado State, it didn't take me long to figure out that I had a great assistant in Tim Jankovich. I always had great trust in my assistants, and divvied up the coaching tasks amongst them. Tim was responsible for implementing a large portion of our offensive schemes at Colorado State. He comes from a great pedigree, coaching under guys like Jack Hartman, Eddie Sutton and Bill Self, and beyond that, his recruiting experience is really going to benefit Illinois State. Coach Jankovich will identify with the players very easily. He will be not only a coach but a mentor to them. Tim is a stand-up guy and a class act."

Sherron Collins, University of Kansas guard
"Coach Jankovich helped me most on my jump shot. I owe a lot to him. He was always there to help me fix it and tweak it when needed. He is a great guard coach, especially for point guards. He is a great teacher of the game and has been around basketball for a long time."

Dee Brown, former University of Illinois player
"He taught me a lot about the game and really worked with me on my shooting. When he first came to Illinois, he met with me and really took an interest in helping me make my game better. That really meant a lot to me, since he wasn't even the coach that recruited me. I think the players at Illinois State are going to enjoy playing for Coach Jankovich. They have a great coach."

Deron Williams, Utah Jazz guard and former University of Illinois player "Coach Jankovich is a real laid-back guy and he knows how to talk to and teach his players. He knows a lot about the game, because he was a player himself. I know, personally, he helped me considerably with my free throws and gave me some shooting tips. Illinois State has a great coach ... one that truly knows the game of basketball."

Coaching Ledger