Redhawks receive desperately needed boost of confidence

Considering that the Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team barely lost at Western Illinois on Dec. 10, you figured the Redhawks would have a good chance to turn the tables at home.

That's exactly what happened Sunday as the Redhawks picked up a much-needed 64-63 win to break a five-game losing streak.

In the big picture of the season, during which the Redhawks are unlikely to be a factor in the Ohio Valley Conference race, I don't know how significant Sunday's victory was.

But for Southeast's overall confidence and mental outlook, it had to be huge.

Being swept by a mediocre Western Illinois team that is playing with just about as few scholarship players as Southeast couldn't have done much for the Redhawks' outlook.

Now that the 3-8 Redhawks have another win under their belts, maybe they can pick up at least one more before resuming OVC play Jan. 3.

Tuesday's game at Arkansas State will be a tough one to get because the Red Wolves are off to a strong start, faring much better than many people expected under first-year coach John Brady, who took LSU to a Final Four.

But Southeast should be favored against first-year Division I program SIU-Edwardsville on New Year's Eve at the Show Me Center.

Based on the tough schedule they've played -- facing the likes of Kansas State, Iowa, New Mexico and Bradley -- even a 4-9 record for the Redhawks entering 2009 wouldn't be all that bad.

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I was impressed with the resumes and accomplishments of both finalists for the Southeast athletic director position.

So I've got no problem with former Eastern Kentucky and Ole Miss AD John Shafer getting the job. He certainly has a strong background in the profession.

Now it's going to be interesting to see how much actual control Shafer will have over the athletic department.

Assuming Scott Edgar doesn't return as Southeast's basketball coach -- a fairly solid bet, I would say -- one of Shafer's first priorities undoubtably will be to begin a preliminary search for somebody to eventually take over the program.

I wouldn't be surprised if Shafer already has a list of potential candidates, either coaches he knows personally or coaches who come highly recommended by people he knows and trusts.

Shafer doesn't begin his duties at Southeast until Feb. 1, but I'm sure he's already got plenty of plans in the works.

By the way, not that it makes Shafer a great AD, but I think it's kind of cool that he is a former standout baseball player.

Shafer, 62, was an all-SEC shortstop at Auburn and later played professionally in the Kansas City Royals organization in 1969 and 1970.

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It's also kind of cool that somebody from the region is the all-time leading men's basketball scorer at tradition-rich North Carolina.

Poplar Bluff's Tyler Hansbrough now holds that honor after breaking the record during top-ranked Carolina's win over Evansville on Thursday.

Considering that most elite players these days rarely stay in school for even three years -- let alone four, like Hansbrough has done -- his career scoring mark for the Tar Heels might last forever.

I've never met Hansbrough, but everything I've heard and read suggest he's a fine person with an incredible work ethic.

No matter what type of NBA player Hansbrough turns out to be -- there is plenty of debate about that among the so-called experts -- he'll go down as being one of the top college performers of all time.

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The field might not be as strong as most years, but that shouldn't detract from the excitement surrounding the annual Southeast Missourian Christmas tournament.

It's still one of the highlights of each area basketball season and among the events that I always look forward to the most.

Scott County Central, despite being among the smallest schools in the 16-team field, is the favorite to capture its first title since 1990. That year the Marcus Timmons-led Braves knocked off Charleston in the championship game.

There might not be any talents like the brilliant Timmons in this year's field, but the tournament -- which begins Friday -- still should be lots of fun.

See you at the Show Me Center.

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Steve Tappmeyer, who played basketball at Southeast in the late 1970s, reached a major career milestone last week.

Tappmeyer notched his 400th victory as men's basketball coach at perennial Division II power Northwest Missouri State.

Entering the weekend, Tappmeyer had a 400-197 in 21 seasons at Northwest.

Tappmeyer has pursued the Southeast coaching job both times it opened up since the university moved to Division I, but he never has been selected as a finalist.

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Here's wishing everybody a healthy and happy holiday season.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.