EDITORIAL
Issue date: 4/14/09 Section: Opinion
With our men's basketball team going to three straight NCAA Tournaments and two straight Final Fours, the hot talk around campus and town is whether our school can retain its coach, Dip Metress.
A report coming from both The Augusta Chronicle and NBC Augusta suggests that Georgia Southern University is interested in Metress. Athletic Director Clint Bryant has given permission to the school to speak to him.
If our coach, who has put Augusta State University basketball in the national spotlight, leaves Augusta State, The Bell Ringer suggests that it should be because of Metress himself wanting to move to a Division I school, not because of lack of respect.
Augusta State is one of only two schools in the Peach Belt Conference without a full-time assistant men's basketball coach. Lenny Carlson, a volunteer assistant who just announced his retirement last week, and Robbie McKinlay, a part-time assistant, have done a serviceable job, but Metress has had to do much of the heavy lifting.
The money issue doesn't seem to be much of a factor. For fiscal year 2008, Metress was the lowest paid coach in the Peach Belt Conference. He received a big raise, though. According to one source from The Augusta Chronicle, he is set to make approximately $69,000 for fiscal year 2009, $14,000 more than he made the previous year.
At The Bell Ringer, we understand that our success has been due to hard work by both the players on our basketball team (three All-Americans in the last three years) and the coach, but because Metress is such a good recruiter and a fabulous big game and rivalry coach, we believe he is an asset to this institution. After all, the team lost A.J. Bowman, one of its all-time great players last year, and Metress regrouped and recruited two new starters (forwards Fred Brathwaite and Greg Hire). The result? Another Final Four.
The more our men's basketball team wins, the more national interest is placed on our school. Also, the community has been more involved in the men's basketball team than seemingly any other activity before, with some games at Christenberry Fieldhouse drawing more than 3,000 fans.
So, in the best interest of Augusta State, The Bell Ringer suggests that the school go to any length to keep Metress. At the very least, the university should hire a full-time assistant just like every other Peach Belt Conference university besides Georgia Southwestern University.
A report coming from both The Augusta Chronicle and NBC Augusta suggests that Georgia Southern University is interested in Metress. Athletic Director Clint Bryant has given permission to the school to speak to him.
If our coach, who has put Augusta State University basketball in the national spotlight, leaves Augusta State, The Bell Ringer suggests that it should be because of Metress himself wanting to move to a Division I school, not because of lack of respect.
Augusta State is one of only two schools in the Peach Belt Conference without a full-time assistant men's basketball coach. Lenny Carlson, a volunteer assistant who just announced his retirement last week, and Robbie McKinlay, a part-time assistant, have done a serviceable job, but Metress has had to do much of the heavy lifting.
The money issue doesn't seem to be much of a factor. For fiscal year 2008, Metress was the lowest paid coach in the Peach Belt Conference. He received a big raise, though. According to one source from The Augusta Chronicle, he is set to make approximately $69,000 for fiscal year 2009, $14,000 more than he made the previous year.
At The Bell Ringer, we understand that our success has been due to hard work by both the players on our basketball team (three All-Americans in the last three years) and the coach, but because Metress is such a good recruiter and a fabulous big game and rivalry coach, we believe he is an asset to this institution. After all, the team lost A.J. Bowman, one of its all-time great players last year, and Metress regrouped and recruited two new starters (forwards Fred Brathwaite and Greg Hire). The result? Another Final Four.
The more our men's basketball team wins, the more national interest is placed on our school. Also, the community has been more involved in the men's basketball team than seemingly any other activity before, with some games at Christenberry Fieldhouse drawing more than 3,000 fans.
So, in the best interest of Augusta State, The Bell Ringer suggests that the school go to any length to keep Metress. At the very least, the university should hire a full-time assistant just like every other Peach Belt Conference university besides Georgia Southwestern University.
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