Updated: Steve Keller to be named Providence men's basketball coach

Scott Mansch
Great Falls Tribune

Steve Keller twice applied for and was turned down for the head men’s basketball position at what was then called the University of Great Falls.

Now the newly named University of Providence has decided the highly successful Treasure State coach is the right man for the job.

The Tribune has verified that Keller has agreed to take over the Argo program and barring last-minute complications will be announced as the school’s new men’s basketball coach.

Keller has been coaching the Montana Western men for the last 11 seasons and has led the Dawgs eight times to the NAIA National Tournament. His team this winter finished 27-8, including two victories at the national tourney in Kansas City.

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Keller’s record with the Western men was 231-124. Prior to taking over the Dillon program he spent five years as an assistant coach at Carroll College with the men's program.

He’s also unbeaten with 12 straight victories in six years of coaching Treasure State boys in the Montana-Wyoming All-Star Series.

Keller, 62, is a 1974 graduate of Custer High who played baseball and graduated from Rocky Mountain College. He had more than 2,200 points in his prep career, ranking among the top scorers in state history, and has been extremely successful as a coach ever since.

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During prep coaching jobs at Helena High and Opheim, Keller had a record of 610-180 and a total of seven state championships.

Former Great Falls High star Shyke Smalls was an all-Frontier Conference and NAIA honorable mention All-American at UM Western while playing for Keller. He graduated in May of 2017 and is now working in San Diego.

He didn’t hesitate when asked what makes Keller such a winning coach.

“He’s been successful because he expects more from the player than what the player expects from himself,” Smalls said. “He tends to push you to the point beyond what you think you can do, both in basketball and in life.”

Keller is a disciplinarian, Smalls said.

“He’s definitely hard-nosed,” Smalls said. “A lot of people think he’s all yelling and all mean, but I mean, if he’s not yelling at you it means he doesn’t care about you. That’s what I’ve always been told.”

Smalls averaged 15.2 points and 2.2 steals his season year while playing for Keller’s UM Western Bulldogs.

“He definitely did a lot for my career,” Smalls said. “When I came out of high school I couldn’t shoot, and I couldn’t dribble or finish left-handed. He pretty much told me I was going to have to learn to do both of those things if I was going to play for him. I worked my butt off every summer and had a lot of late nights in the gym working on my shot.

“He definitely helped me with my career. He taught me to be confident and never to play scared.”

Keller will replace Anthony Owens, who coached the UGF men the last four seasons and compiled a 53-64 record. Since the Great Falls school reinstated basketball in 2000 following a 15-year absence, the men’s basketball program has struggled to compete well in the Frontier Conference.

All four of the program’s previous coaches were either dismissed or left voluntarily, including Mike Geniesse (11-86 record with the Argos), Antonio Veloso (22-67), Steve Silsby (103-138) and Owens.

The Providence athletic program has made strides in recent years under the leadership of its president, Dr. Anthony Aretz, and Vice President for Athletics Dave Gantt. Last year former Big Sandy and Montana State basketball star Doug Hashley was hired as a special assistant in the athletic department.

Keller’s UM Western teams have consistently challenged for Frontier championships. Coaching also runs deeply in his family. Son Wes is the head women’s basketball coach at Rocky Mountain, and son Josh coaches both boys and girls at Twin Bridges. A daughter, Shandi, is a former C.M. Russell High basketball player who served more than a decade in the U.S. Army as a Blackhawk helicopter pilot.

The Argo administrations that interviewed and decided not to hire Keller in the past are long gone. Tuesday's news means the new men in charge, with solid financial backing from the Sisters of Providence, have taken a bold step toward ensuring a successful future for UP men's basketball.

Smalls believes Keller will do well at the University of Providence.

“I think he’ll be successful there,” Smalls said. “He’s a hall-of-fame coach, he’s been to national tournaments and he knows what it takes to build a national tournament team. I think kids are really intrigued by that when they get a phone call from coach Keller.

“They understand what he’s about and a lot of previous players usually help with recruiting, too. Because they believe in him.”