While we are discussing basketball coaches on the move I thought I would give everyone a trivia question to answer.

Which semoball school has had the fewest head coaching changes in the last 20 years?

I'll have the answer to the question later this week.

HaHa . . . I'm changing the trivia question to avoid confusion.

Which semoball school has had the fewest coaches since the 1990-91 season? (counting the 1990-91 season)

Typo . . . There just might be one.

Coach Bidewell from Portageville? just a guess

My guess would be Leopold.

Puxico is open.

The answer to trivia question #2 will be announced at 10 p.m. Thursday.

Don't forget the original topic of the thread was basketball coaches on the move. Has anyone heard where some of the big names are headed for next season?

The second longest tenured coach at one school is Danny Farmer at Charleston. He has been there since 1998. Gregg Holifield started at Sikeston in 1999.

Sikeston has had just two head coaches since the 1990-91 season, Fred Johnson and Holifield. Charleston has had three in that span. Most others have had at least four to five and some probably up to 10 different coaches.

semohoops

Sikeston is one of the correct answers. We need two more schools.

St. Vincent ... Bruce Valleroy has been there a while

moemoney

I was unaware semosportsweb had posted anything about Richland's coach being interested in the Puxico opening. I rarely visit this website. I like semoball.

that_1guy

St. Vincent is correct.

We need one more school.

St. Vincent and Sikeston are two of the correct answers to trivia question #2.

The school no one managed to come up with is Southland. Southland, St. Vincent and Sikeston have only had two basketball coaches since the 1990-91 basketball season.

Does anyone know who got the Puxico job?

Tim Smith got the Puxico job

Who is Tim Smith? Any relation to Tubby Smith?

Any word on the Twin Rivers job?

is=he

I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I just am saying that Richland loses 4 experienced seniors. Three who have been starting varsity since they were in the 10th grade. Now they are left with a kid that will probably score 30 ppg next year because his team will need him to shoot the ball that much. Then they have the 6'10" kid that forces them to sit back in a zone the entire game, and has little offensive skills yet.

It will be a struggle over there next year, so if he was going to leave to be closer to where he lives and perhaps an opportunity to coach a more competitive team then maybe he should have.

Apparently Puxico hired someone else, and perhaps Coach Walker was never interested in the first place. So it doesn't really matter at this point.

Has anyone heard who Advance hired?

Colby Rasmus on semoball???

I would be shocked if Oak Ridge's coach left Oak Ridge. But who knows.

Jim Bidewell has resigned as basketball coach at Portageville, and will remain as Ath. Dir. Jason Irby has been named head coach. Jim's wife Marion is having surgery on Thursday, please keep their family in prayer.

Who is Nate Wills?

I'll have more on Bidwell's accomplishments as a head coach later. His resignation is a shocking development. This is the first I have heard about it.

Everybody knows Jim Bidewell's accomplishments as a coach. He's the best coach in the state, over 500 wins, 5 state titles, yadda yadda yadda. This is the first I've heard about this as well. It was only a matter of time, I suppose. One can't do much better than what he's done. When he doesn't have great talent he still wins 17 games in a tough conference. When he does have talent, he wins state. Simple as that. He is the must humble person you'll ever meet and has done everything the right way. He is the standard.

I think "good" is an understatement. And in my opinion, and in the opinion of many others that know much more than I do about anything basketball related, he is the best coach in the state.

Advance gets a coach with great talent. I remember watching Halford play. He was very good at Risco.

Semoballfan1

Your exactly right. Knight ( from Risco) is a prime example of that. Hopfully Halford is an exception.

Jim Bidewell has been a huge asset to SEMO area basketball for a long time. His players were always coached well and acted right on the court. He was a true professional that demanded alot of himself, his players, and us officials. He will be greatly missed on the court but best wishes for the remainder of his school career. Good luck Jim!

Heard that Mark Dannenmueller took the Scott City job. Any word on the Twin Rivers job yet? Think it was announced tonight.

