Having been around basketball all his life, it was only natural for Sean Harrington to want to make basketball his career.

The former Elgin High School standout and University of Illinois three-point specialist has recently taken over as the director of basketball operations for NIU.

Sean’s father, Jim Harrington, head basketball coach at Elgin High School, remembered some of Sean’s first basketball moments.

“He used to play with Nerf balls in the gym,” the elder Harrington said. “He would always shoot before and after the games. I think he’s been around coaches most of his life. Our house has always been open to coaches; other coaches would always stop by.”

From 1995 to 1999, Sean started for the Maroons, tallying a school-record 2,119 points in his career and averaging 24 points during his senior season. Sean also played with Marcus Smallwood, former NIU guard, who is a year younger.

Jim coached not only Sean, but his other son, Dusty Harrington, on the same team for Sean’s first two seasons.

“It was probably the best four years of my coaching career,” Jim said. “I think you’d have a problem if your kid was the 13th man on the team, but obviously with Sean being the best player on the team, it made it a lot easier. To have both of them start for two years was a great experience.”

Sean was recruited by Rob Judson, then a coach at Illinois, and went on to play for the Fighting Illini for four years and finished third in career three-pointers with 191.

“Coach Judson recruited me to Illinois, so I really got a chance to know him there,” Sean said. “He helped me to settle in with living on my own. It was a great couple of years.”

Then came Sean’s coaching career. He spent last season at the University of Kansas, where he served under former Illini coach Bill Self as an administrative assistant/video coordinator.

Sean’s goal is to someday be a head coach, and said he has taken coaching philosophies from all of the coaches he has worked with.

“Being around a lot of good coaches, the secret is to be able to relate to players,” Sean said. “I’ve been fortunate to have coaches that have been able to relate to me really well.”

Sean is now in his second week of work with NIU, which includes calling early recruits and high school coaches and coordinating film exchanges. He’s seen the benefit of reuniting with family friend and former coach Judson, and being closer to his family in Elgin.

“I’m excited to be here,” Sean said. “Having played ball in the state, it’s nice to be back. Especially working with Coach Judson – a coach I really respect.”

Now that he has been a coach, Sean said he can better appreciate the coaching he received as a player.

“It’s a lot different being a player,” Sean said. “Coaches put in a lot more time than players, and last year I got a feel for that.”