REMOVING THE INTERIM TITLE...

Coach Isaac Brown

Wichita State University 

(*On February 26th Wichita State removed the interim tag from Isaac Brown, promoting him to the Shockers' permanent head-coaching position. He verbally agreed to a five-year deal making him not only the First Black Head Basketball Coach at Wichita State but also, the First Black men's basketball coach to lead a Division I program in the state of Kansas.)

If you're just looking at the win/loss records, it would appear that Coach Brown inherited a good basketball team. Last year they were 23-8 (11-7 in AAC Play) and finished 4th in the conference. But in actuality, he was handed the keys to a train that had the potential to quickly run off the tracks. Brown took over as Wichita State's interim head coach in November, after Gregg Marshall resigned following an internal investigation into allegations of physical and verbal abuse. Prior to Coach Marshall's resignation, 8 players from the 2019/2020 roster entered into the transfer portal with 7 of them making the decision to continue their careers elsewhere. Not only did Coach Brown grab the wheel and keep the Shockers headed in the right direction, he took them to a level of success unexpected of this team even before Coach Marshall's scandal/resignation (they were picked seventh in the American Athletic Conference in the preseason.)

Coach Brown has Wichita State 13-4 (9-2 in AAC Play), ranked #1 in AAC standings with two games left in the regular season, and in position to earn their first AAC Regular Season Title. It is clear that Coach Brown has not only won on the court, but he has also won over the locker room. Those young men have played exceptionally hard for him and completely bought into his leadership. Coach Isaac Brown stepped in and stepped up to the challenge which has earned him the opportunity to lead the Shockers into the future. #GoShockers

Coach Terrence Johnson

Texas State University 

Similar to Coach Isaac Brown; Terrence Johnson was tasked with leading a previously good team (21-11 & 2nd in the Sun Belt in 2020) that was in turmoil. Head coach Danny Kaspar resigned on Sept. 23 after the conclusion of an investigation into racially insensitive remarks and Johnson was inheriting a "House-Divided" as it's been reported that early in the season the Bobcats delayed the start of practice for 3 days because the team could not get along. Before they could coach "X's & O's", Coach Johnson had to address his team’s feelings, hurt and concern. He had to allow them to express the things that were bothering them and he utilized group therapy as a substitute for practice to accomplish that. 

Coach Johnson led the Texas State Bobcats to a 18-6 (12-3 in conference play) while securing the schools first ever Sun Belt regular season title (the last conference championship came in 1999 as a member of the Southland Conference). He achieved the most wins in a year by one coach at Texas State and has demonstrated that his skill-set far exceeds his ability to recruit top talent. The proof is in the stats. This year, opponents of the Bobcats averaged 61.2 points per game (down from last years 64.3). The Bobcats improved in Rebounding Margin (+0.2 to +3.3), Field Goal % (45.8 to 46.4), and Three Point % (32 to 38). 

The things that stand out to me the most about Coach Johnson's leadership is his ability to overcome adversity, his outside the box thinking and willingness to seek out support for his student athletes. Whether that support be in the form of Hillary Jones (senior psychologist at the Texas State counseling center) or all-time leading scorer in program history, Nijal Pearson, Johnson understands that sometimes your players need to hear another voice and he has the humility to provide that. There's absolutely no reason why anyone other than Coach Terrence Johnson should be the one leading the Texas State Bobcats into the 2021/2022 season! He has shown that he has the ability to successfully lead this team through controversy and a global pandemic, I would love to see what he's able to do when given the opportunity and stability of removing the "Interim" title! 

Coach Montez Robinson 

University of Tennessee at Martin 

A lot of you are looking at UT Martin and anxiously waiting to jump in the comments section and remind me that they did not have a winning record this season. I hear you, but before you start to articulate your debate, remember that last year Cleveland State University Head Coach Dennis Gates was named Horizon League Co-Coach of The Year after going 11-21 (7-11 in conference play). The Vikings finished the season tied for 7th place. Coach Gates came into a tumultuous situation and was able to pull together a roster seemingly last minute that far exceeded expectations. In his second year he led the program to 1st Place in the Horizon and a 16-4 conference record. There's a lot of similarities between the two programs. Like Gates, Coach Montez Robinson inherited a decimated roster; but bigger than the loss of on the court talent, The UT Martin team spent the season mourning the death of their leader, Coach Anthony Stewart. The concept of putting together a game-plan, watching film of an opponent and attempting to win basketball games while grieving the loss of a close friend who hired you to help build the program is unimaginable to me. The strength of Coach Robinson is notable and one of the primary things you look for in a leader of young men!

