Mix Provided photo

A retired NBA player, entrepreneur, and television and radio commentator will take the helm as Trine's head women’s basketball coach.

Steve Mix will head to Trine after more than 25 years of coaching, scouting and broadcasting experience and 13 years of professional basketball experience. Mix was a forward with a 13-year career, playing with the Detroit Pistons, Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA and the Denver Rockets of the ABA. Mix represented the 76ers in the 1975 NBA All-Star Game. He made it to the NBA Finals four times during his career.

Mix was last a collegiate head coach in 1984-85, when he spent one year at the helm of Division I Toledo, leading the Rockets to a 6-20 overall mark.

He replaces Tom Barnes, who was fired, according to local media reports, at the end of the season. Barnes compiled a 43-59 record in four seasons as Trine's head coach, including an 11-14 mark this past season. He has gone 181-158 in 13 seasons as a Division III head coach, including six years at Defiance and three at Dubuque.

“We are pleased and excited to welcome Coach Mix to Trine University,” said Trine president Earl D. Brooks II. “He brings a wealth of knowledge of the sport, as a player, coach and scout. He has a keen ability to hone in on players’ strengths and take them to the next level.”

Most recently, Mix has served as the assistant director of the Toledo Elite Women’s AAU Program, where he helped numerous players reach their goals of playing college basketball. He is the owner and president of Steve Mix Basketball Academy and Camps and the president of Find a Way, a nonprofit organization that helps Toledo Public School athletes. He also spent more than a decade as an analyst on local television coverage of 76ers games.

Mix will cultivate high school coach relationships to maximize recruiting efforts and ensure the Lady Thunder continue to improve their game. This year the team started the season 6-0, their best start since 1996-97, when they also started the year 6-0. Senior Danielle Senf broke her own school record for steals, picking up 11. Although the team didn’t qualify for the MIAA tournament, they won double-digit games for the third time in four seasons under Barnes. Trine was 5-11 in the conference.

“I am excited to be a part of the Trine University athletic community. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to build my own program and reaching championship level at Trine,” Mix said. “It’s a thriving campus with serious student-athletes. I have no doubt that with my experience in the sport and their hard work and determination, the Lady Thunder can meet with success.”