Shumate returns to sidelines

After a seven-year absence, the winningest men's basketball coach in Southeast Missouri State University history -- by far -- is ready for a return to the court.

Ron Shumate, who built the Indians' program into an NCAA Division II powerhouse and laid the groundwork for their Division I move, recently accepted a position as the coach at Soddy-Daisy High School in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Shumate told me he is "excited to get back into it. I feel like I still have a lot of energy. My health's good and I've stayed up with the game."

Shumate, 64, compiled a 306-171 record in 16 seasons at Southeast from 1981-97, including a pair of Division II national runner-up finishes.

Before coming to Southeast, Shumate spent seven seasons at Tennessee-Chattanooga, posting a 139-61 and winning a Division II national title. His 23-year college coaching record is 445-232.

Since leaving Southeast, Shumate has basically been retired and living near Kentucky Lake with his wife Peggy, who is from the Chattanooga area.

Shumate said he had no intention of getting back into coaching until receiving a call from Soddy-Daisy principal Robert Smith, who Shumate had known from his coaching days at UTC. Smith was a UTC football player at the time.

"It's funny how it all came about," Shumate said. "Robert called me and said their team ended up 4-22. He said he knew I had built two basketball programs, at UTC and Southeast, and he needed somebody who can get in there and get their basketball program where it should be.

"I told him I didn't know. He just said to come down and talk. Peg's from down there anyway, so we sat down and talked. It was exciting to me because of the fact their program is down, and I'd coached high school for five years and I really enjoyed it. Plus, Peg was excited."

Shumate will try to turn around the hoop fortunes at one of Chattanooga's largest high schools, with an enrollment of about 1,700 students.

"I've never gone to a program since I've been coaching that had players ready to go," he said. "It's always you're at the bottom, show them how to get to the top."

If Shumate's rebuilding performances at UTC and Southeast are any indication, he will probably do just that.

Regardless of rumors on their sponsorship, the Capahas will definitely field a baseball team this summer.

Team officials are in negotiations with the primary sponsor of the past three years, Craftsman Union, along with other potential primary sponsors.

And anybody wishing to aid the Capahas financially can once again do so during their annual auction on March 20 at Westfield Shoppingtown West Park.

Congratulations to Southeast's Derek Winans for making the Academic All-America second team. Only 15 out of more than 4,000 Division I men's basketball players were honored.

Winans, a junior guard who has a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade point average, is one of the finest young men I have ever met and he is truly deserving of the award.

And contrary to what some recent FanSpeak comments suggest, Winans is definitely a legitimate Division I basketball player who could shine for plenty of teams around the country.

Southeast's 2004 football schedule has not yet been finalized, but the Indians' two Division I-A games will be at Bowling Green and Central Michigan.

While Central Michigan went just 3-9 last season and needed a 20-point rally to edge Eastern Kentucky, Bowling Green was 11-3 and finished 23rd nationally in both major polls.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.