From a strictly basketball perspective, the Skyhawks were predicted to finish 10th in the OVC in the pre-season coaches poll on November 4th of 2020. They were returning, Preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference Honoree Parker Stewart, who had a HUGE year for UT Martin in 2019/20. He was the only NCAA Division I player to average at least 19.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.5 three-point field goals made per game. He led the OVC with 2.8 three-point field goals made per game, ranked third in scoring (19.2 points per game), third in minutes played (36.1 per game), seventh in assists (3.8 per game) and tenth in free throw percentage (.766) as a redshirt sophomore. He had a dozen games of at least 20 points overall. On November 15th, Coach Anthony Stewart passed away (less than three weeks before the season opener.) With a heavy heart, Coach Robinson took the floor with the UT Martin team missing Coach Stewart as well as Parker Stewart, who decided to transfer following his fathers passing. 

The 2020/2021 Skyhawks had a very different look from the team that went 9-20 (5-13 in OVC play) the year before. They were missing not only Parker Stewarts' scoring ability but also 3 other players who averaged double digit points per game. When you look at the circumstances of losing your head coach, losing your best returning player, losing a total of over 60 points per game of scoring from the previous year and navigating through the challenges of Covid, all in his first year within the program; I would say Coach Montez Robinson did a damn good job. 

UT Martin finished 8-16 (6-14 in OVC play) and 9th in conference standings. They were 5-0 in games decided by single digits (4 of which came in conference play). The 41 points allowed against Eastern Illinois on January 28, 2021 were the fewest by any Skyhawk team against a NCAA Division I opponent in school history and the 28.1 defensive field goal percentage in that game was the best for a UT Martin team against a Division I squad since February 4, 2006 (a span of 465 games). They swept the season series against OVC rival Southeast Missouri for the first time since the 2008-09 season. Cameron Holden became the first played in UT Martin history to record a double-double in his first two career OVC games. Holden’s 11 offensive rebounds at Murray State on Jan. 16 are the third-most in an NCAA Division I game in 2020-21. Anthony Thomas became the first freshman to score at least 20 points against an OVC opponent since the program’s all-time leading scorer Myles Taylor accomplished the feat in 2011-12. The Skyhawks started the season 3-0 for the first time since the 1989-90 campaign, three years before UT Martin joined the NCAA Division I ranks and defeated Evansville for just the second time in school history (UT Martin was previously 1-11). 

As you can see, there are a lot more bright spots than the overall record indicates. There are a lot of reasons to be optimistic about the potential future of the Skyhawks if Coach Robinson is given the opportunity to do what he is known best for: Rejuvenating Programs! His unique skillset was demonstrated when he became the Head Coach at Alcorn State University in 2015. Known as one of the toughest jobs in Division 1 Basketball due to a lack of resources, Coach Robinson had a tall task of restoring order to a program that had only achieved one season with an above .500 conference record and a total of 76 SWAC victories in the 12 years prior to his arrival. In 5 seasons, Coach Robinson achieved the un-imaginable. Three winning conference records (13-5, 13-5, & 11-7) , the first overall winning record (18-14 in 2016) since 2001-2002 (21-10). There have been only two coaches in Alcorn State History to have a winning record vs. SWAC opponents; Coach Davey L. Whitney 259-115 (1969-89, 1996-03) and Coach Montez Robinson 50-40 (2015-2020). 

When Texas State and UT Martin's Athletic Directors begin evaluating candidates to fill the role of "Head Basketball Coach", I hope they realize the best candidate for the job is already on their sidelines! These men are leaders, and have navigated through adversity and uncertainty. Imagine what they can do once given the vote of confidence from University leadership and a clean slate to build their programs. 

I am cheering for the long term success of Coach Isaac Brown, Coach Terrence Johnson and Coach Montez Robinson as they continue their coaching careers. Thank you for stepping in, stepping up and clearly showcasing to the world that you are MORE THAN JUST A RECRUITER!