Carson Shanks will serve as an assistant coach for head coach Justin Wieck for the 2019-20 men's basketball season.
Shanks, who will oversee the UMD post players in his coaching role, played three seasons at the University of North Dakota (2014-17) and one season at the Loyola University Chicago before signing a professional contract with the Gzira Athletica Basketball Club in Malta. He played overseas for a few months before eventually accepting the Video Coordinator position at his alma mater. During his four-year collegiate run, Shanks averaged 5.0 points, 2.6 rebounds and almost a full block per game. He left the Fighting Hawks with the eighth most blocked shots in school history and helped UND to its first NCAA Tournament appearance (2016-17) in the Division I era. Shanks also played a key role as a reserve for Loyola's NCAA Final Four run his senior season, the team's first Final Four bid since 1963.
A native of Apple Valley, Minn., Shanks was a four-year letterwinner at Prior Lake High School, where he was a two-time all-conference player in the South Suburban Conference. He was ranked as the No. 3 prospect in the state of Minnesota as a senior and helped the Lakers improve on their record each season, culminating with a 20-8 mark as a senior, the program’s best mark in a decade. From 2014-17, Shanks was the head coach and the social media director for the Grand Forks Fastbreak AAU Club.
Shanks earned a B.A. Degree in communication from North Dakota and currently resides in Duluth.
