By Jordan Burton (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The Paul Lusk era at Missouri State is over, so where do the Bears go from here to restore the program to its former legacy?
First let’s look at former successful Bears coaches Charlie Spoonhour, Steve Alford and Cuonzo Martin.
Spoonhour spent years as a successful JUCO head coach, as well as assistant gigs at Missouri State, Oklahoma and Nebraska, prior to his nine-year run in Springfield (including five NCAA Tournament berths).
Alford was never an assistant coach, taking over D-3 Manchester University immediately following his NBA career. The former Indiana great won 62 games in his final three seasons at Missouri State, including the program’s most recent NCAA bid in 1999.
Like Spoonhour and Alford, Martin had no Division One head coaching experience before coming to Springfield in 2008. In fact, he had no head coaching experience at all spending a year at the high school level before becoming an assistant at Purdue for the better part of a decade. Martin’s 26 wins in 2010-11 are the second-highest single-season total in program history.
The question many will be asking over the next few weeks is experienced assistant or successful head coach at a lower level?
Pedigree in coaching matters, but then again Lusk had all the pedigree you could want in a head coach.
At the end of the day, resume means little more than make up when looking at head coaches. Lusk and Martin had very similar resumes, but very different make ups (and results).
Mark Few at Gonzaga had zero head coaching experience before taking over the Bulldogs, but he’s going to be a hall of famer. Michigan’s John Beilein has never been an assistant, going from high school to JUCO to D-3 and then D-2 before snagging his first Division One head coaching job. He’s now won more than 700 games.
Here are eight guys that would be great hires for Missouri State.
Also, I want to be very clear on a few things. Some names like Kermit Davis and Joe Dooley have been thrown out and while they are great coaches, understand that may be pie in the sky.
Davis has turned Middle Tennessee into a top 25 program and one of the top mid-majors in the nation. His compensation package is also north of $500,000, meaning Missouri State wouldn’t necessarily be a step up in compensation or prestige. While Dooley doesn’t make that kind of money yet, he has a resume that lends itself to a Power 5 job in the very near future. He was an assistant at Kansas for a decade and has doubled down on that by winning 20 games in all five seasons at Florida Gulf Coast. Jumping to the Missouri Valley for either coach doesn’t make much sense unless Moats and Cliff Smart plan on backing up a Brinks truck or two.
Saint Louis Assistant Corey Tate
Tate is the ultimate grinder. He’s a Missouri native that grew up in St. Louis and played at Mizzou. He was extremely successful at Mineral Area College, becoming a JUCO power. He brings the ability to recruit St. Louis, something that has been missing in recent years, as well as several connections to prominent grassroots programs. The fact that Tate won games at MAC is huge. Keep in mind, Lusk went 2-23 in his lone head coaching experience prior to MSU, which didn’t seem like a big deal at the time but maybe it actually was. Tate won three Region 16 championships and six conference championships at Mineral Area, producing several D-1 prospects in that time. He’s also earned the reputation as a great recruiter helping keep St. Louis star Jordan Goodwin in the city. I don’t see much difference in Mizzou and Missouri State in terms of what it’ll take to be successful and it starts with someone that can recruit Missouri effectively, especially St. Louis and Kansas City. Show-Me natives like Jordan Barnes (India
na State), Mike Lewis (Duquesne), Elijah Childs (Bradley) and Jacob Gilyard (Richmond) have enjoyed early success at mid-major programs and are just some of the many in-state guys that very well could be in Missouri State uniforms. Sealing the borders will be paramount in getting MSU back to the NCAA Tournament and Tate may be the only guy on this list that can do that.
