Southeast closes in on a basketball coach -- finally

To diehard fans of the Southeast Missouri State men's basketball program, it probably seems like they've had to wait forever to learn the identity of their new coach.

It has been more than a month since Gary Garner's contract was not renewed -- Southeast announced that decision on March 1 -- which, by most standards when it comes to hiring a coach, is a fairly long time.

But Southeast supporters shouldn't have to wait much longer because the university expects to introduce the Redhawks' next coach this week.

Two finalists -- Scott Edgar and Jay Spoonhour -- have already been brought to campus for a series of interviews. Rod Barnes is coming into town Monday. The winner of this three-man lottery will be announced in the days to follow.

At this point, I think it's too close to call because all three candidates seem to have their share of good points -- as well as what might be considered drawbacks -- and also apparently the support of various key Southeast officials.

Edgar and Barnes seem like the safer picks -- at least on paper -- because both have extensive head coaching experience and have put together several impressive seasons.

Edgar, currently an assistant at Tennessee, is best known regionally for his four successful years as the head coach at Murray State from 1991 to 1995. With the Racers, Edgar went 79-40, including a 56-16 Ohio Valley Conference record. He won three OVC regular-season championships and gained two NCAA tournament berths along with one NIT bid.

Critics might point out that the 50-year-old Edgar stumbled in his other head coaching stint, going 29-55 in three seasons at Duquesne, but just about every coach at that doormat program has failed over the years.

Barnes, who was recently let go following his eighth season as the head coach at Mississippi, started out like gangbusters with the Rebels.

Barnes' Ole Miss teams posted three 20-win seasons in his first four years and earned three NCAA tournament berths. He earned national coach of the year honors in 2001 for a 27-8 campaign that ended in the NCAA Sweet 16 -- the only time in program history the Rebels have advanced that far.

Critics might point out that the 40-year-old Barnes fizzled out badly at Ole Miss, with four straight losing seasons and a collective Southeastern Conference record of 17-47 during that span, although many people consider the Rebels' job to be the worst basketball gig in the SEC.

Spoonhour, who recently finished up a two-year run as an assistant at Missouri, is probably best known regionally through his fairly famous father. Charlie Spoonhour was something of a state icon after building successful programs at Southwest Missouri State and St. Louis University.

Jay Spoonhour worked under his father at both St. Louis and UNLV, and he even filled in as interim head coach at UNLV for the final 11 games of 2003-04 when Charlie had some health problems.

Spoonhour led Wabash Valley Community College to the 2001 national junior college championship with a 36-1 record, as he was named national coach of the year.

Critics might point out that the 35-year-old Spoonhour lacks experience, since he has only been a head coach for a little more than a year -- and really only for several games on the Division I level -- but he appears to have plenty of support for this job across Missouri because of his name and his ties to the state.

As you can see, there appears to be plenty of intrigue regarding who the Redhawks' next coach will be.

I mentioned earlier about how the three candidates seem to have the support of various key Southeast officials.

I say that because sources told me Southeast athletic director Don Kaverman had originally narrowed his list of finalists to just Edgar and Barnes. Kaverman was said to be enamored with both.

But the same sources told me Southeast president Ken Dobbins was swamped with calls from some of the state's big-time movers and shakers -- even politicians -- pushing Spoonhour for the job, which is how he apparently became a finalist.

I'm not knocking Spoonhour, who displayed plenty of confidence and charisma during his public forum. He also reportedly had quite an impressive presentation during his daylong interview process with Southeast administrators.

Besides, who knows if Spoonhour will be one of the next young coaching hot shots to make his mark nationally, which seems to be happening quite a bit these days.

If Southeast officials let Spoonhour get away, and the above transpires, will they end up kicking themselves?

And, even though I mentioned that Edgar and Barnes seem to be the safer picks, that really guarantees little. Garner also appeared to be the safer choice because of his head coaching background, and he started off with a bang before things turned sour, which led to the current search.

The bottom line? I have absolutely no idea who will be introduced as the new coach the next several days, although my feeling is it will be either Edgar or Barnes.

Also, I don't know about you, but I'm a little tired of all the speculation -- not that it hasn't been fun -- regarding this situation.

I'm more than ready for the announcement to be made --and that time is almost upon us.

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Like others, I'm surprised Southeast dragged the coaching search on this long, not only for more than a month but also recently.

Why not bring in all three finalists this past week, and be ready to introduce the coach Monday?

The longer Southeast waits, the more it's probably going to hurt recruiting with the spring signing period beginning Wednesday.

Right now, Southeast has only one available scholarship, but it's hard to imagine at least a couple more not coming open once a new coach is hired.

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That was some kind of performance Southeast track star Miles Smith had during last week's Gatorade Classic in Cape Girardeau, when he blistered to a 400-meter time of 45.98 seconds.

For a while at least, that appeared to be the fastest time in the world during this young outdoor season.

Although the mark surely won't last, it's still quite impressive for this early in the year and should only help propel Smith into another sensational season after he earned a gold medal at last year's world championships.

Fans who missed the Gatorade Classic need to make sure and attend the OVC Championships that Southeast will host May 5 and 6.

It's rare that a world-class athlete lives and trains in Cape Girardeau. Smith is just that, and people should take advantage of watching him compete.

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After four rounds of an NCAA tournament that was filled with nothing but suspense and great stories, the Final Four turned out to be a real dud, with semifinal blowouts and a Florida title-game romp.

But there is no question the Gators were the best team in the postseason. They had only one game decided by fewer than 13 points, that being a four-point win over Georgetown in the third round.

And how about Florida sophomore forward Joakim Noah, who came out of virtually nowhere -- he hardly played last year -- to become one of the nation's top players by the end of the season, and a sure-fire high NBA draft pick whenever he comes out.

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A nice crowd of local fans attended the April 2 exhibition soccer game between Southeast and SIU-Edwardsville at Savvis Center in St. Louis, and the Redhawks will apparently get to play inside that impressive venue again next year.

Brian Roth, who works for the St. Louis Steamers, told me that Southeast is tentatively scheduled to face St. Louis University in the spring of 2007 at Savvis.

And Brian said there is even a chance the Redhawks will get to play another exhibition at Savvis later this spring, although that has not been finalized.

Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian.