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Post by Fanforever on Apr 14, 2015 13:36:38 GMT -6
I would really like to see GG on staff to work with the defense and hope Corn stays on. At a few functions i have attended he has been pleasant to talk to and as previously stated knows the Chicago area.
gbbrl97 you made a good point that we railed on TK about his coaching deficiencies and to a lesser extent BW. So lets hope Darner the "missing Linc" does not any. It would be nice if our mens team followed what the womens team did which is have a coach come in and start an upward trend, leave and then bring in a new coach that elevates it even more.
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Post by thetulsawarrior on Apr 14, 2015 13:43:49 GMT -6
This is a cut and paste from the Florida Southern webpage. I thought I'd post it before they took it down.
Entering his ninth season as Florida Southern’s head men’s basketball coach in 2014-15, Linc Darner has already led the Moccasins to five Sunshine State Conference regular season titles, five SSC Tournament titles and seven consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and seven straight 20-plus win seasons. During his first eight years at Florida Southern, Darner has put together a 182-71 record on the Moccasin bench.
Overall in 12 years as a college head coach, Darner has compiled a career record of 256-116, for a career winning percentage of .688 entering the 2014-15 season. That includes four years at St. Joseph’s College (IN) where he coached from 2002-06. In his final season at St. Joseph’s, Darner led the Pumas to the Great Lakes Valley Conference regular season title, giving him six conference championships and eight trips to the NCAA Tournament in the last nine years.
In addition to the success enjoyed by his teams at both St. Joseph’s and Florida Southern, Darner has won six conference coach-of-the-year awards during his 12 seasons as a head coach. He was the 2006 GLVC Coach-of-the-Year before earning the same honor in the Sunshine State Conference in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013 and 2014. Darner is the only coach in the history of the Sunshine State Conference to win that award three consecutive years and the only FSC coach to ever earn five SSC Coach of the Year honors.
During the most recently completed 2013-14 season, Darner led the Mocs to their fifth SSC Tournament title and their third consecutive after taking home its second straight regular season SSC title with a 12-4 record. Along with winning both the regular season and SSC Tournament titles, the Mocs also hosted the NCAA Division II South Regional Tournament for the second straight season and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the seventh consecutive year.
On the season, the Mocs finished the year ranked 10th in the final NABC/Division II Coaches' Poll as they posted a 26-5 record. The 26 wins marked the seventh straight year that the program had won 20 or more games. In addition, Kevin Capers became the Mocs latest Division II All-American as he earned All-America accolades from four different organizations. Along with being an All-America, Capers also was named the SSC Player of the Year and the Daktronics South Region Player of the Year.
During the 2012-13 season, Coach Darner led the Mocs to their fourth SSC Tournament title and their second consecutive after finishing tied with Saint Leo for first in the regular season league standings with a 12-4 record. Along with winning both the regular season and SSC Tournament titles, the Mocs also won the South Regional Championship on its homecourt with a 90-88 win over two-time defending South Regional champion Alabama-Huntsville to earn the program's ninth-ever berth in the Division II Elite Eight.
FSC's season came to an end in the Elite Eight as the Mocs fell to the defending D-II National Champions, Western Washington at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Ky. It marked the Mocs' first appearance in the Elite Eight since 2000. On the season, FSC finished ranked eighth in the final NABC/Division II Coaches' Poll as they posted a 27-6 record and claimed the 2012-13 NCAA D-II national statistical championship for turnover margin as they finished the season with a +6.8 turnover margin. The 27 wins marked the sixth straight year that the program had won 20 or more games.
Coach Darner led the Mocs to their third SSC Tournament title under his tenure in the 2011-12 season after finishing fifth in regular season competition with a 9-7 conference recrod. For the fifth consecutive year the Mocs earned a bid to the NCAA South Region Tournament, finishing their season with a 20-10 overall record.
In the first seven years under Coach Darner, the Mocs have averaged over 80 points per game after averaging 84.9 points per game in the 2012-13 season and leading the SSC for the fifth straight season in scoring offense.
In going 23-9 during the 2010-11 season, Florida Southern also went 12-4 in conference play for a second-place finish behind Rollins. That enabled the Moccasins to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA South Region Tournament, where they immediately knocked off the higher seeded Tars in the opening round before falling to Stillman in the regional semifinals. That gives Darner a 6-6 record in the NCAA Tournament at Florida Southern, to go along with an 14-3 mark in the SSC Tournament.
