KFDM COOP Posted April 14, 2008 Report Posted April 14, 2008 Roc to assist in Seahawks' search By Tom Halliburton The Port Arthur News Meet the newest consultant in Lamar State College-Port Arthur's search for a basketball coach. He's Port Arthur native and Lamar Cardinals head basketball coach Steve Roccaforte. Through two seasons at LU-Beaumont, Roccaforte is a former LU student in health and kinesiology under former LU teacher and current LSC-PA athletics director Bill Worsham. The bond between the two has remained solid over the years and Roc has expressed a willingness to assist Worsham in whatever capacity is deemed necessary in the Seahawks' efforts to replace Don Bryson. The only men's head basketball coach in the program's four-year history, Bryson announced his retirement at the end of the 2007-08 season. LSC-PA plans to act swiftly because it is entering the extremely competitive NJCAA Division I level's Region XIV next winter in men's basketball, as it already is in women's softball. The school's Human Resource department compiled a list of applicants which was provided to The Port Arthur News on Monday. Worsham hoped that Roccaforte and Bryson would assist his efforts in narrowing down the field to a group of eight to 10 semifinalists. The Seahawks athletics director hoped to be able to publicly provide a list of two to five finalists by Apr. 25. How willing is Roccaforte to assist in Lamar-Port Arthur's efforts? That's up to Worsham. "Roc and I have agreed that I will bring the (application) packets to him and let him review the names," Worsham said. "I talked to him about that last Monday night. He was straight-forward in saying that he didn't wish to make a specific recommendation." An on-campus committee will assist Worsham in making a recommendation to LSC-PA President Dr. Sam Monroe. That recommendation may come as soon as Apr. 25, too. The Seahawks' head basketball coach was posted at the end of March and was listed with a salary of $42,000 to $48,000. Worsham said he had visited with at least 15 interested prospects over the phone about the position. "They feel it's an outstanding opportunity to put together a good program," Worsham said. Roccaforte downplayed his role as a consultant but accented his willingness to assist if necessary. "Really and truly, I'm not involved that much," Roccaforte said. "But I have remained good friends over the years with Bill Worsham and Dr. Monroe and I told them, 'whenever you get a list, I'll do whatever you want me to do'. "I'm sure they know what's best for their situation." The following names have been submitted to The News as applicants for LSC-PA's head basketball coaching position:
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