Note: The following piece was prepared by Dean Keener, who provides commentary on Southern Conference men’s basketball broadcasts.
Keener played collegiately at Davidson before embarking on a successful 20-year coaching career. He served as head coach at James Madison from 2004-08. You can follow him on twitter: @DeanKeener1
Keener, along with Darren Goldwater, will call the February 21 matchup between ETSU and Chattanooga on ASN.
The Dean’s List
February 18, 2015
I. Inside the SoCon
As we enter the homestretch of regular season play, it’s becoming increasingly clear that this year’s Southern Conference tournament may very well be the most competitive – and most exciting – as any in recent memory. Wofford, Chattanooga and Mercer have certainly distinguished themselves as the best during the regular season, but I don’t believe there is a clear cut favorite. Wofford has the best chemistry and confidence, Chattanooga may have the best overall talent and Mercer is as well-coached as any team in the league, yet you can’t forget about Larry Hunter and his Western Carolina Catamounts, the offensive-charged ETSU Bucs or the surging Samford Bulldogs. Even VMI and UNCG have recently shown glimpses that they can compete with anyone.
No doubt, the long weekend in Asheville is sure to be tons of fun for all Southern Conference basketball fans.
II. Paying College Athletes
As a point of reference, the NCAA states that a full Division I athletic scholarship can provide tuition, room and board, books and school fees to a college athlete.
After years of attempting to help student-athletes, the Power Five football-driven conferences (ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac 12 and SEC) recently passed legislation that will provide cost-of-attendance allowances to student-athletes. As soon as this fall, athletes will be eligible to receive these payments. Many felt this was necessary for college athletes at this time. But do they really need it? More importantly, can athletic departments afford the extra costs?
The cost-of-attendance (COA) allowance is expected to help athletes cover additional expenses such as transportation and personal expenses during the academic year. Non-Power Five conferences, such as the SoCon have the option to extend these stipends to all their athletes (scholarship and non-scholarship). Even athletes on partial scholarships as well as walk-ons will be eligible to receive these stipends. The COA is a figure that will be different from school to school (even student to student based on where they live in relation to their institution) and will be based on financial aid figures and other federal guidelines. A schools location will be one of the biggest variables. But herein lies one critical concern. There is much work to be done in order to develop a “like” approach so that prospects can evaluate the COA of each school when being recruited. Understand that these stipends are estimated to be between $1,500 and $5,000 annually depending on the individual school!
With only a handful of colleges earning a surplus, these additional costs are sure to place a huge burden on athletic directors and their fund raising teams in order to effectively compete. What most people don’t understand is that a vast majority of institutions are subsidized by student fees. Institutional support is the primary source of funding for most Non-Power Five conference schools. In fact, many at the Division I level rely on their universities for at least 70 percent of their overall budgets. The television dollars are simply not there for them. And because their football stadiums and basketball arenas are smaller than those in the Power Five, they have lower revenue streams.
Trust me, I was a full scholarship student-athlete. I’m not saying student-athletes don’t deserve scholarships, but those in dire need above what a scholarship currently provides can apply for Federal Pell Grants. This is money awarded by the federal government and need not be paid back. The current amount of a full Pell qualifier is $5,730 per academic year. Furthermore, student-athletes can gain an additional $500 from the NCAA student assistance fund.
So here lies the dilemma; no one wants to change travel budgets, reduce salaries, fall into a recruiting disadvantage by not offering COA allowances or even drop sports, but the reality is this new legislation is going to make it very difficult for schools in conferences such as the Southern to remain competitive without some creative solutions. Generating revenue has always been an everyday task; now athletic administrators have another challenge added to their already full plate.
As a huge fan of college sports, it will be interesting to see how this plays out over the next 12-24 months.
III. The CEO on the Sidelines
Like every other CEO in corporate America, a Division I head coach needs to produce results. To do so, he needs: A) The confidence of his stockholders – in this case the deep-pocket donors at his school. B) Top quality talent that leads to on-court success, much like high potential employees in companies. C) Finally, the head coach must have the emotional durability to sustain the ups and downs of the business.
Believe it or not, being a head coach (CEO) can be very lonely. The highs are really high and the lows are really low, but most importantly fans need to understand that head coaches and CEO’s don’t always have someone to confide in. I believe that’s why career coaches are so popular in corporate America. Personally, I don’t know why college coaches don’t utilize them as well? Executive coaching has been a very popular tool for senior-level sales and marketing personnel. The reasons for retaining an executive coach vary from helping to refine a specific skill, gaining a better understanding of personal weaknesses, handling stress, wanting to be a better leader or simply becoming more organized.
