Southeast Missouri State men's basketball players reflect on departure from team

A few rows from the top of Section 116 of the Show Me Center was where Marcus Wallace and Ladarius Coleman sat to watch the Southeast Missouri State men's basketball team's game against Ole Miss on Saturday afternoon.

They both said it was an easy decision to be spectators at the game, which Southeast lost 75-64 to drop to 0-9 in Rick Ray's first season.

"They're more than just teammates. They were like my brothers," Coleman said. "We went through the trenches together. Went through the bad together, wanted to see the good, but we're still going to support them."

While they had the choice to come watch their former teammates -- Wallace, a sophomore guard, Coleman, a sophomore forward, and sophomore guard JT Jones are no longer part of the Redhawks' basketball team -- they felt like they weren't given a choice when it came to departing from the program.

Wallace's face was pictured on the team's gameday program, and he and Coleman were both still featured in the team's introduction video prior to tip-off.

But as of 10:40 p.m. Friday night they were announced as no longer being part of the program in a press release by the athletic department.

Both players said they received a text message following Tuesday night's 79-52 loss to Bowling Green stating that they had a meeting the next morning.

Southeast Missouri State coach Rick Ray watches the game with Ole Miss during the second half Saturday, Dec. 12, 2015 at the Show Me Center. (Fred Lynch)

The meetings Wednesday morning were individual meetings for Wallace, Coleman and Jones.

"We went to the meeting and he basically said he felt like we were unhappy and he felt like seeing us frustrated on the court was going to frustrate him, and he thought it would be best for me to transfer as soon as possible," Wallace said. "I obviously was like, 'OK,' I kind of took that as he's asking me to leave."

Wallace said that he planned to discuss the matter with his parents before he made a decision.

But after Coleman came out of his meeting around 10:15 a.m. they felt like the decision already had been made for them.

"Once I got done with mine at 10:15 I went and told Mane Mane [junior guard Antonius Cleveland] what happened and stuff, and then he said they had gotten a text message to have another meeting at like 12, 12:15 and then we saw that we weren't included in the message so we basically assumed we pretty much were off the team," Coleman said.

Wallace had played in all eight games and started two, averaging 25.1 minutes per game, prior to his departure from the team. He'd averaged 7.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game.

He scored a season-high 16 points in a loss to Memphis last Saturday to lead the Redhawks.

He spoke excitedly after that game about the team's improvements, so the idea that he was too "unhappy" came as a shock to him.

"I thought we were making progress and stuff," Wallace said. "The offense was tough, it was new, but I was going to fight through it. Of course we're unhappy, we're losing. Nobody likes losing, but it wasn't like I was just going to give up."

Jones, a walk-on and graduate of Sikeston, averaged 3.4 points and 2.4 rebounds in five games. He'd started three.

Coleman averaged 6.8 points and 5.8 rebounds. He played in the last six games after serving a two-game suspension to start the season due to a violation of department policies during the 2014-15 school year.

Coleman said he and Jones faced a similar situation as Wallace's.

"He presented me with an option, but he knew basically it was just one option, like really leave if I wanted to be happy," Coleman said. "He's saying I'm making him unhappy, but ain't nobody happy when we losing right now. That can't be the reason for dismissing me."

"Then after a meeting like that, coming back basically that's going to make everything uncomfortable," Coleman added. "That's going to be awkward from now on. I wouldn't even be comfortable coming back knowing he's thinking like that."

When asked whether the players were dismissed from the team, left the team or it was a mutual decision by all parties following Saturday's game, Ray replied: "Sometimes relationships just don't work out, and that's simply what it was."

The initial press release did not indicate why the players left and a spokesman did not confirm in the nature of the departures.

The Redhawks are now down to 10 players on their roster. Only nine are currently available as junior guard Jamaal Calvin is recovering from a hamstring injury.

Southeast lost a pair of junior college transfers shortly before the season began. It was announced on Oct. 21 that forwards Clyde Santee and Xavion Dillon were no longer part of the program. Santee did not meet transfer qualifications and Dillon chose to move home for personal reasons.

Jamie Rosser, who was the only remaining member of former coach Dickey Nutt's staff, was fired due to a "violation of university policies and procedures." He'd been on the staff the last six years.

"We had some personal conversations, some one-on-one talks, but you can never get past the fact that those guys have some personal relationships with some of those guys that are no longer here," Ray said after Saturday's loss to Ole Miss, when asked about how his team was handling the departures. "So we've got to make sure that we're showing empathy toward that. I thought we had some nice discussions about that, some one on ones, and had a chance to hash some things out."

Senior guard Isiah Jones was pleased with how some of his teammates stepped up with the shortened roster on Saturday.

"We're just trying to stay the course," Isiah Jones said. "We're all family. Whatever goes on, that's between coach and them. We've just got to stay the course and play our role."

The Redhawks have three non-conference games -- on the road at Northern Kentucky and Missouri State and at home against NAIA Harris Stowe -- before they begin Ohio Valley Conference play on Dec. 31. [Ed. note: Story originally had incorrect date]

"You kick off three people midseason -- we don't even get to play conference, so you really don't know like how good we could've been," Coleman said. "At least if you're going to waste our time let us play conference to see if we can contribute to what really matters."

Coleman and Wallace were obviously upset about the timing of the situation.

They chose to stay and play for Ray after he was announced as the new head coach on April 13. Both had signed up to play for former coach Dickey Nutt.

"That's what upset me the most," Coleman said. "He just decided to change my life, and I could've been the one that made that choice. I could've made it earlier and gotten my sophomore year back, but that's gone now and I've just got to face that fact. That's what's messed up the most."

Ray did offer to provide assistance if any of them chose to transfer to another school to play basketball.

"He said he had no problem with us so he wouldn't try to blackball us or nothing, and he would help us out and make sure schools that reach out to him, make sure they get in touch with us," Coleman said. "That's what makes it even more odd because he felt like we were good kids, doing the right thing, doing what he's asking, and then he's just like, 'I just can't use you,' basically."

Wallace, from Little Rock, Arkansas, plans to remain at Southeast and complete the spring semester. Coleman, from Memphis, said he was still unsure what was next for him after the suddenness of it all.

"If nothing presents itself that I like -- because I don't want to make the wrong decision again -- then I'll just wait it out here and see what my option is at the end of the year," Coleman said.

"We built relationships over the summer and throughout the year, and for it to just be cut off like that is crazy, so it was just a lot of mixed emotions," Wallace said.