Was an All-Stater at Scott City not too long ago, but thats all I know. Anybody heard what happend at Twin Rivers board meeting tonight? just wanting to know about that job

Kendall Deason has landed the job at Kelly. This is a huge move for Kelly. Deason played high school basketball at Notre Dame. He also played college basketball at Three Rivers and Southeast Missouri State.

He played at Kelly. Not certain why it would be a "huge move".

Not that its a big deal, but he didn't play basketball at SEMo. He played baseball there.

Troll

I am almost positive I saw him in a Redhawks basketball uniform. I don't know if he ever played.

Deason never went to Notre Dame. He and his twin brother Kent both went to Kelly throughout their school years. They then went to Three Rivers where Kendal played basketball and Kent played baseball. Kendal finished up college at Semo where he played basketball his junior year and baseball his senior year. If he can win 7 games next year he should get some sort of national coach of the year award. While I understand the need to get your foot in the door with your first job, it is always hard to go back home and coach no matter how much experience you have. Couple that with the fact that Kelly just doesn't have much talent will make it even harder. I know Kendal will put in the work to try to get this program back on its feet and hope he is successful at doing so.

Deason's ESPN basketball profile:

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/pro...

Deason's SEMO baseball profile

http://gosoutheast.cstv.com/sports/m-bas...

Does Deason have any coaching experience? I know of 4 people that applied for that position and I was surprised to see that they hired Deason, especially if he has not coached anywhere before this year.

I predict the Kelly basketball program is heading in the right direction. Patience will be the key. Don't expect 20 wins next season. But don't be surprised if Kelly is not back in contention in the near future. Deason played for Bess and most players that play for Bess build successful programs. Chad Allen is a great example.

semoballfan1

Good coaches make talent.

I'm not sure Deason has taken the job at Kelly. Drawmules where are you getting your information?

rdbirdjunkie

It's always remarkable to me some people are reluctant to give coaches credit or blame for good teams and bad teams. Do you believe coaches like Paul Hale, Ronnie Cookson and Dustin Hicks just happen to have good talent every year? I think not.

Sources say the legendary Jeff Null may be the lucky guy to take over at Naylor next season. Any thoughts?

Talent is not created, it is cultivated. What makes a good coach is the ability to get the most out of the talent they have. The success that Cookson, McFerron, and Hale had were the results of first having the talent to work with, and second being able to motivate the kids to maximize that talent. You can be the greatest X's and O's guy....or the greatest motivator in the world...but unless you have some talent to work with you will not have a great program. Perfect example is just look at Hale's career. He started out at Delta in the mid 70's and during his stint there had a losing record in 4 out of his 8 years. The reason was simply because he really didn't have much talent to work with. If he had stayed there for the rest of his career he would not have had the success like he was able to do at Bernie and later at Notre Dame where the talent was more plentiful and he was able to win 20 games a year and get to a couple of final fours.

I a reckon we will just have to wait and see what happens folks.

I'm sorry but I don't agree with "coaches make great talent". Good coaches make players better, and more importantly, they put talented players in a position to be successful. They do a great job of taking advantage of the talents of their players. They do not make "non-talented" players "talented".

The ability to "see the floor", "having perfect muscle memory", "to know where the ball will come off the rim", "having perfect timing for blocks", etc....these are things that some kids have and some kids don't, they cannot be taught.

A perfect example is Shaq. Earlier in his career, he hired some of the best shooting coaches in the world to help him make free throws...how did that work out.

You can't teach talent, you can cultivate it, but it's not something you can teach.

I don't think that Coach Cookson looked at Otto jr. when he was in the 6ht grade and said, "I think I'm going to make you about 6'7-6'8, with a great jump shot, unbelievable rebounding skills, and we'll top it off with the ability to guard."

Dang, I've made legendary status already.

