Highland Community College in Freeport Hires Men’s Basketball Coach

Luke Norman will take over the nationally prominent Highland Community College’s Men’s basketball program as the Head Coach, starting immediately. Luke replaces Chad Boudreau who accepted the associate head coaching position at Western Illinois University this Spring after three years at Highland.

Cougar Fans and the community will recognize the name. Norman is a Freeport native. He was an all-conference and all-state basketball player at Freeport High School, and is the son of Highland’s former legendary 15-year men’s basketball coach, Pete Norman. Although the name is familiar, Norman has his own list of accomplishments to bring to the established program.

Norman holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from Eastern Illinois University (EIU). While an undergraduate student at Eastern, Luke was a member of the Men’s Basketball team, served as team captain, and was awarded multiple honor rolls.

 Norman was an assistant coach for the EIU Men’ Basketball team during the 2017-2018 season, helping lead the Panthers to the Quarterfinals of the OVC Men’s Basketball Championships. He helped coach and develop one All-OVC Second team member, and one All-OVC Newcomer team member. This coaching experience made Norman emerge as the best candidate for Highland during this search for a head coach.

Norman is a Highland graduate, and was a member of the 2014 Men’s Basketball team. During that year, he helped lead the Cougars to an Arrowhead Conference Title, a Region IV Title, a trip to the NJCAA National Tournament in Hutchinson Kansas, and was awarded as a NJCAA Academic All-American.