After a dismal 8-23 season (3-13 in OVC play) plagued by tepid fan support (including an almost nonexistent student section), the UTM men’s basketball team will have a new head coach beginning next season, according to an announcement by athletic director Julio Freire on Monday, March 3.
“I would like to personally thank Coach James for his 12 years of service to the UT Martin men’s basketball program,” Freire said. “He conducted the program with the highest degree of integrity. … It is my responsibility to provide our student-athletes with the best opportunities to reach their fullest potential academically, athletically and socially.”
The Skyhawks, who have never been to the NCAA tournament and haven’t even made it to the OVC Tournament since 2011, are in need of a serious overhaul, especially with six players graduating, including Mike Liabo, who averaged 12.3 points per game this season.
So who can we expect to fill James’ shoes next year? Well, unfortunately, we won’t be getting any word on that for some time to come.
“Out of respect for our outgoing coach, current student-athletes and prospective coaches, I will not be commenting about the search until we introduce our new coach,” said Freire. He did, however, mention that he will be looking for a coach with a proven track record who would be “a fit in the wonderful Martin community.”
The problem comes when you realize that Martin, Tennessee isn’t exactly the most attractive spot when it comes to coaches looking for jobs. While the lack of a national spotlight certainly deflects a lot of pressure, it also makes it difficult to recruit top players; it would be a bad idea to buy a car without seeing how it drives first, so why would a player want to commit to a school he’s never seen play on TV? A lack of strong recruiting classes translates to multiple losing seasons, which then leads to staff firings, which leads to a lack of strong recruiting classes, and so on and so forth.
The point I’m trying to make here is that unless a big-name Division I coach decides to prove me wrong and signs at UTM, the men’s basketball team is caught in a vicious cycle of mediocrity, the kind that in theory can only be stopped by a wunderkind of the caliber of a LeBron James, or a Derrick Rose minus the SAT fiasco.
Now don’t get me wrong here: this team has its share of strong points. Marshun Newell and Myles Taylor were both big for the Skyhawks last season, and Dee Oldham has bucketloads of talent. It’s just that none of them have stepped up to take the lead for this team.
Newell and Taylor are going to be seniors next season, so they need to get their act together, and the sooner the better. If they do, and if the coaching search is successful, then the Skyhawks could be in line for a rebound year. If not, expect more of the same in 2014-15.
