Courtesy: WIU Visual Productions Center Western Illinois' new men's basketball coach, Jim Molinari, is making his third stop as a head coach at an Illinois Division I school.

MACOMB, Ill.- New Western Illinois men’s basketball coach Jim Molinari was born and raised in Illinois and after making a name for himself as a successful Division I coach in the state of Illinois, he just couldn’t stay away for too long.

After serving head coaching stints at Northern Illinois and Bradley during the 1990’s, Molinari spent three years as an assistant, which included nearly a full season as interim head coach, at Minnesota, followed by a season as an assistant coach at Ball State. Now Molinari returns to the state where he made his name as a head coach.

“He’s just an Illinois guy,” said Molinari’s brother, Bill. “I don’t think there has been another guy that has coached at three different Division I schools in the state of Illinois.”

After playing high school basketball at Glenbard West in Glen Ellyn, Ill., Molinari left the state to attend Kansas State and play with current UNLV head coach, and former Illinois head coach, Lon Kruger. After two seasons, Molinari made his first return home to play two seasons with former NBA center Jack Sikma, at Illinois Wesleyan, helping lead the Titans to consecutive league titles.

Molinari remained in the state of Illinois, landing his first assistant position with DePaul in 1979, underneath both Ray and Joey Meyer. While at DePaul, Molinari helped recruit former college and professional stars Mark Aguirre, Dallas Comegys, Tyrone Corbin, Terry Cummings, and Rod Strickland.

Molinari received his first head coaching position at Northern Illinois in 1989, where he found instant success, only losing 17 games in his two-year stint. The Huskies won the 1991 Mid-Continent Conference (now The Summit League) championship while setting a school record for wins in a season, with a 25-6 record.

After earning Mid-Con Coach of the Year honors in 1991, Molinari headed to his second Illinois Division I school and began his tenure at Bradley. He totaled 174 wins, including a 22-8 season in 1995-96, and qualified for the 1996 NCAA Tournament.

After spending four years away from Illinois, and head coaching altogether, Molinari is right back at home as the head coach at Western Illinois.

“I was excited when I got the call,” said Molinari. “(Dr.) Tim (Van Alstine) was open and everyone was open with me. I think they saw a potential fit in me too. It felt right. I’ve called timeouts in the first four minutes of the game when we’re up 6-2 because things didn’t feel right. This just felt right.”

With his family in the area, the decision to return to Illinois was easy for Molinari, especially coming home closer to his brother, Bill.

“I’m very close to my brother,” Molinari stated. “We have a very encouraging, but protective, relationship with one another, and he is very influential on my coaching. He was a big influence on my return to Illinois, along with the rest of my family. I have two sisters, along with Bill, that are all in the Chicago area. They were all a big factor, not only in my return to Illinois, but in my return to head coaching.”

Molinari becomes the first head coach to hold a head coaching position at three different Division I schools in the state of Illinois over his career. Three other coaches have held head coaching positions at two Division I schools in the state of Illinois, including: Dr. Isodore Salario (Chicago State, Northeastern Illinois), Tom Haggerty (Loyola, DePaul), and Bruce Weber (Southern Illinois, Illinois).

Molinari will look to improve a Western Illinois basketball team that hasn’t had a winning record since 1998-99.

“He (Molinari) provides instant credibility in the region, state, and on a national basis,” said Dr. Tim Van Alstine, Western Illinois athletics director. “The primary thing that separated him is that he knows he can win here at Western Illinois University.”

After spending the past four years as an assistant coach, with the exception of an interim head coaching position at Minnesota, Molinari always knew that another head coaching position would open up for him.

“I always thought I would get another chance,” Molinari said. “My philosophy at Minnesota was land the plane without crashing. I knew I was just there as the stop guy. I knew there would be another opportunity some day to be a head coach. It’s great to do it here and this time couldn’t be better.”

Despite returning as a head coach to a familiar region and a familiar conference six years later, Molinari is still the same coach that won the 1991 Mid-Con coach of the year award.

“I never wander from my philosophy,” said Molinari. “You don’t know you have a philosophy until you’ve had success with it or until it’s under attack. Time and experience has helped me become wise. I think I have become more patient in some areas and more demanding in others. Overall I don’t think I have changed in what I think is important.”

With Molinari returning to his roots in the state of Illinois to be the head coach at his third Division I school in the Land of Lincoln, it’s obvious to see that Jim Molinari is, as his brother, Bill, put it, “just an Illinois guy.”