Lamar State posts ad for head basketball coach job

[LamarStatesports]

THIS IS NOT AN OFFICIAL LAMAR STATE COLLEGE-PORT ARTHUR JOB POSTING.

This posting is soley for the information of setxsports.com forum readers.

The Lamar State College-Port Arthur head basketball coach job posting is not on-line yet, but it should be in the next few days.

When it is, it will be available at: www.lamarpa.edu/dept/hr/job-postings.html

I'm not going to post the language of the "Job Responsibilities" part of the job listing. It will be included when the job is posted on-line.

The salary range is $45,000 to $48,000 (12-month appointment).

Here are the "Qualifications."

1. Experience in recruiting college basketball student/athletes.

2. Experience in coaching men's basketball, preferably at the college level.

3. Administrative experience in handling budgets, personnel and office management.

4. Reasonable level of computer skills.

5. Proven competency in written and verbal communication.

6. Master's degree in Kinesiology and college playing experience preferred.

A downloadable employment application is located on the Human Resources page of the college website (www.lamarpa.edu).

If you have any questions, you can call LSC-PA athletic director Bill Worsham after March 17. The college is on Spring Break this week, and Mr. Worsham will not be in his office.

[KFDM COOP]

Thanks.

[Guest nostradamus]

Kenyon Spears would be perfect for this job.

[Guest DickVitale]

Where is he now? I thought Mike Deane took him to Wofford with him...He's a good guy.

[Guest DickVitale]

I said Wofford, I stand corrected, its WAGNER...OK...thanks.

[team first]

Kenyon Spears would be perfect for this job.

i agree totally.  Spears needs to be the hire.

[Trad]

Do you suppose they may go after someone with a little more experience? The Seahawks will be jumping into a tough conference.

[LamarStatesports]

I can't speak for the decision-makers, but you're right in saying they probably would like someone with more experience. On the other hand, Spears knows the area, and that would be a plus. He also has recruiting experience and that will be the difference in where the Seahawks end up at the close of the 2008-09 season.

Region XIV is acknowleded as one of the toughest JuCo conferences in the nation. The rosters of Region XIV teams often look like the rosters of somebody's international team, with players from Eastern Europe, Africa, South America, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, etc.

It won't be an easy transition from Division III to Division I. The Seahawks learned that the first year, when the program went 0-15 against Region XIV teams in about a seven-week period.

Each year since then, the quality of Lamar State's players has improved. This year's team was the most talented, man-for-man, of any team Don Bryson coached. Near the end of the season, they posted a pretty convincing win over North Lake, which went on to win the Division III national championship.

Depending on who comes back from this year's team, the next head coach could have some solid players already in place. But he will need a big man, which we've never had, and a good shooting guard to take Noah Cole's place in the back court.

The final decision on the head coach will depend on who applies for the job. At this point, no one has applied because it isn't posted yet. The Lamar State Human Resources director has been out of the office due to a death in her family.

I'll post the full job ad when the college puts it on its website.

[Guest abovetherim]

Thanks for the information. Are there any teaching requirement of the coach and assistant coach? Is LSC-PA hard set on the $45,000-$48,000 salary? Are there current plans for on campus living in the near future? Finally, is a masters in kinesiology a must?

Thanks in advance for your reply.

[LamarStatesports]

I'l have to contact my Ouija board to answer all of those four questions. But here's some perspective:

Let's take Question 4 first: The job listing reads, "Masters degree in Kinesiology and college playing experience preferred." So, that's not a "must," but rather a "preferred." A coach with a master's degree can teach at the college level. In a department with a fairly small staff, that would be an asset.

There is no job posting for an assistant yet. I'm not privy to the discussions, but I'm betting they want to get a head coach in place and let him be involved in selecting the assistant. Both jobs are full-time.

That kind of answers Question 1, although I don't see a specific teaching requirement in the "Job Duties" section, which I did not post on this forum. It will be available when the job is posted on the college website (not yet, unfortunately).

Question 2: As far as the salary range is concerned, the Ouija board says...............I can't answer that question. I have no idea. Maybe I should use my 8-Ball answering system.

Question 3: On-campus housing? That's probably not going to happen in the near future. But they did locate housing this year and last year for some softball players who came from out of the area. That effort will expand in the coming years. In order for the basketball team to compete in Region XIV, we will have to bring some players in.

The real questions will be answered when people start submitting applications. As I previously noted, when we were looking for an assistant coach last year, applications came from all over the USA.

There will be a selection committee, which will review the applications and identify several "finalists," who will be asked to come in for an interview.

I hope this helped.

[Trad]

What are they waiting for? They have had 4 years to work on getting a new coach.

[Trad]

If the Seahawks hope to compete their first year in Division 1, I would highly suggest they hire a coach as soon as possible. Not only for new recruiting but to keep tabs on any players from last years team they may want to keep.

[Guest DickVitale]

I was thinking that exact same thing..I would guess they would hire a replacement by the end of April, so that he can get an assistant coach hired and start recruiting..Open recruiting period begins on the Tuesday AFTER the NCAA men's final four...They don't want to start off in Division I, BEHIND in recruiting...It could get REALLY ugly then..Wonder if Roc has any influence?...I mean, it could essentially become a "farm system" for him...could be.

