COLUMN: Margenthaler forced to excuse the inexcusable in regressive season

Earlier this season Southeast Missouri State women's basketball coach Ty Margenthaler said his team needed to win -- not eventually, but now.

"Bottom line," Margenthaler said after his team fell to 0-2 in conference play in early January. "We need to win. This is not excusable."

Instead, the Redhawks ultimately won their fewest conference games since Margenthaler's first season three years ago, when he was just beginning what was supposed to be a rebuilding process.

They finished 10-19 overall with a 3-13 mark in the Ohio Valley Conference. It was a decided step back in a season that was supposed to be a notable step forward.

"It's hard to evaluate it now being just 20 minutes out of the game, but by wins and losses -- disappointed," Margenthaler said when ask how he would evaluate the season. "That's not what I wanted, that's not what I want and that's not what our program wants.

"But I do know the fact that it would have been very easy for this team three weeks ago just to call it quits, and I love the fact that they fought. I love the fact that put themselves in positions to win. I love the fact that they're giving everything they have every single minute, and that shows me right there that they're very coachable, they want to win, they want to be successful.

There are plenty of opportunities to look at the positive side of things, as Margenthaler demonstrated.

Get beat by five in a meaningless game to end your season, which the Redhawks did on Saturday against Austin Peay? There's hardly a better time to talk about the character it took to continue fighting until the end.

"I am proud of this team," Margenthaler said. "I'm definitely proud of this basketball team. I told the seniors it's about them tonight. I thought all four seniors gave everything they had. I thought they were tremendous off the court, on the court. They should be very proud of themselves. They carried themselves very well. Really that's what it's about."

Finish up a season that fell well short of the modest goal to finish in the top eight of a 12 team conference? You might as well focus on how it's character that defines athletes, not wins and losses, which is what Margenthaler did in his postgame talk with his players.

That is, after all, true. No member of the team is a lesser person because they lost more than they won this season, but it's also true that no member of the team would set out with the goal to finish tied for the worst record in the OVC.

Eventually, though, the Redhawk-colored glasses have to come off and stay off and expectations of competing in the conference have to be met, not just talked about preseason.

"And, again, it is a process," Margenthaler said. "I know people probably get frustrated or whatever when I say that, but it takes time. Again, I wanted it to be this year. I really, truly did. It wasn't this year, but again I really do believe in my heart that the players we have returning, the class that we're bringing in -- I feel very confident that we can have a very, very good basketball team next year and move forward."

He uses the word "again" a lot because it's a message he's been spreading for quite some time. And, again, there was no notable step forward in that process. He understands that better than anyone, and -- to his credit -- would never so much as grimace at someone pointing it out to him.

If you want the positive side, it's that Margenthaler accepts the struggles as a challenge and is relentlessly determined to fix them. I remember talking to John Ishee, Margenthaler's predecessor, in his final season before the university decided not to renew his contract, and he seemed resigned to his fate and failure as the Redhawks' coach. I don't think a dozen losing season's could break Margenthaler's enthusiasm.

But Margenthaler has just one year left on his contact, and if he's allowed to complete it the reality is a lack of significant improvement will likely mean the end of his tenure at Southeast. And it should. Patience is deserved for a coach who took over a program in the shape Margenthaler found Southeast, but it has a limit.

He pointed to his team's ongoing struggles on offense -- the Redhawks were 11th in the OVC in total offense, ninth in field goal percentage and 11th in 3-point percentage entering Saturday's contest -- and inconsistency as areas that kept Southeast from improving this season.

"We're definitely going to work on the offensive end -- a ton of shooting, get them in the gym," said Margenthaler, who used a ball-screen offense for the first time this season. "I'm glad the NCAA rules allow us now in the summer to work out our players, so we're going to take full advantage of that. It's also about recruiting. I like the kids that we have coming in. We've got a 6-4 post out of Chicago, we've got a 6-2 post out of Indiana. We're going to bring a point guard in, we're going bring in a wing to add with our players returning. I like our chances."

Another reality is that the recruitment of that class led to multiple NCAA violations by a former assistant coach. While the university hopes its self-imposed sanctions, which included a reduction in the staff's allotted recruiting days, will be deemed sufficient by the NCAA, there could be more penalties to come. I was told last week that the university hopes to have a decision by April 30.

In another sign of the type of person Margenthaler is he followed up being pelted with questions about his team's season and future with a totally unnecessary thank you to Erin Unerstall and I for covering the team through its struggles.

"It's not easy," he said. "I know your hours. It's not easy, and I don't know if people realize that. I really do. You guys are fair, you're honest, and I like it. ... Good, bad, you've got to do it."

The exact same could be said for his job. It's not easy. It's lot of hours, and probably not many people realize what he and his staff puts into it.

But he was right about the bottom line. His team needs to win, and 3-13 is not excusable.