It's very simple. If it was all about the coaches and coaching then Duke, North Carolina, Michigan State, Kentucky, etc. etc. wouldn't go after the best high school players in the country. These colleges only recruit 4 and 5 star athletes, McDonald's All-Americans, etc. If it was about anything else then they would recruit players that aren't as good and then they would magically become NBA prospects because of the great college coaching they will receive. If it was all based on coaching, for example, Tom Izzo would recruit kids from the Stoddard County Conference and go off and win 25 games in college. If "coaches make talent" then NBA teams wouldn't be clearing space to sign Lebron James, Dwayne Wayne, and others. Great players make coaches look good. That's why college teams recruit great players. That's why NBA teams sign great players. Every coach knows X's and O's. Not every coach has great players. It has nothing to do with a coach when SCC occasionally has 4 or 5 starters that are athletic enough to dunk a basketball.

In high schools around here, some schools have better athletes for whatever reason. Whether it's the culture and the pedestal that certain types of kids put basketball, or it's the youth programs that allow these kids to play basketball every year from an early age. That combination usually decides if a high school team has a good team.

You can have talent and not win. Trust me. I've seen it before.

I rarely visit that website. I love reading the newspaper articles on semoball.

troll

You never know. Kelly may land a legend.

ROFL

What is so funny Larry Doby?

Yeah, right. Where's he coaching now??

Outside of the Bell City gold mine he walked into, where else has he won??

If you say so Larry Doby.

The source I received the report from continues to provide innaccurate information.

Is Kendall Deason even in consideration for the job at Kelly? Is this some kind of a joke?

Lessons are for piano players.

I do think Brantner is a good coach.

I'm not trying to sell a story. I think Brantner is a good coach troll.

Brandtner had phenomenal talent handed to him at Caruthersville and Bell City. He didn't overachieve at either school. He won some games destroyed both programs and ended up being run out of town. I think the word you are looking for in describing him is "infamous" or maybe even "scandalous."

bootheelhooper

Nobody destroyed the Bell City program. They ran out of talent.

Draw,

Are you crazy, Branter one of the best X's and O's coaches in the area????? You apparently missed the final four when Bogan was a Senior. Brandter basically cost them the game.

He completely let Jefferson control every aspect of the game, even though he had the two most dominant players on the court in Bogan and Nymchk(spelling). He let Bogan chase his man around the 3 point line while Jefferson got uncontested layups over and over again. Jefferson was able to force multiple turnovers in the press b/c Nymchk was the only ball handler they had, and Brandter had him taking the ball out. So they immediately denied Nymchk the ball after the inbound forcing someone else to bring the ball up the court.

I'm not a Bell City fan, and Brandter and I have no ties whatsoever, this was merely the account of mine and a coach I went to watch the final four with that year. We both walked out of that gym saying Brandter cost them that game.

What is the deal with Woodland. Heard they hired a head coach them changed their minds.

semoballfan1

I think the guy is good. I've sit behind his bench many times. I think he will do good things at Cooter.

I know someone from Richland that might be interested in the position. However, it is not the head coach. That's all I can really say right now.

mustang69- I will have to respectfully disagree with your comment about the Jackson basketball job. The coach they have now works hard, is professional on and off the court, is a good person, teacher and family man. With the way coaching is now, you are fortunate to have someone with these qualities. He treats his players right and acts right on the court. Southeast Mo. area is tough as hell on coaches in basketball, especially the smaller schools. Your coach has won 3 of the last 4 district titles. Consider yourself fortunate. I ref games for almost every area school and know the coaches well. You have one that is prepared all the time. I have no dog in this hunt, just an observation after being in the coaching business and refereeing voacation for 30 years.

I can't answer that question, but maybe they are just going through a time where some kids don't want to be on time, act right in school and town, stop getting caught drinking, work hard at practice, get along with their teammates, stop their dad's from being " experts" and so on. I just stated their coach has alot of good qualities and probably needs to be supported instead of downgraded. He has won the right way and will probably continue to do so. Sit in the stands and cheer and realize coaches don't grow on trees, but "experts" do!

I understand we have opposing views and I respect yours. Hopefully things will get straightened out. Good day.

Isn't this topic "Coaches on the move". Not coaches that should just quit cause some people don't like them. I don't know Coach Scott. If I did, it doesn't matter. He's not on the move. Try to stay on the topic. I have got deleted for a whole lot less. Disappointed in the folks from Semoball.com......