The 2010-11 team also averaged over 80 points per game (81.5) for the fourth year in a row, making Florida Southern one of the highest scoring teams in the country during that stretch. They’ve led the SSC in scoring offense each of the last three seasons after doing that just three times in the previous 25 years.
Darner and the Moccasins won its 20th conference championship in 2010, when Florida Southern went 25-5 overall and 13-3 in the SSC, tying the team record for most conference wins. The Mocs averaged over 85 points per game, the third year in a row they ranked among the 20 highest scoring teams in Division II, shot 43 percent from 3-point range to rank fourth in Division II, and their .756 free throw percentage was 11th in the country. The Mocs proved impossible to beat at home too, going 17-0 at Jenkins Field House, only the fourth time since World War II they were undefeated on their home court.
In winning the regular season title in the SSC for the third year in a row, Darner again rallied his team down the stretch. Trailing Rollins a by a game-and-a-half in the standings on February 6, and having lost to the Tars already in Winter Park, the Moccasins faced them again in a match-up of nationally ranked teams at Jenkins Field House. Florida Southern led from start to finish in a game that turned into a blowout, went on to win the final six games of the regular season, and earned the top seed in the SSC Tournament for the third straight year.
Florida Southern spent that entire season ranked in the NABC Top-25, the first time in 10 years the Moccasins accomplished that, and their #2 ranking in late December and early January was their highest in nine years. They finished the year at #13.
In addition to Darner being named the SSC Coach-of-the-Year, the Moccasins had three players named to the all-conference team, headlined by senior John Thompson, the 2010 SSC Player-of-the-Year and the program’s first All-American since 2004. Thompson was the second conference player-of-the-year coached by Darner, and was also the first Moccasin selected to play in the NABC Division II All-Star Game.
Four years ago, the Mocs were 29-7 under Darner, the most wins for Florida Southern since 2000, and the third highest total in the program’s 84-year history. Among those 29 wins were two in the South Region Tournament, the Mocs’ first NCAA playoff wins since 2000 as well. That enabled Florida Southern to finish the season as South Region runner-up and ranked #11 in the final NABC national rankings.
In addition to their 29-7 overall record, the Mocs were also 13-3 in the Sunshine State Conference, equaling the most SSC wins in team history. They overcame a loss to Rollins in their SSC opener in early December, but took control of the race at the end of January after beating the Tars in a rematch. They owned at least a share of the lead the rest of the way and clinched the title before the final regular season game for the second year in a row. The Mocs then won their first two games in the SSC Tournament by a combined 60 points before edging Rollins in the championship game, 77-76 in overtime. At the end of the year, Darner became the first Moccasin basketball coach to be selected to coach in the annual NABC Division II All-Star Game, coaching the East Team in Springfield, Massachusetts.
While 2008-09 may have been a remarkable season for the Moccasins, Darner’s first two years at Florida Southern may have been even more so. After an 8-20 record in year one, the Moccasins put together a stunning turnaround in year two, going 24-9 overall, and winning the Sunshine State Conference with a 12-4 league record. They also won the SSC Tournament, were the top seed in the NCAA South Region Tournament, and finished at #17 in the national poll. Considering the history of the program, those results may have seemed like normal accomplishments, but it was the way they were done that was noteworthy, and ultimately earned Darner his first SSC Coach-of-the-Year award.
Florida Southern became the first team in SSC history to go from “worst-to-first”, and was one of only two schools in the country at any NCAA level to accomplish that feat in 2008. Their nine-game improvement in the SSC standings was also the best in league history, and the Moccasins were one of only five teams in any NCAA division that went from 20 losses to 20 wins that season. They accomplished all of that by facing a regular season schedule that included five games against different ranked opponents. The Mocs beat three of them, matching their best total in one season in the last 20 years. They also played nine games against teams that qualified for the NCAA Division II Tournament, and took national runner-up Augusta State to overtime before falling, 76-75.
