The Minnesota State football team wrapped up practice Monday night with interim coach Aaron Keen, and afterward, Keen and a couple players talked about life without a head coach.
MSU football coach Todd Hoffner was removed from practice Friday afternoon and taken from campus. The university has not divulged any details, other than say that Hoffner is on administrative leave.
AD Kevin Buisman appointed Keen, the associated head coach and offensive coordinator, as the interim coach, mainly because of previous head-coaching experience.
Keen will take over Hoffner's responsibilities as receivers coach, and Ron Planz will absorb Hoffner's special-teams responsibilities.
Keen said that the players have remained focused on football, despite some trying times.
WR Adam Thielen and DE Chris Schaudt both said that they were completely blindsided by the Hoffner incident, and both said that Hoffner had not tried to contact them or any of the players.
They both said that the coaches have done a great job of keeping them focused on the season-opener Aug. 30 at Minot State, and that the season's goals haven't changed.
It's certainly been a strange three days since this situation occurred. Hoffner remains at his home in Eagle Lake, and he was seen at a local business Monday afternoon.
There's plenty of speculation and rumors floating around, but there is no news as of now.
Monday, August 20, 2012
Thursday, August 16, 2012
MSU women's BB coach search gets interesting
Over the last two days, the search for the next women's basketball coach at Minnesota State has come down to two candidates: South Dakota State assistant Emilee Thiesse and Southwest Minnesota State head coach Allison Kruger.
Having spoken with both, there seems to be one difference. Thiesse is looking for her first head-coaching job, while Kruger has already had a couple seasons on the hot seat.
Thiesse's resume is good, having worked at South Dakota State and Drake as both programs have competed in the NCAA tournament. She's been the recruiting coordinator for the Jackrabbits, with a concentration on Minnesota.
She seems somewhat soft-spoken, probably doesn't have an intimidating presence on the bench. She's been on winning teams and probably has high expectations for her athletes.
Kruger's resume isn't as impressive, with some experience as an assistant at South Dakota. She's been the head coach at Southwest and won only 13 games in two seasons.
Certainly, there are greater challenges to winning at Southwest than there are at Minnesota State, but she comes across as a more experienced, confident coach, eager to accept a challenge. She also is very familiar with the current roster and the Northern Sun.
It seems that neither candidate would run the program into the ground, yet this decision comes down to which personality the search committee is looking for. The resume seems to favor Thiesse, while the head-coach experience and presence should favor Kruger.
The decision could be made before the weekend, and an announcement could come early next week.
Having spoken with both, there seems to be one difference. Thiesse is looking for her first head-coaching job, while Kruger has already had a couple seasons on the hot seat.
Thiesse's resume is good, having worked at South Dakota State and Drake as both programs have competed in the NCAA tournament. She's been the recruiting coordinator for the Jackrabbits, with a concentration on Minnesota.
She seems somewhat soft-spoken, probably doesn't have an intimidating presence on the bench. She's been on winning teams and probably has high expectations for her athletes.
Kruger's resume isn't as impressive, with some experience as an assistant at South Dakota. She's been the head coach at Southwest and won only 13 games in two seasons.
Certainly, there are greater challenges to winning at Southwest than there are at Minnesota State, but she comes across as a more experienced, confident coach, eager to accept a challenge. She also is very familiar with the current roster and the Northern Sun.
It seems that neither candidate would run the program into the ground, yet this decision comes down to which personality the search committee is looking for. The resume seems to favor Thiesse, while the head-coach experience and presence should favor Kruger.
The decision could be made before the weekend, and an announcement could come early next week.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
MSU men's basketball gets new look
I understood when Minnesota State men's basketball coach Matt Margenthaler signed Mike Busack of Redwood Valley in the fall.
Busack is an explosive offensive player, long and lean ... the type of player that the Mavericks' head coach usually likes.
Transfer Jayme Moten doesn't fit that bill, but the Mavericks needed a point guard so badly last season that adding Moten, a transfer from Texas-Pan American, makes sense.
The Egyptian center Assem Marei was a no-brainer that fell into Margenthaler's lap. Never turn down a talented big man, and Marei might be the best player on the team next season.
This spring, Margenthaler has added Zach Monaghan (a shooter), Gage Wooten (shooter) and Jarvis Williams (aggressive offensive player at the basket) to his roster. All make sense ... offense-first, filling specific needs for a team that struggled to score last season.
But then the ol' ball coach threw basketball's version of a curveball. This week, he added Waterville-Elysian-Morristown point guard Grant Pope, a defensive-minded player who could probably go the rest of his career without ever taking a shot.