Josh Eftink is the new coach at kelly

Josh Eftink??? So much for the hiring a legend theory.

Kelly had the chance to hire a coach with a very, very solid winning record, but they passed.

Berry played at Van Buren and has been the Ellington assistant coach for the last 2 years.

Who do you guys think is the best coach in the Tri-County Conference and Bootheel Conference?

semoballfan1

I think he is a very good coach. LOL. I haven't been reluctant to admit the guy knows his stuff. I can remember two years ago Bernie took a team into Bell City and should have probably won the game by 20+ points. However, Bell City ran an offense that gave them the best chance to win the game, Bell City hit their shots and the coach managed his timeouts well once he had a lead. Bell City won the game. Bernie never won a game against Bell City while this coach was on the bench at Bell City. I predict he wins alot of games at Cooter. Time will tell.

For someone who watches so much basketball, you actually know very little. "he managed his timeouts well once he got the lead". "he allows his star players to put up 30-40 a game".

Seth McBroom is the best coach in Tri- county.

And influx of transfers put Bell City where they were. Nobody destroyed the program. Bell City is simply back to where they've usually been. I'm not trying to sound mean, but that is just how it is.

Without restating the obvious, Scott county Central, Notre Dame, etc, who will be the powers of next year?

I might add I think next year will be the first year in a very long time that Cape Central finishes with a better record than Notre Dame.

Cape Central should have a decent year and I think Notre Dame will be down some but Tolbert will be a force as well as the big guys from Cape Central. If Tolbert does not try to do to much he will be fine. I think the same problem will apply to Oak Ridge with Bret Thomas. If he tries to carry the hold team it will be a long year for Oak Ridge. I did not get to see Bloomfield last year. Do they have any dominating players?

Sikeston loses two players. I would imagine they will be stout as usual. I think you have Sikeston, SCC, Notre Dame, and then the rest. Charleston and Kennett are in the next tear.

IMO some of the best teams next year in no particular order will be Kennett, Cape, Sikeston, Charleston, SCC, Jackson, Oran, North Pemiscot. Also Notre Dame will be decent, but lost alot of senior leadership and ability.

deervalley

I'll respond to your question about Bernie when I get home tonight. I cannot do it right now. The response is too long to type out on a cell phone.

deervalley

There is a major basketball tournament at Dexter in July. I think it has over 60 teams in it. We may learn more then. I'll answer your questions when I get home. Before midnight hopefully.

draw, I think Jackson will be pretty decent because of several returning starters and a pretty good JV squad. Oran returns 4/5 starters and SCC will be lights out with their returners including a super player in Otto JR. Cape returns 3 starters(need a pg) but will be good as will Sikeston who returns the best pure shooter in the area plus outstanding quickness and a program that is good from top to bottom. North Pem was young and athletic and learned to win and also their young coach has now had some experience. Also keep an eye on Caruthersville, they may be flying under the area radar but are very talented and will be coached well.

Typo . . . Oak Ridge will have to get past Leopold to get to Scott County Central . . . I've spent too much time on the road today.

"Legendary" Brian Brandtner? drawmules, you are too funny.

Hey guys,

I'm Puxico's new basketball Head Coach. You guys seem to know your stuff on here. Give me your opinion on Puxico. I welcome both good and bad opinions.

Thanks,

Coach Smith

TUDAL

I think you will have some talent to work with coming from the JV. They beat Leopold last year at the JV level for 1 of Leopold's four losses. I have read alot about talent vs coaches on here and have my own opinion. I have seen good talent waisted from lack of a coach and good coaches make average talent into a good "team". I think it will probably depend on you next year. How you mix with the kids.

Good luck TIDAL. Puxico is notrious for carrying in new coaches on their shoulders on his way in and chasing them with torches on their way out. The varsity isn't very good as they lose the team leader in scoring and assists as he was the same person. That Martin kid will be a pretty good Jr. though.

TIDAL

I don't know what Puxico has coming back next year. If they stay in the same district they were in last year they should have a chance. I anticipate the district will be wide open.

troll

Is Fowler the coach at Campbell? Why would he go anywhere?

