Jason Henry, a native of Minot, ND, will enter his 11th season as the Hardrockers' men's basketball head coach. Under Henry's
direction the Hardrockers have made it a priority to win on their home floor as the team has establishing a home record of 61-25 ( including a perfect 10-0 mark during the 2012-13 campaign) over the past six seasons.
In his tenure, he also guided the Hardrockers to appearances in the Dakota Athletic Conference championship game in back-to-back years (2010, 2011) and three of the last five seasons. Â His efforts also earned him Dakota Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors in 2011.
Henry led the Hardrockers to five consecutive winning season ---- the first time in school history. During the 2011-12 season Henry also became the fastest coach to 100 wins at SD Mines.
Before being promoted, Henry served as an assistant at South Dakota School of Mines for three years where he coordinated the team's recruiting efforts and helped in all aspects of the program under Hugh Welsh.
Henry played high school basketball at Minot Bishop Ryan and college ball at Minot State in North Dakota, where he graduated in 1997 with a degree in physical education as well as corporate fitness. Henry went on to receive his Master's degree in education from North Dakota State University.
Henry's coaching career began as an assistant at Minot Bishop Ryan in 1994. He continued as an assistant with stops at West Fargo, N.D., and Minot State. He then served as head boys' and girls' basketball coach at PBK High School (Pingree, Buchanan, and Kensal) in North Dakota, and two seasons as head boys' coach at Washburn, N.D. The following season Henry then returned to the college level with a two-year stop at the North Dakota School of Science, a junior college in Wahpeton, N.D., as an assistant.
During his last year at Wahpeton in 2002, the team finished with a 31-2 mark and set 14 school records. He coached Team North Dakota during the summers of 1999-2002 which traveled to Australia and Hawaii to compete in international play. Along with his coaching duties over the years, Henry has taught business and physical education classes at the high school and college level.
"Mines is a wonderful place to coach and Rapid City is a beautiful place to live," Henry said. "I have been blessed to have worked with a number of Hall of Fame coaches and learned so much along the way. It is always exciting to start each year and implement my style of play along with the styles that have become part of me from the people I have worked with in the past.
"With an up-tempo offense and pressure defense, we will continue to have some very exciting basketball now and in the future. We have been able to get some of the top student/athletes around the area because of the excellent academic background at Mines. We plan on continuing to bring in these top-notch student-athletes and build upon the foundation that has been established from the past coaches at the School of Mines."
Henry is married to Anne who is a dental hygienist in Rapid City and they have a 10-year-old daughter Gretchen and 8-year-old Enna.
