CANDIDATE NO. 3; IOWA STATE'S SAM WEAVER; EX-SOUTHEAST ASSISTANT WANTS TO RETURN TO CAPE

It has been said you can't go home again, but Sam Weaver wants to shoot that theory all to heck.

While Cape Girardeau isn't technically Weaver's home, he has spent enough time here -- and in the region -- that he would feel mighty comfortable if he is hired as the new head men's basketball coach at Southeast Missouri State University.

Weaver, an Iowa State assistant who is also a former Southeast assistant, was the third of four finalists to visit the Southeast campus this week, following Fort Hays (Kan.) head coach Gary Garner on Monday and Purdue assistant Bruce Weber on Tuesday.

Missouri assistant Kim Anderson will round out the week-long visits of coaching candidates when he comes to town on Friday. Southeast could name a new coach by as early as next week.

"It's great to be back in Cape Girardeau," said Weaver as he met the media Wednesday afternoon at the Show Me Center. "I'd love to be able to come back here and coach again."

Weaver's ties to the region actually began in 1977 when he played basketball at Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff. He helped lead the Raiders to the 1979 national junior-college championship by earning NJCAA tournament MVP honors.

After playing basketball and earning his undergraduate degree at Henderson State in Arkansas, Weaver came back to the region in 1981 as a Southeast assistant coach.

Weaver served on former coach Ron Shumate's staff from 1981-87, helping recruit many of the players that allowed the Indians to become one of the nation's premier Division II basketball programs. While at Southeast, he also earned his master's degree.

After leaving Southeast, Weaver spent one season as an assistant at Drake, one season as an assistant at Missouri Southern, four seasons as an assistant at Southern Illinois and three seasons as head coach at Alcorn State before joining the staff at Iowa State for the 1996-97 campaign.

Weaver helped recruit many of the players -- including current NBA player Chris Carr -- that allowed SIU to make four postseason appearances during his tenure there.

Of recruiting in general, Weaver said, "The things that matter most are first, the institution you're recruiting to. Southeast was good to me in past recruiting. The biggest factor has been to sell myself as a trustworthy person.

"I know there is a concern about the relationship with the community and the region. Having played here and coached here, I feel I have a good reputation."

Weaver, 38, believes he would have a definite edge as Southeast's head coach if the school does receive some kind of NCAA sanctions -- which is a possibility because of the ongoing NCAA investigation that led to Shumate's dismissal.

As head coach at Alcorn State, Weaver took over a program that was under NCAA investigation. Several games into his first season, the school was hit with some pretty severe NCAA sanctions, including a reduction of scholarships and a ban on postseason play.

Still, Alcorn officials said that Weaver did a more than admirable job and had the program headed in the right direction when he left for Iowa State, even though he coached all three seasons under those NCAA sanctions. Weaver went 20-58 at Alcorn, but the squad went 10-15 -- including 7-7 in conference play -- during his last season.

"I think I would have an advantage (over the other candidates if Southeast receives some sanctions). I don't think I'd miss a beat in any way," he said. "You must move into the future. You have to have a plan in place.

"You have to continue to build. We did that at Alcorn. We continued to sign some very good players and I think we could do that here."

Weaver acknowledged the tremendous program Shumate built on the Division II level and how difficult it was for the first five seasons of Division I play as the Indians were not eligible for the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.

Now he'd like to be chosen to usher the program into Division I success.

"The success I have enjoyed at this university was tremendous," said Weaver. "I'd love to have the opportunity to come back and continue the drive in Division I. The potential here is outstanding."