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| Cuanzo Martin? Wow, that's a name from the past. I remember him being Big Dog, Glenn Robinson's counterpart at Purdue. I remember he was a late NBA draft pick. Not sure how long he played professional ball for, and where, but he seems quite young to be a head D-1 coach. Good for him, though.
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All I know is I would hope they would make their decision fairly quick-like. The sooner the new coach gets in here, the quicker he can start getting some decent players in here.
At the same time though, I hope they don't rush too much either. You want to make sure you take your time with the interview process and find the best fit for the university.
So while I want them to do it ASAP, I also don't want a rush to judgement either.
Joe C.
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No system is foolproof since fools are so clever..
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I assume they have formed a group of WIU supporters once again for initial interviews and feedback like last time. I too am anxious to see who they actually do bring in for final interviews.
B-Ball Fan
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I don't know if he was a candidate or not, but Cuonzo Martin was hired by Missouri State today.
I agree I hope they take their time, but then again the sooner a coach is hired the sooner he can put a staff together and hit the recruiting trail. Also hopefully he will be able to keep the current players because I think we have a good nucleus here.
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| Today's Des Moines Register says Martin will be announced as the new coach at MO State as early as today. Didn't he play high school ball at East St. Louis??
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www.coachingnewsonline.com is saying that Molinaro, Margenthaller, Wisconsin Asst., & Iowa State Asst. are the 4 in the running, but Margenthaller would probably stay put at Mankato.
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Athletic Director answers questions about coaching vacancy!
By: Ryan Ferguson
Posted: 3/28/08
Western Courier
Searching for a men's basketball coach is different this time around for Western Illinois Athletics Director Tim Van Alstine. It has been 17 days since Derek Thomas' resignation, and the quality of applications has struck a note with the athletics department.
"I'm much more impressed with the quality of the candidates this time as opposed to last time," Van Alstine said in a Thursday morning press conference. "That's not a knock against Derek, but the pool is both wider and deeper this time. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that the program is in a different state than it was. I think it's a lot better job than it was the last time."
The university has received more than 60 applications that are each looked at by a small committee of athletics department members. That committee compares each applicant with the university's required and preferred qualifications. It will then forward a smaller pool - eight to 12 potential candidates - to Van Alstine.
From there, the athletics director will narrow the field down to a more manageable number of candidates, who would then be invited for an on-campus visit. Do not, however, expect the final decision to be made until early to mid-April.
"It's unreasonable to do it before the Final Four," Van Alstine said. "I'm looking at having our number pared down between now and the championship game and bring folks to campus shortly after that and move from there."
Representatives from Western's athletics department, excluding Van Alstine, will be present at the Final Four in San Antonio. As for teams that have seen early exits from postseason tournaments, those coaches have been given the opportunity to seek the Western vacancy.
"As soon as some teams started getting beat, applications started coming in," Van Alstine said. "Whether they're NIT teams or NCAA teams, that is true, which is good. You've got quality coaches coming in from quality programs.
"If someone's interested in the position, they probably have dusted off the resume a little bit and gotten it in to us already."
Five years ago, Van Alstine chose to fill Western's men's basketball head coaching position with a man lacking head coaching experience. This time around, do not expect a candidate without previous NCAA coaching experience to fill the vacancy.
"I think it's important … that we need a coach that won't be surprised by the surprises," Van Alstine said.
"There are things that happen that you have to respond to, and some of those things are surprises," he added. "We're looking for a coach who has called a timeout before, that can handle things, that can think on his feet. I'm not saying that Derek didn't; I want to clarify that. I think that's just an important quality and characteristic. That level of experience is important."
Van Alstine went on to say that the experience Western's future coach has could be anything from Division-III head coaching all the way through BCS-level institutions.
"If they've had NCAA experience before, (that) is always a plus because the rules are so much different," he said. "They're much, much more narrow in terms of what you can do and what you can't do recruiting players, academically, all of those things."
CURRENT PLAYERS
AND STAFF
Van Alstine said he has talked to several of the current men's basketball players about filling the vacant head coaching position. The Leathernecks return six underclassmen to next season's roster, a number that has not changed with the departure of Thomas.
"They will have an opportunity for a meeting with all of the candidates," Van Alstine said. "I've met with a couple of them individually and talked about what they would like to see (in) their new coach, what kind of qualities and characteristics they have.
"We want to hear from our student-athletes on our coaching situation … but the student-athletes leave. This is a long-term kind of commitment."
Van Alstine said the team has four, possibly five scholarships to use for next season.
"We're going to do it the right way," he said. "We're looking at a balance of transfers but at the same time focusing heavily on the high school route."
Thomas' coaching staff also remains in place until a new head coach is selected. Van Alstine has told them they need to work equally as hard in their final two months as they did in their first two months.
"I have expectations for them," Van Alstine said. "They know they still have to perform here because they never know when that phone call is going to ring to my desk, and it's a coach or an athletic director at an institution that they've applied to. They want to continue to work. They certainly need a positive recommendation from me."
Current players are not the only group of individuals who will get a chance to meet the prospective coaches that visit campus in the coming weeks. Other Western athletics head coaches will get a chance to talk with each candidate that visits Macomb.
"We want people that are going to play nice in the sandbox," Van Alstine said. "This is a small, little sandbox. Everybody has their own little corner that they're going to be playing in, but at the same time, they have to share a little bit, too.
"I don't want to be in a situation where we have coaches who are going to be arguing over 15 minutes of court time."
NEW ERA WILL
STRESS WINNING
Van Alstine was not shy to mention the importance of regaining a winning men's basketball program.
"Winning is a staple of Division I athletics - it is not participatory," he said. "Even though we have 20 sports, we provide opportunities for a lot of student-athletes - it is not a participatory endeavor. Division I athletics focus on winning, and we can't be ashamed about talking about winning because that's what it is. We expect to win.
"I never like to see coaches leave our program for the reasons that we're sitting here now. I don't like that, but it's part of the job. On the other hand, I don't mind having our coaches have a lot of success here and go on to another program because that's who we are."
One WESTERN. All Leathernecks !!
Go Leathernecks !!
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I'm glad to hear the current returning players will be involved and that all underclassmen are planning on staying. On another board someone had reported that RS Freshman Ceola Clark was leaving, but nice to hear that was not true. Imagine that, an untruth on a message board. Also glad to hear this time the new coach will have had NCAA Head Coaching experience. Does anyone know how the Big Guy that decided to not come to WIU named Harrelson from St. louis area do at the Juco he ended up going to ? What about Smith who did not come back last year also.
B-Ball Fan
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