Garner on solid ground despite recent record

Despite a third consecutive losing season in men's basketball -- and dwindling attendance -- Southeast Missouri State University athletic director Don Kaverman says the school's administration remains in support of coach Gary Garner.

"Absolutely. Unequivocally," Kaverman said.

And, in response to the question a lot of fans have been asking, Kaverman emphasized that Garner will return for his eighth season as the Indians' coach next year. Garner has two seasons remaining on his contract that runs through June 30, 2006, at a base salary of $94,300 per season.

"I can tell you point blank without a doubt Gary Garner will be back next year, and we hope he's our coach for a long time to come," Kaverman said.

Saturday's 88-71 loss at Tennessee-Martin put the finishing touches on an 11-16 overall record, including 4-12 in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Indians wound up tied for last place in the 11-team league and, for the first time under Garner, did not qualify for the eight-team conference tournament.

All this despite high hopes entering the campaign as the Indians seemed to have finally upgraded their talent level enough to contend for an upper-division OVC finish following showings of seventh place last year and eighth place in 2001-02. In both those years, the conference consisted of nine teams.

In fact, the Indians appeared to be improved enough that the OVC's coaches and sports information directors picked Southeast fourth in the league's preseason poll. Instead, the Indians -- despite compiling a 7-4 non-conference record -- were only able to equal their overall win total from last year's 11-19 squad, which went 5-11 in league play.

"Clearly folks are disappointed with the season and I know Gary is right at the top of the list," Kaverman said.

Kaverman pointed to the number of close OVC losses the Indians suffered as evidence that Southeast was not far off this season. The Indians dropped eight league games by a total of 27 points and lost just four conference contests by more than six points.

"We were very, very close and we just didn't quite get over the top in a number of OVC games, but it shows you how close we really are," Kaverman said. "If half of our close losses were wins, we'd have been fighting for a top four spot in the OVC."

A strong start

Garner, a former assistant coach under Norm Stewart at Missouri, won a national title and went 138-44 in six seasons at Division II Fort Hays (Kan.) State immediately before coming to Cape Girardeau. He took over at Southeast under some trying circumstances as former coach Ron Shumate was dismissed following the 1996-97 season for NCAA rules violations that ultimately landed the Indians on probation.

It didn't take long for Garner to make an impact with the Indians. Following four straight losing seasons by the Indians, Garner's first Southeast team went 14-13 in 1997-98. The next year, the Indians were 20-9 and lost in the finals of the OVC tournament on a shot at the buzzer.

Then, finally having a roster that was solely recruited by Garner and his staff, came the Indians' breakthrough campaign that featured a 24-7 record, their first OVC regular-season and tournament titles and their first NCAA Division I tournament berth.

An 18-12 season followed before the bottom fell out. The Indians went 6-22 in 2001-02, followed by 11-19 and then this season's 11-16.

Kaverman pointed to some extenuating circumstances that he said contributed to the plummet of Southeast's program, most notably the administration's decision to dismiss expected star players Bobby Smith and Terry Rogers prior to the 2001-02 season after they ran into off-the-court problems.

Smith, a Villanova transfer, was expected to contend for OVC player of the year honors, while Rogers, a 6-foot-10 center, was expected to be among the league's top big men.

Along with some other players leaving the program for various reasons, coupled with a newly enacted NCAA rule that prohibited programs from signing no more than five players in any one year and no more than eight players in a two-year period, the Indians were caught short of scholarship players. They haven't been at the NCAA's maximum 13 scholarships for several seasons but should be up to that level next year.

"I think we have to remember and focus on what happened three years ago, when we made some very tough decisions in our program, when we chose to disassociate ourselves with some individuals who got into some trouble off the court," Kaverman said. "We thought we made the right decisions, but it just so happened they coincided with the NCAA putting in the new rule which limited our ability to replace those players.

"When you get down two or three players, it takes a while to dig your way out. It has taken a while, but I think you can see the light at the end of the tunnel."

Garner also frustrated

Garner said he understands why Southeast fans are frustrated by the turn of events with the program after it appeared to be thriving just a few years ago.

"Our fans are very frustrated, very disappointed, and rightfully so. We're all frustrated," Garner said. "I say this on the radio after games all the time, but we have a great group of fans for our level of college basketball. For them to keep coming out and supporting us, even though we haven't been winning, says a lot."

Southeast's attendance this season -- 3,813 fans per home game -- was the lowest it has been since Garner took over the program. The Indians averaged more than 5,000 fans for three straight seasons from 1998-2001, with a high of 5,203. Garner's first season attracted an average of 4,912 fans, while Shumate's last campaign drew 4,384.

"That concerns us," Kaverman said of the attendance figures. "We appreciate all the fans' patience and sticking with us, but your best marketing tool is winning. Winning brings the fans back."

Kaverman and Garner both fully expect the Indians -- who graduated just one full-time starter and will return seven seniors -- to start winning again next season.

"With the guys we have returning, and the ones we plan to bring in, we can jump it up there pretty good," said Garner. "I'm really excited about next season, mainly because of all the experience we'll have. You look at the teams that finished at the top of the conference this year, they were the most experienced teams."

Said Kaverman, "We'll have seven seniors and we're bringing in some good players. I feel really good about the situation, and we fully expect Southeast will challenge for the OVC championship year in and year out. There's no reason we shouldn't. You don't win a national championship on any level without knowing what you're doing. Gary has been around a long time. He knows how to fix it, and he will fix it."

Jim Limbaugh, the president of the Southeast Booster Club, which is the primary fund-raising organization for the athletic department, said the boosters are behind Garner as much as possible. But as a former Southeast football player and assistant football coach, as well as a current bank president, Limbaugh knows more than most people how important the bottom line is in any occupation.

"There isn't anybody that doesn't like Coach Garner. I think everybody knows he's a person of high integrity and character," Limbaugh said. "But at the end of the day we're all accountable, whether it's being a banker or a sports writer. You're all accountable for your results.

"I think the booster club supports Coach Garner, but we also thirst for wins. I think Coach Garner has another year to be able to turn it around. I think he'll have a veteran team, which the top teams in the conference this year had. There is no substitute for experience."

Garner and Kaverman both acknowledge, without actually coming out and saying it, that the coach's future in Cape Girardeau will likely hinge on the performance of next season's team.

"Next year will really be a key year for our program, that's about all I want to say about it," Garner said.

Added Kaverman, asked whether next year's record will be critical: "I think so. Gary knows that. He's been in this business a long time. We can't go forever with 11-16."