Southeast Missouri State women's basketball coach Margenthaler focuses on building relationships with current players, region's coaches

Ty Margenthaler misses his family dearly, but being so occupied during his short time as the Southeast Missouri State women's basketball coach has helped soften the blow.

"It's kind of a blessing," said Margenthaler, whose wife, Julie, and their two sons, Brice, 11, and Nate, 7, remained at their home in Madison, Wis., to finish the school year and tie up loose ends before joining him in Cape Girardeau next month. "I can come in early and stay late."

Margenthaler has hit the ground running since being given his first college coaching job April 14 when he was hired to turn around a sagging program.

The 39-year-old Margenthaler recently took some time to talk about his first two-plus months on the job and what he envisions for the future.

"It's been really busy but very exciting. I'm really pleased with how things are going," said Margenthaler, who spent the past five seasons as recruiting coordinator at Wisconsin. "It's been a dream come true for me to run my own program, and I can't think of a better place to begin my head coaching career than Southeast Missouri State University."

Ty Margenthaler was hired as the new Southeast Missouri State women's basketball coach April 14. (Fred Lynch)

Margenthaler said two of his biggest priorities so far have been getting to know his new players and putting together a coaching staff.

"My first priority was to meet the players," said Margenthaler, who received a four-year contract for $82,500 per year. "I had the chance to work with them on the court during individual workouts over the final two weeks of the school year. I was very pleased with their effort and attitude.

"We ended the school year with individual meetings, where I was able to share with them my philosophy and vision of where I see this program going. I really think they left feeling good about the program, where we're headed."

Margenthaler, who played for his father Jack at SIU-Edwardsville, is part of a coaching family. Not only is his father a former longtime coach, his brother Matt is the men's coach at Minnesota State-Mankato, which reached last season's Division II Final Four. Margenthaler said his background will play a role in how he shapes his program.

"I want this basketball program to be about family. I think that's important," he said. "Growing up around my dad's teams, I definitely think that helps me. I've seen the ups and downs, how you treat kids."

Margenthaler said he is fired up about his first staff consisting of two newcomers and one holdover.

Ben Coomes, who will be the Redhawks' recruiting coordinator, comes to Southeast after spending the past two years at Purdue. He also has been an assistant at Belmont, Evansville and Lambuth.

Heather Ezell, a native of Springfield, Mo., completed her first year as a full-time assistant at Fairfield last season. She is a former standout at Iowa State who played professionally overseas.

Dionnah Jackson, a St. Louis native, was an assistant at Southeast last season. She is a former star at Oklahoma who played in the WNBA after being a first-round draft choice of that league.

"I'm excited about the staff. I think we've got a really nice blend. They all have passion and great work ethic. I think our fans are really going to like them," Margenthaler said. "Both young ladies were Miss Show Me Basketball and played at the highest level possible. That's been a really nice recruiting sell, especially for Missouri recruits.

"They've got really good ties to the state. Ben has ties to the southern region and my ties are more the Midwest. We've got it all covered."

Margenthaler, a 1997 SIU-Edwardsville graduate who also served as an assistant there and at Bradley, said recruiting -- not for next season but the future -- has been a major priority. He has tried to get in contact with as many high school coaches as possible, especially in the region. July is a big recruiting period so he and his staff will be on the road most of the month.

"I'm really happy with recruiting. I'm excited about the response local coaches have given us," Margenthaler said. "We've been getting a lot of good feedback. When I got here, we had five names in the database for 2012. Now we have 65.

"Our focus is to reach out to players and coaches. We want to keep the best local talent close to home. We're going to work hard to recruit Missouri, the Midwest and South."

While Margenthaler takes over a program that is lagging, it hasn't been long since the Redhawks were an Ohio Valley Conference power under John Ishee. His contract wasn't renewed after five years, the last two of which were riddled by injuries and tied the school record for losses in a season.

Southeast went 8-21 overall and a ninth-place 4-14 in the 10-team OVC last season. That followed a 2009-10 campaign of 7-21 overall and a last-place 4-14 in the OVC.

But Southeast had a three-year record of 62-32 from 2006 through 2009, winning two OVC regular-season titles and earning an NCAA tournament berth.

"They've had a lot of success in the past. There's no reason we can't get back to that kind of success in the future," Margenthaler said.

While those outside the program will expect the 2011-12 Redhawks to struggle, Margenthaler said he has been pleasantly surprised by what he's seen from his new squad.

"They're healthy right now. That helps. It was an issue the last two years," Margenthaler said. "We're rebuilding, no question. But I don't want to rebuild three years from now. We want to make some noise right away."

Margenthaler, while busy putting an early imprint on the program, also has found some time to explore Cape Girardeau.

"I feel really familiar here," said Margenthaler, who has lived in a motel since taking the job and will continue to do so until his wife and sons join him in a few weeks. "I feel like my family and I will fit in well in the community."

When Margenthaler was hired, he called the job a "win-win situation," lauding the community, facilities and tradition. He hasn't changed his tune a little more than two months later.

"No question there's a lot of work ahead. But our administration has been nothing but supportive since we've been on campus," he said. "I have a lot of confidence about what we can accomplish here."