Fan Speak March12

My old Kentucky hoops

A REQUEST of the sports department: There are a lot of Kentucky basketball fans throughout Southeast Missouri and southern Illinois. Many of us subscribe to your paper, and you give no coverage at all to Kentucky basketball. KFVS is courteous enough to carry almost all of the games in prime time. We've been watching these Wildcats for 30 years on TV, and you can't give them any coverage?

Support the Redhawks

REGARDING THE dismissal of Gary Garner as the Southeast Missouri State men's basketball coach: I know winning and losing falls on the coaches, but being able to bring in the type of players Southeast needs falls on the administration. The administration has the control to help make things happen. It saddens me that they will promise the moon to whomever comes in to fill the vacancy. The most successful coaches in the country can't have a winning program without the support of the administration. University president Dr. Dobbins needs to support the program with actions and not just words.

Sending a message

AFTER THE Southeast Missouri State women won their first Ohio Valley Conference basketball championship, they were giving out the awards and I heard enormous cheers when the players were introduced and a roar for coach B.J. Smith. When they announced athletic director Don Kaverman, there were some boos. When they introduced university president Ken Dobbins, the boos got noticeably louder. Then the fans started chanting, "Sign B.J. up, renew his contract." Why can't they get the message; this should have been done a long time ago. I think B.J. will get the girls going, and I really do think they will win an NCAA tournament game.

Write-in vote for coach

THE POLL in the Southeast Missourian listed several potential choices for the new coach of the Southeast men's basketball team, but it left out the most sensible candidate. I vote for the coach with the most wins in college history: Gene Bess.

Reason for (bad) season

WELCOME TO the world of "What have you done for me today?" It is a sad day when full responsibility for the this season's lack of winning is pinned on Southeast men's basketball coach Gary Garner alone. Dr. Kenneth Dobbins might want to look at the budget Garner operated under, which was a fraction of other schools in this conference, such as Murray State. I guess the lack of players due to injury and other reasons and Garner's winning record in the past account for nothing. It is a shame Southeast teaches the theory "you had better produce for me today or you are history." That thinking makes it hard for employees to perform. Garner has been rebuilding the team for next season. I pity the poor successor. He better come in winning.

Change needed

THE ONLY way Southeast will have a successful athletic program is to dump the "bean counters." The athletic department budget has been managed through slashing individual sport budgets and making do with state receipts that are spread out over the entire university plus booster donations. Even the women's programs which were successful in the past are struggling. Wake up, Regents, and stop letting good coaches take the fall for less-than-desirable results. Clean house if you truly desire teams that win. Don't shortchange them with poor management.

Fan mail

I ENJOYED Marty Mishow's commentary about Gary Garner in Monday's paper, and for once almost entirely agreed with him. It is a shame Garner will not get a chance to coach the improved team coming next year.

Investigation? So what

I FIND it hard to believe that Southeast hasn't offered women's basketball coach B.J. Smith a contract extension. Even with the upcoming NCAA investigation into the program, I feel he deserves an extension, especially after leading the women to their first NCAA tournament berth. I think the university is using the investigation as a way to get rid of Smith instead of paying him the kind of money he deserves. If the administration doesn't want to pay these coaches good salaries and give them budgets to recruit with, then move back to Division II.

Bolen Field

ACCORDING TO reliable sources, there is a movement to change the name of Capaha Park's baseball field to Jess Bolen Field. I hope it happens. No one has worked harder and given more of his life to local baseball in general and the park at Capaha in particular.