In Margenthaler's 11 seasons as a head coach, he's never recruited a player who's primary strength was defense. Never.
There have been Mavericks who played good defense, and there were others that Margenthaler called good defenders, though that was more to deflect away from their offensive deficiencies.
Pope is the real deal, a non-stop, tough, physical guard whom you need to be aware of every time you have the basketball. He set a state record with more than 500 steals in his career, often coming off his player to double team or sneak up behind the opponent. He's also very good on the ball, as the St. Peter guard found out in the subsection championship game.
He said Monday that he's not an offensive player. Never have been. Never will.
Wow. Never heard that from one of the Mavericks, at least never when I believed it.
Does this signal a change in Margenthaler's recruiting philosophy? Certainly not.
The next player to come to Minnesota State will almost certainly be an athletic, high-flying kid who can either stroke the 3 or dunk with electricity.
But it's nice to see a player get rewarded for stopping an opponent as much as scoring.
Busack is an explosive offensive player, long and lean ... the type of player that the Mavericks' head coach usually likes.
Transfer Jayme Moten doesn't fit that bill, but the Mavericks needed a point guard so badly last season that adding Moten, a transfer from Texas-Pan American, makes sense.
The Egyptian center Assem Marei was a no-brainer that fell into Margenthaler's lap. Never turn down a talented big man, and Marei might be the best player on the team next season.
This spring, Margenthaler has added Zach Monaghan (a shooter), Gage Wooten (shooter) and Jarvis Williams (aggressive offensive player at the basket) to his roster. All make sense ... offense-first, filling specific needs for a team that struggled to score last season.
But then the ol' ball coach threw basketball's version of a curveball. This week, he added Waterville-Elysian-Morristown point guard Grant Pope, a defensive-minded player who could probably go the rest of his career without ever taking a shot.
In Margenthaler's 11 seasons as a head coach, he's never recruited a player who's primary strength was defense. Never.
There have been Mavericks who played good defense, and there were others that Margenthaler called good defenders, though that was more to deflect away from their offensive deficiencies.
Pope is the real deal, a non-stop, tough, physical guard whom you need to be aware of every time you have the basketball. He set a state record with more than 500 steals in his career, often coming off his player to double team or sneak up behind the opponent. He's also very good on the ball, as the St. Peter guard found out in the subsection championship game.
He said Monday that he's not an offensive player. Never have been. Never will.
Wow. Never heard that from one of the Mavericks, at least never when I believed it.
Does this signal a change in Margenthaler's recruiting philosophy? Certainly not.
The next player to come to Minnesota State will almost certainly be an athletic, high-flying kid who can either stroke the 3 or dunk with electricity.
But it's nice to see a player get rewarded for stopping an opponent as much as scoring.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Time is right for Davis to return to East football
When Eric Davis resigned as football and baseball coach at Mankato East four years ago, you knew he wasn't done coaching.
He left to take an assistant football position at Minnesota State for a couple of years, and last season, he worked as an offensive assistant with the highly successful Mankato West football team.
But as coach Dave Frisell announced his resignation Monday, saying that he was making a family decision to move to the Twin Cities where he could be closer to his mom and in-laws, Davis is the first name you think of to be the next football coach at East.
Davis was a popular coach at East from 2003-07, working with the football, boys basketball and baseball programs during that stretch. His teams were 31-19.
The Cougars have struggled the last four seasons, not because of the coach but because of diminishing talent. The program appears to be improving.
Davis will get a lot of attention over the next month as the position gets filled. There will be other candidates to emerge, though none would have the star power and light a fire in the program like Davis. He's still a teacher in the building, which makes it easier to be a coach.
It seems a foregone conclusion that Davis will be the next football coach at East. It makes a lot of sense.
He left to take an assistant football position at Minnesota State for a couple of years, and last season, he worked as an offensive assistant with the highly successful Mankato West football team.
But as coach Dave Frisell announced his resignation Monday, saying that he was making a family decision to move to the Twin Cities where he could be closer to his mom and in-laws, Davis is the first name you think of to be the next football coach at East.
Davis was a popular coach at East from 2003-07, working with the football, boys basketball and baseball programs during that stretch. His teams were 31-19.
The Cougars have struggled the last four seasons, not because of the coach but because of diminishing talent. The program appears to be improving.
Davis will get a lot of attention over the next month as the position gets filled. There will be other candidates to emerge, though none would have the star power and light a fire in the program like Davis. He's still a teacher in the building, which makes it easier to be a coach.
It seems a foregone conclusion that Davis will be the next football coach at East. It makes a lot of sense.
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