RoundballKing says he's heard Fowler is leaving Campbell. However, he did not indicate if this has been confirmed or if the source has been trustworthy in the past. RoundballKing may or may not be correct about this because he has not indicated how trustworthy his source is and it has not been reported by other sources.

Larry Doby, just trying to get caught up with the lingo around here. Some of it seems a bit strange.

gotcha ;)

OAKRIDGEFAN

Do I here right that your best player might be a freshman next year. My two nephews played at a cape tournament this last weekend and they keep telling me about a kid from Oak Ridge who is dunking already and was the best player out of all the 8th grade teams.

Everyone on here says Brett Thomas is the best player on that team but my brother says that this 8th grader is going to be the best player on your team next year.

how good is this kid.

Does anyone know what St. Vincent has coming back next season? I sit behind Valleroy's bench this season during a couple of games. I was very impressed. If he can get next year's team to play with the energy he coaches with his team could be a force in Class 2. Is there a chance St. Vincent will move back into Class 2 District 3 next season?

Iown,

you did not see oak ridge play to much this year. Light and Thomas spent most of the season inside or at the high post. It was different when someone played them man-to-man, and that never happened. Oak Ridge has a lot comeing back next year.

As for the 8th grader that capecounty was talking about. He will not be the best player on the team, but wouldn't surprise me at all to see him playing a lot of minutes on the varsity next year. Thomas and Elam are better than him by far, but after that who knows. And yes, he can dunk pretty easily and he's not even that tall only about 6-1 6-2.

capecountyhoopsfan

The 8th grade kid you are talking about has a real upside.I think he can be a real player if he keeps working. Probably have some freshmen growing pains.Can be a real horse inside.Oak Ridge also has a 6'6 or 6'7 freshman that has a 7'0 wingspan that could also see some varsity time if he works hard in the summer Oak Ridge has 3/4 starters coming nack next year from a team that was 22-5 These kids will help. Be an interesting year. Most of the boys are playing alot of aau & summerball.

BMuleFan

I think next year's Bernie team will lack experience. Experienced teams tend to perform well in the state playoffs. However, Class 2 will be extremely weak next year. But I would think there will at least one Class 2 team stronger than Bernie next year in Southeast Missouri.

TIDAL, Puxico varsity will be alot better than last year. As they have 5 pretty good players. They will have to replace Puxico's best player John Smith. They have a decent big man in Corey Davis, they have a ok ball handler, then they have 5-6 players from their jv moving up on varsity this year.Nathan Martin will have have to step up this year. But, in my opinion they will be better than last year. Like i said, they will have to replace 23+ points a game. But, i think they will be better.

BMuleFan, i still think that bernie will be competitive next year. They have a chance to win districts next year; however, i think oak ridge will be the favoirtes.

Why is everyone talking about Oak Ridge? They won't win the Cape tournament. If they are in SCC's district, they won't win that either. So whether or not they will be good or not, pretty much doesn't matter unless you're a parent of a kid that plays there. Good luck being 19-7 next year with 'some kid that can dunk it easy' with nothing to show for.

I guess that's why I'm still in bed. :(

I actually agree with you. But I still wonder why every other message is about Oak Ridge all the sudden. The only thing worse than being a Class 2 team is being a Class 1, 3, 4, or 5 team. It's really unfortunate for them. They could probably win their Class 2 district next year.

But yeah, there is more to a basketball season than just who wins districts and beyond. I feel sorry for the schools who have good teams that never get into any conversation, simply because they will not win state. There are a lot of good teams out there and they shouldn't be judged only on whether or not they win districts. After all, there are several tournaments throughout the year that are much more difficult than someone's district tournament, and much more impressive to win.

Yes, 'KRidge will be class 1 next year.

https://www.mshsaa.org/2010_2012Enrollme...

Brad Adams, who was an assistant at Cooter last season, has been hired to take over the Woodland program.

The only schools with returning coaches in this conference are Bernie, Dexter and Bloomfield. I wonder we have ever seen five head coaching changes in this conference in the same season before this year? There are only eight schools in the conference. Five of the eight schools will have new coaches next season. That's definitely unusual.

