ORU's Finkbeiner applies for UW-Green Bay post (TW)

[Bogus Smith]

Women: ORU's Finkbeiner applies for UW-Green Bay post

Jerry Finkbeiner has coached at Oral Roberts for 11 seasons.

By LYNN JACOBSEN World Sports Writer

4/21/2007

Oral Roberts women's basketball coach Jerry Finkbeiner has been mentioned as a possible candidate for the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay vacancy.

The Green Bay Press-Gazette reported Thursday that Finkbeiner applied for the position and also reported that athletic director Ken Bothof was planning to contact prospective candidates possibly as early as this weekend.

"I haven't been contacted," Finkbeiner said in a phone interview. "I did send a resume. They are the Gonzaga of women's basketball right now. They are at the door of women's basketball in terms of national attention."

In 11 years, Finkbeiner has guided the Golden Eagles to a 177-145 record and four NCAA appearances, including two in the past three years.

"The success we've had has put our program on the radar," Finkbeiner said. "A job like that has to raise your level of interest.

"Jenny (Hardin), Mariana (Camargo) and Rachel (Watman) all had good postseason tournaments and are the players everyone in the Mid-Continent Conference is talking about. They are going to be juniors next year."

Kevin Borseth resigned from UW-GB earlier this month to take the University of Michigan women's basketball job.

[tmh8286]

Man, I HATE to hear that.  I can't blame Jerry for his interest in moving up, but I really thought he was a career guy at ORU.  This is the first that I've heard of either his interest in going elsewhere or visa versa (although that's not to say it hasn't happened). 

I've developed somewhat of a friendship with Jerry over the years, and would count it a great loss if he were to move on.  I hate to say that I hope he doesn't get the job, if that's what he really wants, but boy, I sure hope he doesn't get the job.

I wonder if this is due to a general dissatisfaction with his situation at ORU, or just a desire for advancement of his career.

[tmh8286]

Announcement from school web site -

Women's Basketball Begins Search for Head Coaching Position

Borseth accepts coaching post at Michigan

Kevin Borseth has accepted the head coaching position at Michigan.

April 10, 2007

GREEN BAY, Wis. - Kevin Borseth, the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay head women's basketball coach for the past nine seasons, has resigned his post at UW-Green Bay to accept the same position at the University of Michigan.

In his nine seasons at UW-Green Bay, Borseth guided the Phoenix to nine straight postseason appearances, including seven trips to the NCAA tournament. During Borseth's time at UW-Green Bay, the Phoenix has registered a 216-62 record and has appeared in the Associated Press Top 25 three times in five years.

For his 20-year NCAA coaching career, Borseth owns a 441-159 record, including a 225-97 mark in 11 seasons at Michigan Tech.

This past season, the Phoenix posted a team-record 29-win season, a 26-game winning streak and its second-ever appearance in the NCAA tournament second round. UW-Green Bay went 16-0 in Horizon League play, becoming the first team in 18 seasons to go unbeaten in the Horizon League. The Phoenix extended its streak of consecutive winning seasons to 30 straight, a mark surpassed by only Tennessee (34) and Louisiana Tech (33).

A national search for Borseth's replacement will begin immediately.

Statement from UW-Green Bay Director of Athletics Ken Bothof

"We want to thank Kevin for his role in making our women's basketball program one that is recognized on a national level. He took over a program with a strong foundation built by Carol Hammerle and elevated it among the top teams in the country. Kevin's success goes beyond his wins and losses. Our community is stronger because of the success and dedication our women's basketball team has come to be known for on the court, in the classroom, and throughout Northeastern Wisconsin. We extend our best wishes to Kevin, Connie and their family in their future endeavors.

"With our women's basketball program's strong tradition of excellence, including the team's record-setting season in 2006-07, and the completion of the Kress Events Center around the corner, we are confident we will find a coach that will extend our women's basketball program's storied history of success."

Statement from UW-Green Bay Chancellor Bruce Shepard

"Kevin Borseth's record of success as UW-Green Bay women's basketball coach speaks for itself. We thank Kevin for his outstanding work here and wish him well in the future.