[Trad]

I am under the impression that recruiting never takes off. There are periods during the year that you are able to sign a player but the letter writing and contact through fliers goes on all year long. P.A. Lamar is already behind and will have a tough time catching up if they could hire a coach tomorrow. Coach Bryson has done 0 recruiting for the school. I would love it if Coach Roc were able to get involved in some way with the recruiting.

[LamarStatesports]

Lamar State's recruiting operates under strict guidelines defined by the National Junior College Athletic Association.

Those rules are clearly laid out on the college's "Prospective Athletic" page. Here's part of those rules:

"National Junior College Athletic Association rules and regulations prohibit LSC-PA Athletic Department staff members (coaches) from sending letters or electronic mail to high school students until after September 1 of their junior year in high school.

High school students are permitted to telephone college coaches and administrators prior to the completion of their junior year, but only at the high school student’s expense.

High School freshman and sophomores also are permitted to contact the Lamar State Admission Advising Office for information about the college and its academic programs.

WARNING: If you are currently enrolled at another college or university, or if you have been enrolled at another college or university in the last year, NJCAA rules and regulations strictly prohibits us from having any communication with you, directly or indirectly, until that institution grants permission to Lamar State College-Port Arthur to contact you. You can obtain this permission-to-contact from the compliance office of your current or previous institution."

As far as high school seniors are concerned, the Lamar State Athletic Department and Coach Bryson pursued as many quality players as they could find in the past four years. In Bryson's first season, he had less that three months to recruit.

Of course, you don't "sign" players unless you have scholarships to give, and the college had NO scholarships for basketball players, only for softball. I am aware of many basketball players who were assisted in securing Pell Grants and other financial aid. That's all the college could offer.

[Trad]

Lamar State, I was not bashing Coach Bryson. If I were, no one here would have any doubt and it would all be the truth just like the 0 recruiting statement. Yes it was luck that the talent level this past season was as well as it was because Coach Bryson had nothing to do with bringing any of the players that were any good to the team. And yes you are dragging your feet on hiring a new coach. Also there is a fine line between recruiting, what you are permitted to do and what you can't. Seahawks do nothing, so I assume they are in full compliance.

[Guest DickVitale]

I am under the impression that recruiting never takes off. There are periods during the year that you are able to sign a player but the letter writing and contact through fliers goes on all year long. P.A. Lamar is already behind and will have a tough time catching up if they could hire a coach tomorrow. Coach Bryson has done 0 recruiting for the school. I would love it if Coach Roc were able to get involved in some way with the recruiting.

No, it really does not work that way..There are certain periods that a coach can contact prospective student athletes, watch live games, and even make a limited number of phone calls...It is a VERY regulated process..VERY...Like I said, I think that if Roc does get involved, it can really help Lamar University, as far as getting athletes are concerned, and even learning Roc's system while at Lamar-PA...I think it can be a heck of a boost to Lamar U, if used properly.

[Trad]

Mr. Vitale, I understand what you are saying and agree with most of it. I will get back to this later if I can find a college coach to answer some of my questions.

  The sooner you find a qualified coach the better off the Seahawks will be.

[DP#1FAN]

That's not a lot of $$$$$$$ most head high school coaches make around or better than that.

[LamarStatesports]

The complete job listing now is posted on the Lamar State website (www.lamarpa.edu).

Go to "Departments" and scroll down to "Human Resources," or go to: www.lamarpa.edu/cgi/hr_jobs.pl?detail=1567.

The is the full job description. The information I posted March 25 is an abbreviated listing that will be in a newspaper ad running locally this Sunday and next Wednesday.

DP#1FAN is right about the salary. However, this is an opportunity for someone to step up in the college ranks, or for a college or university assistant to get his first head coaching job.

I hope they can find someone with good recruiting skills because many of the Region XIV schools already have dormitories and full meal programs.

[Trad]

Do you have any idea when they will have a coach on the job?

[Trad]

Lamar State: If what you said is close to correct about most of the freshmen returning then we would have 7-8 returning. So what kind of an off season program has Coach Bryson have in place for the Seahawks? And the statement about Noah being on and the Seahawks winning and he being off and they lose, does not sound so good. They lost more games than they won. Did Noah really have that many off games?

[Trad]

Lamar State you seem to be privy to stats that the rest of us do not have. I only questioned you about Noah because you made it sound like he was more responsible for the losses than anyone else. I did not think he alone was responsible for the losses. The only stat keeper we had on the team was Coach Bryson. This is not a slam on Coach Bryson but just an observation. Had he coached more and keep stats less, we may would have won the 5-6 games you are talking about. I think Coach Bryson could have been a very good coach.

   And I do not answer personnel questions. If I say something that may not be correct then I need to be corrected. I do not have all the information you have access to. By the way, your opinion may be different than mine and should not be considered by anyone as a correction.

[Trad]

Lamar State are you suggesting that because Coach Bryson "had" to keep the stats that it took away from the teams ability to compete? If the Seahawks could afford to pay Coach Simmons to be an assistant, don't you think there was enough money left in the budget to hire a full time stat keeper after he left and let Coach Bryson earn his salary as a coach? If we had had a full time coach he may have had a little more control of his players as they were doing the things you discribed that caused us to lose the games you are talking about.  Since you brought up the offense. Did you know that we ran the same offense every game . The other team knew it as well as we did.

Thanks for the info on the stats.

[DP#1FAN]

Stop bashing and get back to topic thanks.    ;D