Remarkable turnarounds are nothing new to Darner, who accomplished the same thing at St. Joseph’s College in Rensselaer, Indiana, where he coached four seasons (2002-06) before coming to Florida Southern. The Pumas saw their win total increase each year under Darner, culminating with a 31-3 record in his final season, the best in school history. When he first arrived at St. Joseph’s, the Pumas had had just one winning season in the previous 10 years, playing in a league that features perennial national powers Kentucky Wesleyan and Southern Indiana, as well as 2006 national runner-up SIU-Edwardsville.
Darner’s first St. Joseph’s team went 11-17, before improving to 15-13 the following year, and 17-12 in the 2004-05 season. His final team at St. Joseph’s not only set school records for wins, points, and 3-point field goals, it also earned its first conference title since 1992, its first outright title since 1979, and made its first ever appearance in the GLVC Tournament championship game, where the Pumas defeated Quincy, 68-67. That earned St. Joseph’s the top seed in the Great Lakes Region Tournament, the Pumas’ first NCAA bid in 14 years. The Pumas ranked 17th in the nation in scoring (84.8 points per game), and their .912 winning percentage was fourth among all college teams at any NCAA or NAIA level. St. Joseph’s was ranked as high as #2 in the nation and among its 31 victories was an 81-76 win over eventual national champion Winona State (MN).
The Pumas’ accomplishments in 2006 earned Darner the Great Lakes Valley Conference Coach-of-the-Year award, as well as the Great Lakes Region Coach-of-the-Year award from the National Association of Basketball Coaches. Two of his players were named first team all-conference and made the all-region team as well, including GLVC Player-of-the-Year Sullivan Sykes, St. Joseph’s first All-American in 18 years.
In the 94-year history of St. Joseph’s men’s basketball, Darner ranks fifth in career wins (he was fourth at the time of his departure), and third in career winning percentage among those with at least four seasons. His teams averaged better than 80 points a game during all four years of his tenure, and St. Joseph’s was one of only 11 Division II teams to do that in each of those four seasons.
Darner didn’t leave his high-scoring offense behind when he came to Florida Southern in the spring of 2006 as the 22nd head coach in the program’s history, but only the seventh since 1956. Though it took a couple of years for the Moccasins to adjust to a new offense, they too have become one of the country’s top scoring teams. In the last five years Florida Southern has reached triple digits 16 times, something it did only 16 times the previous 14 years.
In 2008, the Mocs finished the year ranked #14 in Division II in scoring offense with an 83.5 average that represented a 16 percent improvement over Darner’s first year at the helm. It was the best 1-year improvement for the Mocs in 52 years, and they didn’t stop there. The 2009 team was 19th in scoring, but saw its average rise to 84.0 points per game, the highest for Florida Southern in 21 years, and in 2010, the Mocs’ average increased again to 85.2, good for 13th in Division II. They ranked 26th in 2010 while scoring 81.5 points per game.
Florida Southern’s scoring average the last five years illustrates the type of up-tempo offense Darner runs, and 3-point shooting is a big part of it. After making 159 long-range baskets in his first year, the Mocs have exploded by making almost 1,900 in the last seven. In 2008, the Mocs finished fourth in the country in 3-point field goals per game with a school and SSC-record 10.3 average, their .407 shooting percentage behind the arc was good for ninth in Division II, and their total of 340 treys shattered the previous school record by 134. They made over 300 more from long range in 2009, leading the Sunshine State Conference for the second year in a row.
Even after the NCAA moved the 3-point line back for the 2010-11 season, the Moccasins have continued to light up the scoreboard from long distance. Florida Southern is the only Division II school in the country to rank in the top 10 in 3-point shooting percentage in two of the last five seasons, finishing fourth in 2010 before the change, and fourth again in 2011. In 2012, FSC was 84th nationally and in 2013, the Mocs finished 32nd nationally in 3-pointers made.
Three-point shooting percentage was one of five statistical categories in which Florida Southern finished in the top ten nationally in 2011. The Mocs were also set a school record for free throw percentage at .779, which was good for seventh in Division II, and the highest in the Sunshine State Conference for the second year in a row.
