Jase Herl pondered his future on the 450-mile drive down Interstate 70 eastbound — Grand Junction to Goodland, Kansas — on course for a figurative and literal life crossroads. In 2011, Herl left behind his life as an all-conference Division II basketball player at Mesa State for what he figured, maybe, he was born to do.
Ask any of the roughly 5,000 residents in Goodland, about 20 miles out from the Colorado border, and locals will recognize the Herl namesake. In 1960, a native Kansan bought a car dealership in town, and 20 years later, he passed the business down to his son. Jase Herl was next in line.
“I initially moved back to work for dad,” he said.
But home is where another dream started, this one on the basketball court, where Herl broke school records as a high school star. A 6-foot-3 guard who often led his teams in rebounding at Goodland, Dodge City Junior College and Mesa State. A self-described scrapper whose “game wasn’t very pretty, that’s for sure,” he said. Herl couldn’t give up on the game. He wanted to coach.
Dad’s advice: “The car dealership will always be here. Don’t hold yourself back.”
Herl, 30, is now among the nation’s youngest Division I men’s basketball coaches as the interim at Colorado State, albeit under unusual circumstances. CSU promoted Herl only after head coach Larry Eustachy and assistant Steve Barnes were placed on separate administrative leaves through the course of an internal investigation still without resolution. Herl confirmed on Friday that CSU authorized he coach the team through the conclusion of the Mountain West tournament. Beyond that it’s anyone’s guess who will be the coach, although a source has told The Denver Post Eustachy will not be brought back.
The odds are stacked against Herl’s return should Eustachy and CSU part ways and especially if the administration is intent on cleaning house. But history will show that among a web of missteps dating back to 2014 between Eustachy and CSU, the Rams found stability from an unlikely source. Not long ago, Herl was selling cars and coaching seventh-grade boys’ basketball in small-town Kansas.
“It put a lot of things in perspective,” he said.
Those who know Herl best aren’t surprised by his quick rise. Jon McLean coached Herl all four years of high school where he played varsity as a freshman. McLean always envisioned Herl as a coach, and then a chance opportunity came into focus. In 2012, Northwest Kansas Technical College in Goodland started a basketball program. Herl was only 23 at the time, but still carried the team-captain reputation from his playing days in the area. Herl applied and got the job.
“That speaks volumes of how people respected Jase in Goodland,” McLean said. “I know they had 100 applicants for that job and they put their trust in Jase Herl at 23 years old. He started it and he did remarkable. I’d go watch him coach and it looked like he’d been doing it for 20 years. He just was that good at it.”
The numbers back up McLean’s assessment as Northwest amassed 56 wins over Herl’s three seasons. Five of his players earned Division I scholarships, including CSU-bound guard Gian Clavell — the 2016-17 Mountain West Player of the Year. Herl then joined the staff at South Plains (Texas) Junior College for one season as an assistant coach and combined forces with another future Ram in forward Che Bob. That pipeline made Herl a natural fit to join CSU’s staff under Eustachy the following season.
Herl credits relationship building for his quick ascension.
“He’s really like a big brother,” Bob said.
And it was Herl’s ability to relate with players nearly his own age that had CSU putting him in charge of getting out of its current mess. There are few changes he can make to alter the Rams’ course through their final few games. So Herl picked a person-first approach to ride the storm — even after CSU was blown out by 33 points by Boise State a few days ago.
“These guys are going through a lot, every student-athlete is and everybody has their own battles and their own things they’re going through,” Herl said. “We’re trying to keep it light. We’re trying to keep it encouraging. … I hope that everybody comes out of it learning something in how we can handle adversity. For the guys in their eyes, I’m sure their future could be a little unknown as far as what is going to happen — just like ours is as a staff.”
The message has resonated with players like junior center Nico Carvacho, who also respects Herl’s path to Fort Collins.
“He had to fight for everything he got,” Carvacho said. “Like any of us, we weren’t all big five-star recruits. We had to work our way up and get our own reputation.”
The irony of Herl’s decision to coach basketball over selling cars? Both professions require the same skill-set. Herl’s father, Jay, brimmed with pride during a phone interview to discuss his son’s unusual path. He’s certain Jace would still make an ace salesman.
“We win and lose every day in the car business,” Jay Herl said. “Bottom line is that you’ve got to do it the way you feel is the best way for everybody involved.”
For at least three more games — at Nevada, senior night against New Mexico and the first round of the Mountain West tournament on March 7 — Herl can audition for whatever comes next in his coaching journey.
“When you look at it from a big picture, it can be a little overwhelming,” Herl said. “But when you break it down day-by-day and you try to do things the right way, you hope that it works out for you in the right way and you’re able to land on your feet.
“Wherever that may be.”
