“He’s a recruiting machine.”

A compliment to the utmost degree, that is all NIU basketball assistant coach Carl Armato had to say about the Huskies’ most recent hire, Rick Ray.

Ray joins NIU head coach Rob Judson’s staff after seven seasons at Indiana State. Ironically, Ray’s replacement at Indiana State is former NIU assistant Benjy Taylor.

“I could not pass up the opportunity to further my career by moving from being the No. 2 assistant at Indiana State to being the recruiting coordinator and No. 1 assistant here at NIU,” said Ray, 34. “I am looking forward to the challenge.”

Taylor served at NIU from 1995 to 2000, and was most recently the head coach of Division III North Central College in Naperville.

Ray takes the place of Mike Shepherd, who left for the University of Nevada at Las Vegas and its new head coach, Lon Kruger. Shepherd, along with Judson, served under Kruger at the University of Illinois.

In another tie to U. of I., Judson needed a replacement for the director of basketball operations position when he found out Steve Christiansen received the head job at Triton College. To fill the vacancy, Judson called on one of his former players he coached while with the Illini: Sean Harrington.

Harrington, who played with NIU alumnus Marcus Smallwood at Elgin High School, comes to DeKalb from the University of Kansas where he was the administrative assistant last season.