Though Darner has only been a college head coach for 12 years, already three of his former assistants have landed head coaching jobs of their own at the Division II level. The first was at St. Joseph’s where he was succeeded by Richard Davis, who continued what Darner started and guided the Pumas to the Division II Elite Eight in 2010. The next was Randall Herbst, who served on Darner’s first staff at Florida Southern, and just completed his second season at Mary University (ND) where he guided the Marauders to their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance. Herbst is now an assistant coach at Division I Nebraska-Omaha and the most recent was Tom Church, who served on Darner's staff the past three seasons (2011-13), was named the head coach at St. Joseph's [IN] in April of 2013 and will enter his second season at the helm of the Pumas in 2014-15.
Several of Darner’s players have achieved national recognition as well, with three Moccasins earning All-American honors and two of them earning invitations to play in the annual NABC Division II All-Star Game. John Thompson was the first in 2010 (Division II Bulletin Third Team), and Rion Rayfield followed him in 2011 (Division II Bulletin honorable mention). Both players were also NABC All-South Region selections, with Rayfield earning that award three times in his Florida Southern career, and Rob Eldridge earning it twice.
In his short time at Florida Southern, Darner has also brought in some of the greatest individual players in the program’s 85-year history, with four of the school’s Top 12 career scoring leaders arriving under his watch. Rayfield graduated in 2011 as the Mocs’ second all-time leading scorer with 1,870 points and shattered the school’s previous record for 3-point field goals. Capers enters his senior season in 2014-15 having scored 1,534 points, which is ninth on the all-time list and Eldridge scored 1,411 points in just three years at Florida Southern before embarking on a pro career overseas. Brandon Jenkins totaled 1,532 points in his career to rank eighth all-time, and his brother Terry topped 1,000 points as well despite playing only three years for the Moccasins.
Along with coaching four players who rank in the top 10 of the program's all-time scoring chart, Darner has also had three other players score over 1,000 career points as Seth Evans (2011-13) finished his two years at FSC with 1,096 points, which is 25th on the all-time list, Dominic Lane (2010-14) scored 1,076 points, which is 27th on the all-time list and Brett Bailey (2009-13) scored 1,075 points, which is 28th on the all-time list.
Before his first head coaching job at St. Joseph’s, Darner spent four seasons (1998-2002) as an assistant coach at Ashland University in Ohio, serving as that program’s recruiting coordinator. During that time, Ashland was 72-38. Prior to that, he had brief stints as an assistant coach at Murray State, where he helped the Racers win two Ohio Valley Conference Championships, and at Lincoln Memorial (TN) University.
As a collegiate player, Darner was a four-year letterman for coach Gene Keady at Purdue University, where the Boilermakers went 82-42 in his career (1990-94) and earned three NCAA Tournament bids. He was the first player under Keady to be named a team captain twice, and was a teammate of future NBA #1 draft pick Glenn Robinson, and current Purdue head coach Matt Painter. In 1991, following his freshman year at Purdue, Darner played in the United States Olympic Festival where he helped the North team to a gold medal.
As a senior, he captained Purdue to a 29-5 record, the Big Ten Championship, and a berth in the NCAA Division I regional finals. A 6-4 guard with the Boilermakers, Darner played in 124 games in his career, a figure that ranked fifth in school history at the time of his graduation. In 1991, he set a school freshman record for 3-point field goals made with 32, and he ranks among the career leaders at Purdue in 3-pointers, as well as 3-point field goal percentage.
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Post by gbbrl97 on Apr 14, 2015 14:01:28 GMT -6
It would be nice to see GG on staff again, but would Darner hire someone who had interviewed for the job twice and didn't get it?
I do hope Darner keeps Corn. This may help stem the tide of transfers and bring some continuity and Corn's connections in Chicago.
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Post by basketballfan14 on Apr 14, 2015 14:06:19 GMT -6
I would really like to see GG on staff to work with the defense and hope Corn stays on. At a few functions i have attended he has been pleasant to talk to and as previously stated knows the Chicago area. gbbrl97 you made a good point that we railed on TK about his coaching deficiencies and to a lesser extent BW. So lets hope Darner the "missing Linc" does not any. It would be nice if our mens team followed what the womens team did which is have a coach come in and start an upward trend, leave and then bring in a new coach that elevates it even more. GG is way to stubborn to take an assistant spot under the man that won the job over him, there is no way in hell that will happen. Plus he was passed over twice for the job, think it is time to move on with the UWGB dream. Let Linc get his own team together, he knows what he is doing. Boy, I am excited for this hire!
