MARSHALL FOR HIRE


When you take a look at the numbers, it is hard to imagine why Gregg Marshall is entering his eighth season as the head coach at Winthrop. In his first seven seasons Marshall has compiled a pretty impressive resume, which includes five trips in seven years to the NCAA tournament. Has anyone noticed?

· Led Winthrop to first Big South Conference regular season championship in 1999

· Led Winthrop to first NCAA tournament appearance in 1999

· Led Winthrop to first back-to-back Big South Conference tournament titles in school history in 1999 and 2000.

· Led Winthrop to first back-to-back NCAA appearances in Big South Conference history in 1999 and 2000

· Led Winthrop to first back-to-back 20-win seasons since school became a NCAA Div. I member in 1987

· Led Winthrop to a No. 14 seed in the 2000 and 2005 NCAA tournaments, the highest-ever for a Big South Conference school.

· Captured first Big South Conference Coach of the Year honor in 1999.

· Led Winthrop to first three-peat in Big South Conference history with a third championship in 2001.

· Led Winthrop to a fourth straight Big South title in 2002.

· Led Winthrop to a third 20-win season and the regular season Big South Conference championship in 2003.

· Was voted Big South Conference Coach of the Year in 1999, 2003 And 2005.

· Led Winthrop to a fourth 20-win season and the Regular Season Big South Conference Championship In 2005.

· Led Winthrop to a school and Big South Conference record for wins in a season with 27 in 2004-05.

Such numbers are hard to ignore, but for some reason they haven’t been impressive enough for a high profile program to lure him away from Rock Hill, SC. But it’s not something that consumes Marshall. As that old expression goes, he worries about what he can control.

“You can’t start worrying about things you cannot control,” says Marshall. “I am concerned about our next opponent. If you win everything else will take care of it self. We are going to have another solid basketball team this season and the goal is to win another Big South championship.”

From a lot of people that would be nothing more than lip service or coach-speak, but Marshall is dedicated solely to the task at hand. He has no problem talking up his team, but you won’t hear him campaigning for higher profile job. And you won’t hear him saying what’s politically correct. He’s not afraid to make his point. And a lot of people misread that. Some that don’t know Marshall would suggest that he is cocky and downright arrogant.

When you lose nobody notices what type of person you are, but when you win your manner and choice of words is deemed abrasive. And many point to this so-called attitude as being reason for his inability to climb the coaching ladder.

It’s ridiculous.

Over the past few years Marshall has been linked to a lot of openings, some real and many just rumored. When actually involved in the interview process, the school simply went in a different direction or the situation was not right for Marshall.

There is a long list of current coaches that have consistently been in the mix (for a higher profile job) every year, but still remain at the current place of employment. The big difference between them and Marshall is that the Winthrop coach is dancing every year in March.

You can make a very strong case that Winthrop has been one of the top mid-major programs during Marshall’s tenure at the helm. If you exclude Gonzaga from the discussion, there is a compelling argument for Winthrop to be tops. But five trips to the dance have resulted in five losses.

It’s about the only thing Marshall hasn’t done -- Win in March. If the majors are judged by how deep they go into March, are mid-majors now judged on whether or not they can win an opening round game?

“That may be the case,” says Marshall, “but I feel that on our level being a consistently successful program means competing for your conference championship, whether regular season or tournament every year. Our goal from day one has been to be playing in March with a chance to advance. If we find ourselves playing in March post-season play, then we consider our season a success.”

Winning in March requires first getting to March and few at the mid-major level have done it as frequently in the past seven years as Marshall. The Winthrop Eagles in March have become almost commonplace.

“There have been a lot of reasons for our success over the past seven years,” says Marshall. “It starts with players and we have been able to attract some talented young men to our program and they have allowed us to coach them. I have had a great coaching staff and Winthrop has continued to upgrade the facilities, which has given us one of the finest arenas on any school on our level.”

Still many aren’t overly impressed with the accomplishments. According to some, the Big South Conference is a weak league. When Gonzaga wins the WCC every year it’s because they are dominant, but when Winthrop wins it’s because their conference is weak.

And detractors will use that notion again this season. Winthrop became the first school in the history of the Big South Conference to be a unanimous preseason pick, receiving all 32 first place votes. Marshall welcomes back 98% of his scoring and 97% of his rebounding from last year’s squad so it looks like another strong season for the Eagles.

You can’t dissect winning. It is what it is and Gregg Marshall has done it as well as anyone over the past seven years. He enters the season (142 wins) needing just 19 wins to become the school’s all-time leader in that category. He has a ten-year contract and his current salary package is four times as much as he made in his first season at Winthrop.

So why he is still in Rock Hill, SC?

“Every year my job gets better,” says Marshall. “In 1998 I was given an opportunity to be the head coach at Winthrop. Nobody else gave me that opportunity. A lot of people don’t realize how hard it can be to find a good job in this profession. And I have a good one.”

Quite often the best job is the one you have.