I tell young head coaches all the time that three things will come up every day that they don’t have on their “to-do” list. How they manage and deal with those items will many times determine their success. Head coaches that can effectively manage these “things” in addition to properly delegating assignments to their assistants are usually successful. The balance of coaching ones team, recruiting, dealing with the administration (Presidents and AD’s) as well as boosters is exciting, but can also be very taxing and head coaches need to be organized in all they do. Finding someone that can help make things a bit less stressful is another story.
IV. Inside the Huddle
Did you ever realize that from the opening tip to the final buzzer a coach has almost as much time with his team as actual game time? Yes, a college game is 40 minutes; yet if each team utilizes all it timeouts (see chart below), including halftime (15 minutes), there are 38 ½ minutes of stopped time a coach has with his players. So what actually goes on during a timeout?
Timeouts are used for a variety of reasons. Coaches use timeouts to discuss strategy, to rest their players, to save a possession in the event of a held ball, make substitutions and/or stop momentum by the opponent.
During stoppage in play, coaches have different philosophies on how to conduct a timeout, but there are a few things they have in common: they quickly visit with their assistants, they allow players to catch their breath / get hydration and they relay information relevant to the game.
The next time you’re watching a game, look for changes in the offense or defense of each team coming out of a timeout. The really good coaches have the innate ability to quickly recognize weaknesses in their opponents play and take advantage. In particular, watch for out-of-bounds plays and / or a change in half-court defense. These are areas where a good coach can “steal” a possession that can help their team win.
· Each team shall be entitled to five timeouts:
o Each team has four, 30-second timeouts, and may carry up to three into the second half
o Each team shall be entitled to one 60-second timeout that may be used any time during the game
o There are four media timeouts in each half, each two minutes in length
· Additionally, the first 30-second team timeout in the second half is expanded to a media timeout
V. The SoCon Ladder
This is the final regular season SoCon Ladder. The top slots are beginning to solidify, but the fight for fourth, fifth and sixth remain wide open:
1. Wofford – Sooner or later you knew the Terriers would stumble. They had been moving the chains, although not always pretty. They did find ways to win through a seven-game winning streak, but they proved to be vulnerable last Thursday when Chattanooga handled them in Benjamin Johnson Arena
2. Mercer – The Bears have been a perfect addition to the Southern Conference and look to be a program that will sustain success for years to come. But first, they are trying to win the SoCon in year one and just might have the manpower to do it!
3. Chattanooga – The Mocs are facing a huge weekend of games at the Roundhouse (Mercer and ETSU). My guess is they will take care of business, but until they beat Mercer they will be slotted third
4. ETSU – The Bucs have experienced some tough luck throughout this season, but Murry Bartow has kept the troops focused. They have now won three in a row and gathered some momentum as they close out the season with three straight conference road games. Having swept the season series with Western Carolina could very well pay dividends come seeding time
5. Western Carolina – The Catamounts have proven they can hang with the conference elite as they’ve beaten Mercer twice and Chattanooga once. Still, I think Larry Hunter wants to garner a bit more momentum as they head into the final two weekends of regular season play
6. Samford – In just three weeks, the Bulldogs went from last place (0-8) to 5-10 and are currently in seventh place. Scott Padgett has done a terrific job in his first year and this is a team that no one wants to face right now!
7. VMI – The Keydets have found life (and their shooting touch) and that makes them a very dangerous team. That February 28 home game against Samford looms large as it relates to a possible sixth seed
8. UNCG – After a difficult month of January, the Spartans pulled things together somewhat. The injury (wrist) to Jordy Kuiper hurts an already thin roster. They play at Wofford Thursday, then end with three at home. It’s now or never for the Spartans
9. Furman – The Paladins freshmen have been impressive and so has sophomore Kris Acox. The future looks bright in Greenville, but first they need to finish this season on a high note with some positive momentum
10. The Citadel – They have simply not been able to build on the win over Wofford on January 15. Even with a big win on the road last Thursday against Samford, the Bulldogs couldn’t sustain momentum. That said, they have the ingredients to be a tough out down the stretch – and in the tournament
Until the next “Dean’s List” on March 4, follow me on twitter: @DeanKeener1