Click here to e-mail Matt Laur begins his sixthseason on Lennox Forrester’s staff, and second as theteam’s associate head coach. Laur is the program's recruitingcoordinator and was named the associate head coach in July 2013. Heis directly involved in all facets of the program, includingrecruiting, scheduling, practice planning and game preparation. In his first season as associate head coach, Laur helped guidethe Cougars to their first-ever Ohio Valley Conference Tournamentappearance as a No. 8 seed. SIUE finished 11-20 overall, butexcelled during conference play, finishing 7-9. SIUE alsoregistered a 9-5 mark at home. In March 2012, Laur, a former four-time NAIA All-American as aplayer, was named to the NAIA's 75th Anniversary team. Laur came to SIUE following a season as Director of BasketballOperations at Ball State University, where he was responsible forplanning practice, travel planning, film exchange and breakdown,summer camp preparation, and academic mentoring for the Cardinals.He was part of Ball State's Mid-American Conference West DivisionChampionship and helped the Cardinals to a MAC tournament semifinalfinish. Laur also mentored 2008-2009 MAC Freshman of the YearJarrod Jones. Prior to joing Ball State, Laur served as an assistant coach atMissouri Southern State in 2007-2008. While there, he wasresponsible for recruiting, scouting, practice planning, travelarrangements, and fund-raising. He helped coach the Lions to a17-11 record and a third-place finish in the Mid-AmericaIntercollegiate Athletics Association. Laur spent three years as the head coach for the SteelevilleHigh School basketball team. In 2004-2005 he led the Warriors tothe most wins in school history when Steeleville finished with a28-7 record and won a regional championship. As a player, Laur starred at McKendree University from1999-2003. He was named the NAIA Division I Player of the Year andreceived Academic-All American Midwest Conference honors his seniorseason. Laur was a two-time AMC Player of the Year (2001 and 2003)as well as AMC Freshman of the Year. He became the all-time recordholder with 2,874 career points and is ranked among the Bearcats'best in blocked shots and rebounds. He scored in double figures in74 consecutive games and set single-season school records for fieldgoals made (393) and points scored (891). Laur earned a bachelor's degree in physical education fromMcKendree in 2003. He earned a master's in education from MissouriState University in 2010. After graduation, Matt playedprofessionally in Europe for Geoplin Slovan before playing for theColumbus River Dragons of the National Basketball DevelopmentalLeague. Matt and his wife Carrie (an SIUE alumus) recently welcomedtheir second son, Grady, who joins son, Ty, and daughter,Annabelle. | 