Edgar makes his case for Redhawks post

Scott Edgar won big in the Ohio Valley Conference as the head coach at Murray State for four years.

He believes he can do the same at Southeast Missouri State.

Edgar was the first of three finalists for the vacant Southeast's men's basketball coaching position brought to campus for a series of interviews on Thursday.

He met with various Southeast administrators much of the day, talked with current players and then spoke at a public forum in the Show Me Center meeting rooms.

Later, he met with the media.

"This is a sleeping giant," Edgar said. "When I met with the players, we put on the board '2007 OVC champions.' That's our goal. I'm totally prepared to take this program back to the top."

The 50-year-old Edgar recently concluded his first season as an assistant at Tennessee, which won the Southeastern Conference East Division title and lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

But Southeast fans are no doubt most familiar with Edgar through his coaching stint at arch-rival Murray State from 1991 to 1995.

Edgar led the Racers to three OVC regular-season championships and two NCAA tournament berths along with one NIT bid. He had a 79-40 record at Murray State, including a 56-16 OVC mark, and he was twice named OVC coach of the year.

Edgar, who was accompanied to Cape Girardeau by his wife, Elaine, and their son, high school sophomore Scott William, said Southeast basketball made an impression on him during his first season with the Racers in 1991-92, which also happened to be Southeast's first Division I season.

Murray State was on its way to winning the OVC title, but late in the year a Southeast squad that finished 12-16 upset the Racers 80-75 at the Show Me Center.

"I walked into a phenomenal arena and a frenzied crowd," Edgar said. "I told my coaches that night on the way back, if there's a program that can overtake Murray State, it's Southeast Missouri."

Edgar cited the Show Me Center, fan support and Cape Girardeau as reasons that make the job attractive to him.

"It's beautiful from the outside driving up, and it's beautiful from the inside," Edgar said of the Show Me Center. "When we played over here, it was as a tough a place to play as any in the conference.

"I really believe Cape Girardeau is an attractive community. We drove in last night, and we got a great feeling coming in here."

While dominating at Murray State, Edgar did not fare nearly as well during his other collegiate head coaching job, at Duquesne from 1995 to 1998. He had a three-year record of 29-55 at the university in his hometown of Pittsburgh.

In fairness to Edgar, few coaches have succeeded at Duquesne over the years.

"I probably didn't do enough research into it," Edgar said. "I got enamored with the fact of moving home. But I was out of my recruiting area. It probably wasn't a good fit."

Edgar, who has a 108-95 career head coaching record, was the director of basketball operations for Billy Tubbs at Texas Christian in 1999 after leaving Duquesne, and later spent three years as an assistant at Alabama-Birmingham under Mike Anderson, who recently became the head coach at Missouri.

Edgar also has been an assistant for six years at Arkansas under Nolan Richardson, and assisted Richardson at Tulsa as well.

At all of Edgar's stops -- including as a head coach -- his teams featured pressure defense and up-tempo offense.

"I like to play at a fast pace, play pressure defense. I like to give players freedom on offense," Edgar said.

Edgar has a reputation as a strong recruiter -- he has had a hand in the recruitment of 17 players who went on to play professionally, including several at Murray State -- and he said that would serve him well at Southeast.

"I think recruiting has always been my strength," he said. "I've always had an ability to find talent, maybe where others didn't. I think we can get some kids in here."

Edgar said he has been happy as an assistant coach, but was looking to become a head coach again -- as long as the timing and fit were right. He believes Southeast fills both requirements.

"I wanted to be a head coach again, if it's the right place. This is the right place," he said. "It has to be a good fit. This is a good fit."

Edgar said having been in the OVC gives him an advantage over other candidates for the job.

"I think it gives me a huge edge," he said. "I understand the travel, I've been in most of the arenas, and I think I understand the exact type of athlete it takes."

Along with his recruiting expertise, Edgar said he believes he's the best person for the job because of "my winning experience at this level, my passion. No team or staff will outwork Southeast Missouri.

"I can see myself coaching here a long time and living here a long time," he added.

The second finalist, former Missouri assistant Jay Spoonhour, will be in Cape Girardeau today with a public forum set for 3:30 p.m in the Show Me Center meeting rooms.

Former Mississippi head coach Rod Barnes, the third finalist, will be in town Monday with a public forum also scheduled for 3:30 p.m in the Show Me Center meeting rooms.

Southeast athletic director Don Kaverman said the university hopes to name a replacement for Gary Garner next week. Garner's contract was not renewed following a 7-20 season. He had coached Southeast the past nine years.