The University of Mary took a chance on Al Bortke to head its men's basketball program in 1973.

Sixteen years later Bortke had amassed 335 wins and a Hall of Fame career.

U-Mary rolled the dice on Bortke and hit the jackpot. The school is hoping to script the same success story with Randall Herbst.

Herbst was formally introduced as U-Mary's sixth head coach on Thursday morning during a press conference at Chick's Place on the campus of U-Mary.

Herbst, who had been an assistant coach for 14 years, was chosen for the job out of about 100 applicants. He will succeed Juno Pintar, who resigned after this past season.

"Look at Al with 300-and-some wins," athletic director Roger Thomas said. "Somebody decided somewhere along the line that Al was going to be a good head coach. Somebody had to give him that first job. Randall is qualified to be a head coach. I feel in my heart that he is ready. I felt that, and our committee felt that."

Herbst spent the past two years as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Nebraska-Omaha.

His coaching experience includes a stop at the University of North Dakota from 2000-06 where he served in many roles from associate head coach, assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.

Herbst, 38, was one of three finalists for the job. The others were former Wisconsin-Green Bay coach Mike Heideman, who's now a player development director at Washington State; and Peninsula College coach Pete Stewart, a native of Parshall and a UND graduate.

Herbst's first pressing duty will be addressing recruiting. U-Mary hasn't signed any new players for the upcoming school year, and the recruiting period ends on May 19.

Herbst said he has been in contact with several players and hopes to add to U-Mary's roster soon. He also has been contacted by athletes who are interested in playing for him.

Herbst understands that it's not easy to bring players to rural North Dakota.

"A big part of it is hard work, being relentless, getting out there to games, writing letters, calling them on the phone and making contact with coaches,"he said. "Ihave done this for 14 years as an assistant and a couple years as a head junior college coach. I feel like I have a good plan in place as far as work ethic and different ways to fight through the adversities you face as a college coach."

Herbst was able to entice Jerome Beasley to come from a junior college in Texas to play for UND. Beasley was the 2003 NCAA Division II national player of the year, was drafted by the Miami Heat in the second round of the NBA draft and played for the Dakota Wizards.

When Beasley made his first visit to Grand Forks, he had to walk 50 yards from the plane into the airport during the winter time. Beasley didn't bring along a winter coat, despite a snowy and windy day. Herbst thought UND and the North Dakota winters would be a tough sell for Beasley, but he landed the star player anyway.

"You have to get past the location. You have to battle the weather a little bit," Herbst said. "The biggest challenge is going to be trying to sell that we are a brand new Division II school.It's not an easy task."

Herbst's knowledge of the Northern Sun and the region made him an appealing candidate. Herbst was a student-athlete at Winona State from 1991-93. He knows all the coaches in the NSIC and is familiar with the types of offenses and defenses each team runs. He has recruited in the region his whole coaching career.

"As an assistant coach, a guy gets his name and reputation by basketball knowledge and recruiting," Thomas said. "The onus is on that guy to go out and help that head coach be the eyes and ears and roadie to go find the athletes. Randall is relentless. I don't know of another assistant basketball coach who is as respected as Randall is."

Herbst expressed the same values that Bortke stressed to his players when he coached.

"We are going to have a relentless attitude,"Herbst said. "We are going to be disciplined on the court, in the classroom, in the community. We're going to do things the right way. My players are going to graduate. At the end of the day, we're going to try to put the University of Mary men's basketball team on the map and try to win some championships."

At every coaching stop, Herbst's teams have experienced success. U-Mary is hoping he can make the Marauders a force in the Northern Sun.

"I have coached under a number of successful coaches at different places,"Herbst said.

"I've taken different bits and pieces from each and every one of them. It's time for me to put all those together into a puzzle and implement that."

Herbst hasn't made any immediate plans on picking his coaching staff.

"My phone has been ringing off the hook from guys who want to jump on board,"Herbst said. "It's up in the air still. The number one task was getting the opportunity to be the next head coach here, and we were able to do that. Now it's time to move on to getting a staff here and getting recruiting underway."

U-Mary guard Jordan Wilhelm is eager for the Herbst regime to begin. Wilhelm, who will be a junior this fall, was impressed when Herbst met with the team during his on-campus interview.

"He was really organized,"Wilhelm said. "He was really prepared when he came in to talk to us. I'm excited to learn more about him. It's a new start. Everybody is on square one. It's going to be exciting to prove yourself again."

Herbst owns a master's degree in sports administration from MSU-Mankato. He is a native of Beaver Dam, Wis., and is married to Kari, a native of Grand Forks. They have an 8-month-old daughter named Liza.

"Being a head coach has been a goal and a dream of mine since I started coaching at the college level,"Herbst said. "At the same time I can accomplish bringing my wife back home."