Ex-Southeast assistant Schuberth gets his first job as a head coach

~ The former Garner assistant will be introduced Friday at the University of Texas-Pan American.

Former Southeast Missouri State assistant basketball coach Tom Schuberth is finally going to get a chance to run his own program.

The Monitor in McAllen, Texas, reported in Tuesday's edition that Schuberth will be named the University of Texas-Pan American head coach during a Friday news conference.

The newspaper said Schuberth gave UTPA director of athletics Scott Street a verbal commitment over the weekend, and the paperwork was completed Monday.

Reached by telephone Tuesday, Schuberth told the Southeast Missourian: "I'm excited and very grateful for this opportunity. I'm really looking forward to getting started."

Schuberth, most recently the associate head coach at Central Florida, was one of three original finalists for the UTPA position. He beat out Creighton assistant Brian Fish, after former Mississippi State head coach Richard Williams withdrew his name from the field of candidates last week.

According to The Monitor, "Fish was thought to be the front-runner heading into the on-campus interview process, but Schuberth blew away the search committee, the administration and the players once in the Rio Grande Valley."

The Monitor said "Schuberth didn't need an introduction when meeting the Broncs' players last week, already having their names memorized and presenting them with individualized packets."

Schuberth, 48, has been part of 11 NCAA tournament teams during 23 years as an assistant, but he has never been a head coach.

Schuberth was Gary Garner's chief recruiter during Garner's first four seasons at Southeast, when the team went 76-41, including a 24-7 mark in 1999-2000 that featured the program's only OVC championship and only NCAA Division I tournament berth.

After Schuberth left Southeast following the 2000-01 season, Southeast had just one winning record over the next five years, which led to Garner's contract not being renewed.

Schuberth publicly expressed interest in the Southeast position, but he was not one of the three finalists. The job ultimately went to Tennessee assistant and former Murray State head coach Scott Edgar.

UTPA has had just one winning season in the past 12 years, so Schuberth knows he will have his work cut out for him in trying to build the program.

"There are a lot of challenges that lie ahead. It's kind of scary in the position I'm in, because they haven't been very successful," Schuberth told the Southeast Missourian. "But I've got an opportunity here and I want to make the most of it."