Coach Aaron Johnston seemingly came out of nowhere to be successful and respected.
From official Bio:
Entering his 14th season as head coach of the South Dakota State University women’s basketball team, Aaron Johnston has taken the Jackrabbit program to the top of NCAA Division II and is leading SDSU to national prominence at the Division I level.
Johnston enters the 2013-14 campaign with a career record of 315-108 (.745 winning percentage), becoming South Dakota State’s winningest women’s basketball coach during the 2012-13 season. He recorded win No. 302 at Oakland on Jan. 10, 2013, to pass his predecessor, Nancy Neiber, who compiled a 301-140 record in 16 seasons from 1985-2000. Johnston posted his 200th career victory on Dec. 4, 2008, against Centenary (La.) and career win No. 300 versus Kansas City on Jan. 3, 2013. His career totals have included an 89-17 record (.840 winning percentage) in Summit League regular season games, a perfect 15-0 mark in Summit League postseason tournament contests and a 16-9 mark (.640 winning percentage) in postseason games.
The Summit League Coach of the Year in each of the Jackrabbits’ first two seasons in the league and again during the 2011-12 season, Johnston was named a finalist for the 2009 Naismith Award as the nation’s top coach. SDSU tied a school record for victories in a season with 32 during the 2008-09 campaign and gained national attention by vaulting into the top 25 in December after non-conference victories over the likes of Wisconsin, Utah, Minnesota and Gonzaga (Wash.). The Jackrabbits were ranked in the final 13 USA Today/ESPN regular season coaches’ polls, climbing as high as 14th in the coaches' poll and 16th in the Associated Press poll. SDSU finished the 2008-09 season ranked 19th in the coaches’ poll.