Bismarck State found a carbon copy of Buster Gilliss to head its men's basketball program.

BSC named Jason Harris as its new men's basketball coach on Tuesday afternoon at a press conference at the BSC Armory.

Harris has coached at MSU-Bottineau for the past seven seasons. He will be assisted by Eddie Collins, who was Gilliss' assistant.

Gilliss resigned in early May after spending 17 seasons coaching the Mystics. Gilliss will stay on as the school's athletic director.

"A lot of my coaching philosophies come from (Gilliss),"Harris said. "The student athletes who come to Bismarck are going to be running the same type of style they have been used to seeing here. The community of Bismarck is going to see a lot of the same. We're going to get it up and down the court, and we're going to score a lot of points."

In addition to coaching basketball, Harris will coach men's and women's golf and will assist Len Stanley in baseball.

Ten people applied for the job. To be considered, BSC required five years of college basketball coaching experience.

It was Harris' experience in the Mon-Dak that attracted BSC. Harris also coaches the similar up-tempo style of play that Gilliss used for nearly three decades.

"I am excited for the opportunity to be here,"Harris said. "BSC has some great coaches on staff already. It's a chance to continue the success of the program."

Harris played basketball and baseball for Gilliss for two years one at MSU-Bottineau and one at BSC. He played his final two years of basketball at Minot State where he received a degree in business education. He will receive his Master's degree in July.

"We decided to go with one of our very own to carry on the BSC basketball tradition,"Gilliss said. "We have found the perfect fit in Jason Harris. As a player his commitment and work ethic was second to no one. He has shown the same qualities as a coach."

As a basketball player, Harris helped Gilliss win two Mon-Dak titles, a Region 13 title and a Region 13 runner-up spot. He was an all-conference and all-region selection both years. As a coach, Harris compiled a record of 108-103 at MSU-Bottineau.

As a baseball player, Harris was part of the BSC team that advanced to the NJCAA World Series in 1992. Harris was a first baseman.

Harris said that none of his players at MSU-Bottineau plan to follow him to BSC.

"I'm cutting ties with MSU-Bottineau,"Harris said. "There are some really good kids up there and some good student athletes, but I want to come here with a fresh start."

Harris graduated from Kenmare High School in 1990.

Prior to coaching at the college level, Harris coached boys basketball at North Shore and girls basketball at Glenburn.