GREAT FALLS — On May 5, the University of Providence announced that Chester native Mike Claxton will be taking over as the new head coach of the Argo men's basketball program.
MTN Sports caught up with Claxton on Friday after he's now made the move to Great Falls.
"Overjoyed with emotion, to be quite honest," Claxton said at UP's McLaughlin Center. "It's been a long journey to get here to have an opportunity like this. And I just know the dues that I've paid along the way. ... I believe — and I feel like — I was ready for this level."
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Claxton has served as head coach of the boys varsity program at Gallatin High School since 2020 and now returns to his home area. He said his eyes were on Providence when he heard the job could open.
"I was just kind of, you know, being patient, sitting back, waiting to see what happened," Claxton said. "And I guess a door opened up for my opportunity here at Providence."
Claxton said he's wanted to coach at the college level for some time. Before leading Gallatin High's team in Bozeman, Claxton was coaching in Germandy.
"When we moved back to Bozeman from Europe, from Germany, it definitely was a focus of mine," Claxton said. "Thinking that ... building a stable foundation at Gallatin would potentially ... open up a door and just get us grounded right back here in the U.S."
His time with the Raptors, and specifically leading a Class AA program, helped prepare him for this, Claxton said.
"The scheduling, the budgeting, the travel," Claxton said. "It's a lot of management behind the scenes."
In his playing days, Claxton spent time at both Montana Tech and MSU-Northern. He said while he's used to the Frontier Conference, it's a bit different now than it was then.
"My last playing year was '99-2000 and so the conference has gotten incredibly strong," Claxton said. "I am familiar with the colleges, the universities here in Montana and I think that could be an advantage. It also could be an advantage just knowing coaches and having contacts with coaches throughout our state to help bring in some Montana talent back to Great Falls."
Claxton takes over a program which is coming off a 5-23 season. He said it takes one key thing to begin turning things around.
"We want to implement a positive team, family-like environment," Claxton said. "With success comes positive attitude, number one. You know, so getting our players to buy in to staying connected, building cohesion.
"Through some consistency, through perseverance, that we can build this program up to where we can contend with best in the conference."
