The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Sports

April 4, 2008

MSU coach Bolen must love his job

By Dave Morrison

How interesting that Georgetown’s Happy Osborne interviewed for the head coaching job at smallish Division I Centenary.

A friend from Kentucky told me that tidbit and also that Oklahoma City’s Ray Harper was being mentioned as a possible candidate for the Western Kentucky job.

I don’t think there is any way Happy ends up at Centenary. Seems like a leverage move. Besides, LSU Shreveport coach Chad McDowell reportedly turned down the job already.

But the fact that Happy interviewed seems to lend credence to the rumor that several schools were in Kansas City last week at the NAIA national tournament and were actually interviewing coaches.

That got me wondering if Mountain State University’s Bob Bolen had been contacted by any schools who are currently seeking a new coach.

It’s no secret that he had offers in previous years but always turned them down.

Bolen would neither confirm nor deny that he had been contacted by other schools but denied that he had interviewed with any schools during the NAIA tournament.

“I would never do an interview during the national tournament,” Bolen said. “We’re too focused on trying to win the championship.”

No less an authority than Osborne himself maintains that Bolen is one of the hardest working coaches in the NAIA. The coaching staff pulled an all-nighter between their win over Georgetown and the national title loss to Oklahoma City.

That’s one of the reasons Bolen has a 373-104 overall record, is 18-9 all-time in the NAIA tournament and has a national championship to his credit.

All of which has me wondering, why is is still here?

Either Bolen is awfully quiet about his job offers or he really loves the job at Mountain State.

How fortunate MSU is to have a coach like Bolen.

I still think Marshall messed up by not at least interviewing Bolen after Ron Jirsa was let go. But that’s a column for another day.

This year’s Scott Brown Classic is shaping up as potentially one of the best in the last several years.

We have firm confirmations from the boys player of the year, Bridgeport’s Bryant Irwin, who will play at St. Joe’s, and girls player of the year Jolysa Brown of Summers County.

The games will be played Saturday, April 12, at the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center. Tickets are $5.

The boys game shapes up as a battle between the Class AAA’s superior size (Irwin, Nitro’s Brett McClanahan, an Akron signee, Woodrow Wilson’s Travis Parkulo and Damien Tunstalle, MSU Academy’s Josh Birchfield and Capital’s Malik Witten) against the perimeter shooting of the Class AA-A (the state’s leading three-point shooter Cory Willard of Wyoming East, 110 3s, Ravenswood’s Dusty Mullins, 289 career threes and Winfield’s Caleb Ashley).

Also, the dunk contest with the athletes we have assembled should be a highlight reel this year.

Word is West Virginia University’s football team is interested in Wyoming East’s Travis Smith.

Very interested, according to a source.

And why wouldn’t they be?

Smith, a member of the Warriors’ back-to-back state championship basketball teams, is a 6-foot-4, 265-pound junior with nimble — and I do mean nimble — feet. He can motor for a big man.

Get him in a Division I weight room and the sky is the limit for Smith, an offensive lineman/linebacker on the football team.

I’m going to try something in two weeks I may regret, but I will attempt to run (and possibly walk some, as well) the Gristmill Grinder Half-Marathon April 19 at Babcock State Park.

Why?

Because it didn’t sound like a bad idea four weeks ago. But the closer it gets ...

— E-mail:

demorrison@register-herald.com

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