Bucknell Head Coach Nathan Davis
All he does is win. He spent more than 10 years in the patriot league as an assistant coach with Navy, Bucknell and Colgate. He followed that up by winning 141 games in six seasons at D-3 Randolph-Macon, which includes a Final Four, Elite Eight and Sweet 16 run. He’s in his third season as the head coach at Bucknell, where he’s made the postseason in each of his last two seasons. Going 16-2 through the league ensures that they’ll again play basketball well into March and likely in the NCAA Tournament. During the nonconference Bucknell went to Arkansas, to North Carolina and to Maryland; he’s not afraid to go on the road for marquee games. Davis was on staff in 2005 and 2006 when Bucknell pulled off major NCAA Tournament upsets over Kansas and Arkansas, respectively. He understands how to recruit and win at a non-Power 5 level.
Nicholls State Head Coach Richie Riley
He isn’t a household name yet, but his time is likely coming. He just turned 35-year old and is that up-and-comer with fresh blood that could turn the program around. He’s another guy that is considered a gifted recruiter, helping assemble the core of a UAB team that went to the 2015 NCAA Tournament. He then left UAB for a two-year stint at Clemson. At Nicholls State he won the Southland Conference regular season title and delivered the program’s most wins since 1994-95 and just the second 20-win season in the last two decades. His teams also rank among the nation’s best in scoring (83.9 PPG) and rank tenth nationally in KenPom’s adjusted tempo; his teams would be fun to watch. Riley is also a Villa 7 alum and sources have confirmed that Riley has interest in the Missouri State opening.
Arkansas Assistant TJ Cleveland
He might be the second coming of Mike Anderson. Cleveland has been on Anderson’s staff since his graduation from Arkansas in 2002. Cleveland has been credited with getting guys like Daniel Gafford, Jimmy Whitt and Jaylen Barford to Fayetteville. He’s also a Villa 7 alum, the same coaching fraternity that has helped Shaka Smart, Buzz Williams and Joe Dooley. It’s a Nike program that identifies the top assistant coaches in the nation and Cleveland has been a part of that conference between administrators and assistants multiple times. Anderson has given him the stamp approval on numerous occasions and running his variation of “40 minutes of hell” in JQH Arena would be entertaining.
Purdue Assistant Steve Lutz
Okay, now before you freak out about the title, just hear me out; Lutz will be a Division One head coach sooner or later. He spent time at Stephen F. Austin and SMU before joining Greg McDermott at Creighton and building the program into a power. In seven seasons the Jays made six postseason appearances, including four NCAA Tournaments. Those first three seasons were spent in the Missouri Valley, so Lutz knows his way around the league. He’s been largely credited with drawing transfers Marcus Foster and Cole Huff to Creighton, as well as snagging future first-round pick Justin Patton. It’s no secret that Lutz wants to be a head coach and Purdue has been very giving to Missouri State.
Oral Roberts Associate Head Coach Rodney Perry
I’m less concerned with resume and more concerned with pedigree here. Perry has been at Oral Roberts, earning the title of associate head coach because of his ability to relate to young people and recruit. He has serious ties to the Ozarks as a former Bear and he has major chops nationally, even working with the USA Basketball program. He understands what it takes to recruit at this level and his stint with MOKAN Basketball also has him well-connected on the summer circuit. There will be candidates with better resumes, but Perry could be the perfect fit.
Wichita State Assistant Isaac Brown
Brown is a name that will be hot in the coming years and he certainly has the make-up to win in the Missouri Valley. He’s been at WSU under Gregg Marshall for the last four seasons, this after helping Mike White turn Louisiana Tech into a mid-major power. He’s also had stops at Arkansas, South Alabama and Arkansas State. Brown has also earned the reputation as a great recruiter and someone that is extremely relatable. He’s seen exactly how successful mid-major programs are built and maintained.
Wake Forest Assistant Steve Woodberry
Woodberry has been a popular name due to his time in Springfield. In his six seasons as an assistant at Missouri State, Woodberry served under three different head coaches (Hinson, Martin, Lusk). He was also a part of three 20-win teams, all of which played in the postseason. Since his time in Springfield he’s been with Danny Manning at Tulsa and Wake Forest. He’s a Wichita native and proven recruiter, receiving much of the credit for Kyle Weems finding his way to Missouri State. Woodberry was a standout player at Kansas, scoring more than 1,200 points and winning 110 games.