Leopold could have problems inside. However, they will probably have four guys that can shoot the lights out. Two will be sophmores and two seniors. The 8th grader has a brother that will be a junior next year that is just as quick. both will need to develope their mental game as much as anything. They could have three sophmores on varsity next year seeing some playing time. One played as a freshman this year, Stroder. The other two Elfrink and Jansen could see some playing time also. Leopold could still be 6'3", 6'3", 6'2" and 6'4" are bigger depending on how people grow. Coarch Kinder will have them working hard and even more important he has some kids that want to work hard from top to bottom so by November who knows what might happen. Hopefully another good year.

Congrats. to Coach Adams, he's is a hard working young man. He loves teaching the game of basketball.

Dead,

That is the classification breakdowns for basketball since it has 5 classes.

Is the upcoming year the year for the basketball districts to be reestablished? Do they cahnge each two years?

Larry Doby

You are correct. Valle Catholic will join Class 1 in baseball. I spoke with a source close to the Valle Catholic program last week. He informed the school has talented young pitching. I anticipate Valle Catholic will be an immediate favorite to win the state title in Class 1 next season.

deervalley and everyone!

I think SCC will be beatable this year. I know many of you probably still consider them the favorite to win it all again this year, and I am probably in a vast minority in even questioning their ability to continue the legacy. I am definately not saying they won't be good though, because they will still likely be the best Class 1 team in the state, possibly even the best team in Southeast Missouri of any class. I just feel like they are losing a lot with Bobby Hatchett graduating. It kind of seemed like he held them together. However, they are returning all their other starters from last year if I remember correctly. Also, they will have (in my opinion) the best basketball player in Missouri next year in Otto Porter. I don't really know what to expect from them. It seems like I never can really decide what I think about it. I was just looking for some more opinions. What do you think?

drawmules

If Oak Ridge could schedule Scott County Central they would play everyone in that conference.Its been talked about OR trying to rejoin that conference. But this is just talk.

I think the conference could use Oak Ridge.

No Class 1 team in southeast Missouri will beat SCC next year. Oak Ridge vs. SCC would be a 'big & exciting' game only for fans of Oak Ridge. The game itself would be a snoozer, just like SCC vs. Richland last year, etc. Bobby Hatchett not being on the team next year due to graduation will benefit a handful of BIG schools only next year that play against SCC. But against everyone else, who cares? I'm sure they have someone capable of bringing the ball up the court and passing it to Otto Porter for 32 minutes against these little schools with 1/3 of the athleticism Scott County Central has.

SCC will be at the top of the food chain next year but when you are at the top you only have one way to go. I am sure they will win more than their share but I am also sure they will lose a few. Probably more than last year.

Who will be the favorite to advance in Class 2 basketball with Oak Ridge moving to Class 1 and Bernie I understand is losing a few seniors that had a big impact on this past year's basketball success. I am a lot more familiar with the area's class 1 teams. Does anyone have any predictions for Class 2?

No one in class 1 or 2 can touch SCC.

Delta was closest to SCC last year in their state run at 31 I believe. Stewart Johnson will take over for Bobby, not as good but still better than any one else. No class 1 team will come close to SCC next year. Oak Ridge SCC would be a joke. Delta played well vs SCC some how, atleast for a class one team. They wont have enough basketballs on the court next year with Chase Crowden shooting all the time. Shawn Kinder is not the best coach in SE Missouri, he left a team to go to another team that anyone could win with, that talent and size and Leopolds crappy schedule playin Marquand and Woodlan all about 5 times each. Wait til they have a bad year and he quits on them, just like he did somewhere else. Heck, he almost went to Advance this year

Coach Kinder has the boys at Leopold working harder than ever before. Whether they can handle SCC, I only hope they get the chance. At that point it will be mainly between their ears. That and injuries were the problem the last couple of years. But each time it gets easier. Whether SCC will be unstoppable, alot depends on injuries, grades, etc.for all teams. Leopold is also working on improving their schedule. I have heard of a few changes but do not know for sure.