GARNER FINDS ASSISTANCE; INDIANS HIRE BEAN, SCHUBERTH

New Southeast Missouri State University basketball coach Gary Garner feels like he hit the jackpot with the two assistant coaches who will join him for the 1997-98 season.

Garner announced Friday that he has filled two of his three assistant coaching positions and the pair will certainly bring impressive credentials to the Indians' program.

Joining Garner's first staff at Southeast will be Tom Schuberth, an assistant at Memphis University for the past five years, and Anthony Beane, a former All-American player at Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff who served as an assistant at Southwest Missouri-West Plains Junior College last season.

"I feel very fortunate to be able to attract an assistant coach the caliber of Tom Schuberth," said Garner. "Schuberth is nationally recognized as a top recruiter and he has experience recruiting Memphis, St. Louis and Chicago, which will be vital areas for our recruiting efforts.

"Anthony Beane is a talented young coach with ties to this area. I think he will be a real asset to our program."

Schuberth, voted as one of three most visible assistant coaches in the country by Hoop Scoop Magazine, has a reputation as one of the nation's premier recruiters. During his tenure at Memphis under head coach Larry Finch, the Tigers had the top-ranked recruiting class in the nation, participated in the sweet 16, won two conference championships and made post-season play four of the five years.

Schuberth left Memphis after last season as part of a coaching shakeup that also saw the departure of Finch.

Prior to joining the Memphis staff, Schuberth was the head assistant coach at Northeast Louisiana from 1983-1992 and he was an assistant coach at North Alabama from 1982-1983.

Schuberth, originally from Chicago, played collegiate basketball for one season at Nevada-Las Vegas and three seasons at Mississippi State, where he was a two-time Academic All-Southeastern Conference performer.

Beane is a familiar face in Southeast Missouri basketball circles, beginning when he earned all-state honors at Bernie High School. He then gained All-America status while playing for the Three Rivers Community College team that captured the national junior college championship in 1992.

Beane played two seasons at Kansas State, where he was the Big Eight Conference Newcomer of the Year, All-Big Eight for two seasons and Sports Illustrated Clutch Player of the Year.

Beane began his coaching career as an assistant at Allen County Community College in Kansas during the 1995-96 season. Last season he was at Southwest Missouri State-West Plains as an assistant coach.

Schuberth and Beane will begin their duties at Southeast immediately. Garner will hire a third assistant at a later date.