Nutt adds second assistant

~ Jamie Rosser spent the last year coaching girls basketball.

First-year Southeast Missouri State men's basketball coach Dickey Nutt wants to make recruiting in talent-rich Memphis, Tenn., a top priority.

Nutt believes he took a major step in aiding that cause with the hiring of one of his former players.

Jamie Rosser, a Memphis native who has been coaching girls high school basketball in the city, is the second assistant to join Nutt's Southeast staff.

"I am so excited to have Jamie join our staff," Nutt said. "I think he's going to bring a lot to our basketball program.

"Memphis may be the best basketball city in the south. Memphis is known for its basketball and we want to make sure we have presence there. He is so connected in Memphis, having a lot of contacts throughout the years not only in high school basketball but AAU basketball. He's so well thought of in the city of Memphis."

Rosser, a graduate of Overton High School in Memphis, was ranked the nation's top junior college point guard before transferring to Arkansas State when Nutt was the coach there.

Rosser played two seasons under Nutt at ASU, averaging 11.4 points per game as a senior in 2000-01.

After playing one season of professional basketball in Lithuania, Rosser returned to Memphis to begin his coaching career. This past season he led what previously had been a down girls program at his alma mater -- Overton -- to the state tournament.

"The fact that he played for me at Arkansas State makes his addition very special for me," Nutt said. "Sometimes you have young people that play for you and you just know that some time down the road they're going to make an outstanding coach. That's what he was on the floor for me.

"I think he's going to be an outstanding recruiter. Then you throw in what type of person he is, which I know first-hand, and I think we're getting a great young coach."

Rosser is eager to help Nutt build a winner.

"I come in with high expectations and I'm ready to get to work," Rosser said. "This is a great opportunity for me to do well and I look forward to coaching with coach Nutt, my college coach."

Rosser joins Jeremy Case as Nutt's two assistants so far, with a third and final assistant yet to be hired.

"We're still trying to finish our recruiting and hopefully in the next two or three weeks we'll finalize our last assistant coach," said Nutt, who has signed five players for next season and still has some scholarship offers on the table.

Case played four seasons at Kansas as a reserve guard and was a member of the Jayhawks' 2007-08 national championship team. He spent 2008-09 as a graduate assistant at Kansas.

Nutt said it doesn't concern him that Rosser and Case have virtually no college coaching experience.

"There's nothing wrong with finding good, young solid guys that want to succeed in the business, and they're hungry," Nutt said. "There's no doubt in my mind these two young men will be very successful."