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Post by shooting the J on Apr 14, 2015 15:23:02 GMT -6
I'll guessing Linc's staff includes his Florida Southern assistant super-achiever Ben Swank, Corn, and former Darner assistant and successful former University of Mary coach Randall Herbst. He's now an assistant at UNO. I could see Seth Evans here as DOBO.
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Post by GBPhoenix1 on Apr 14, 2015 20:34:54 GMT -6
I want to be excited about this I really do but right now I am not. Butler, Xavier, North Dakota State, Valpo, Murray State, Kent State and VCU are solid programs that tend to hire similar guys or guys in the system when turnover happens. Losing most of the talent that was lined up and changing systems just seems like the program is going back a level for awhile. Not to knock Darner too much but recruiting Indiana kids to Florida is likely a lot easier than recruiting them to GB. Playing a press all game and bombing three's seems exciting but it is going to require some big time players to make it work. The kind of kids that are in WI that can play this way are few and far between at the mid major level. Of the potential coaches being mentioned I think Corn can get the kids here but my take on him is that is about all he does. I don't mind the idea of Herbst. I am not sure how I feel about Swank.
Does anyone know how much money they are paying Darner and for how long?
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Post by GBPhoenix1 on Apr 14, 2015 20:43:41 GMT -6
Just a quick follow up comment to my post. While I am not pumped right now and I did prefer Barone I will say that I will gladly eat crow if Darner wins, renew my tickets, continue my donations and be a big fan of the program.
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Post by gbalum2007 on Apr 15, 2015 9:29:19 GMT -6
Listened to the introductory press conference. Sounds like Darner has a pretty clear vision for the direction of the program. Said he will reach out to the incoming class and that he already has a list of potential recruits should they decide to leave.
He was pretty clear in stating that it'll be a style that we're not used to. High-paced but organized offense and 94-foot pressure on defense. I think it's actually pretty refreshing and will really challenge the status quo with regards to typical Horizon League style. (I actually think this style would've matched up well with last year's personnel, but it's a little late for that).
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Post by phoenixphan87 on Apr 15, 2015 9:30:45 GMT -6
My biggest takeaway from the press conference was the lack of questions by the media. There was only a few asked to him. Wish they would have gone into more depth about player development, coaching staff, recruiting plans ect.
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Post by thetulsawarrior on Apr 15, 2015 10:23:20 GMT -6
In terms of the news conference reporters like to hold questions to more of a one on one setting if they can. There was a media gang bang in the gym later but that's generally for your 17 second sound bite.
The news conference was well done. Chancellor Miller has a nice presence and is clearly a good politician. MEG is what I expected coming out of Long Island. No offense intended. She seems driven and the Packers might consider her for a position at some point in the future. The PR issue with reports of an earlier Darner hire were dealt with effectively by MEG and Linc Darner. (social media not getting the story right...Darner, social media had me as leading candidate at Northern Kentucky and I never talked with them about the job...just the times we live in)
Coach Darner seems a lot less of a cheerleader type than Wardle. Darner hit all the points he needed to score a good first impression. He made it clear he has a style of play that will be uptempo and pressing. He was self effacing about his own career at Purdue where he was a team captain for two years. There was an outline for a commitment to the current players with gym time today and individual meetings, an effort to reach out to all recruits and a plan to deal with gaps in the roster. His wife and kids were in the room all wearing green and there's a commitment for them to be part of a "family team" effort."
I came away from watching the news conference with the impression this is a genuine guy who loves the game, has paid his dues and knows how to manage a program. No ground zero learning on the job.
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Post by gbbrl97 on Apr 15, 2015 10:39:47 GMT -6
....and on Tulsa's note, now go get on the recruiting trail Coach Darner!!! ;-)
Is there a replay of the presser available?? By the time I saw the newsfeed from GB Athletics on my FB newsfeed, it already started and by the time I got on ESPN3, I only could catch the last 5 minutes.
Hope he announces his staff soon and will include Corn. If Shooting the J's assessment on Darner's potential staff hires is correct, I like Herbst's previous HC experience and connections with the IA JC scene. Swank seems pretty young, but if he's has a hunting dog's mentality when it comes to recruiting, I would welcome that energy to the program. I would love it if Seth Evans came back as DOBO and Dan Turner as Video Coordinator.
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