OAKES, N.D. (NewsDakota.com)- A former assistant of the Oakes High boys basketball team will now take the reigns as the head coach starting in the 2018-19 season.

Nolen Peterson was named this week as the next coach of the Tornadoes. Peterson was on Brandon Bata’s staff, which saw Oakes in the Class B Region I and Region III Championship games in 2014 and 2015.

“Just being gone for a couple of years really sparked my interest.” said Peterson. “I really thought ‘I really miss this’, so when the position opened, I was really excited to apply.”

Peterson takes over from Brian Dethlefsen, who had a 15-28 record in two season, but his teams went 0-4 in post-season play.

“I think our biggest strength is our returners, and our ability to run, and our young team.” said Peterson. “We have a lot of young kids coming back to play on the varsity, and a lot of kids are going to get a chance to contribute.”

Jordan Lynch will join the coaching staff as Peterson’s assistant.