"I am confident we will find a new coach who will continue to bring out the best from our student-athletes -- on the court, in the classroom, and in our community. The opportunity to build on an almost unheard of 30-year tradition of winning seasons and to play in the new Kress Events Center makes this coaching position highly attractive. Our commitment is to reach even higher levels of excellence."

[tmh8286]

From the Green Bay Press-Gazette yesterday:

Posted April 20, 2007

Women's basketball: Oral Roberts coach wants UWGB job

By Rob Demovsky

rdemovsk@greenbaypressgazette.com

As University of Wisconsin-Green Bay administrators sift through applications and candidates to replace women's basketball coach Kevin Borseth, they will see at least one current Division I head coach and an up-and-coming Division I assistant coach with ties to the area.

Oral Roberts coach Jerry Finkbeiner said Thursday he has applied for the job. The 50-year-old Finkbeiner has led ORU to the NCAA Tournament four times during his 11 seasons at the school. The Golden Eagles went 22-11 this past season and lost to Purdue in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Finkbeiner has a 177-145 record at ORU, where he inherited a program that had just one winning season in the previous nine years.

"I sent in a portfolio and a letter of application," Finkbeiner said. "I haven't been contacted, but I'd definitely be interested. There's a lot of respect for that program."

It's unknown whether UWGB athletics director Ken Bothof has contacted any candidates. His search began last week after Borseth accepted the head coaching job at Michigan. Bothof on Thursday declined to comment on any aspect of the search. However, indications are he plans to set up shop out of town, perhaps in Chicago, this weekend to conduct face-to-face interviews.

A long-shot candidate is Illinois assistant coach Blaine Patterson, an Algoma native. The 29-year-old Patterson recently finished just his third season at Illinois, and only two of those have been as a full-time assistant coach. He also was an assistant coach at the University of Wyoming for two years. That followed a four-year stint as Wyoming's administrative assistant for men's basketball.

"Being from the area, I'd be crazy to say I wasn't interested in that job," Patterson said. "But it's pretty early in my career."

Patterson said his parents recently moved to Green Bay from Algoma and live about a mile from UWGB's campus.

"I grew up idolizing Tony Bennett, and I loved watching those teams play," he said.

Borseth is believed to be pushing a couple of his fellow Upper Peninsula natives for the job, including Michigan Tech coach John Barnes and former Northern Michigan coach Mike Geary, who is an assistant at Ball State. Borseth came from Michigan Tech, and Geary was a finalist for the job when Borseth was hired in 1998. Among those also believed to be on UWGB's wish list is South Dakota State coach Aaron Johnston.

[tmh8286]

Women's basketball: UWGB keeps all 3 recruits

Press-Gazette

Link

All three members of former coach Kevin Borseth?s last recruiting class will honor their commitments to play women?s basketball at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.

Sheboygan North forward Kayla Tetschlag and Mishicot forward Julie Wojta will join the Phoenix as planned, WBAY-TV reported. Both players had declined comment in the wake of Borseth?s move to the University of Michigan.

The third recruit, Engadine, Mich., guard Elicia Derusha, earlier said she?d attend UWGB as planned.

The confirmation came as the team handed out its 2006-07 awards at its postseason banquet on Sunday afternoon. They are:

Most valuable players: Senior guard Natalie Berglin and senior forward Nicole Soulis.

Most improved player: Sophomore forward Erin Templin.

JoAnne Jennings Memorial Award: Senior forward Amanda Popp. The award goes to the junior or senior with the highest cumulative grade-point average.

Gary Weidner Scholarship: Popp. The first-time award, named for the a longtime supporter of Phoenix athletics who passed away in 2003, will go to a men or women?s basketball player who exhibits exceptional leadership and academic qualities.

Beth Gantz Memorial Award: Senior guard Alex Webster. The award goes to a senior who demonstrates leadership and sportsmanship.

[ORUJason]

Coming from Southern Nazarene (another Christian university) and having tremendous success there (although not a D-1 school), Jerry Finkbeiner was a perfect hire for ORU 11 years ago.  And I still believe he is a perfect fit for ORU now.

He has recruited well, and generally succeeded in bringing in girls year after year who make the program better and better.  And this year's recruiting class sounds like it will continue that trend, although Elisha Turek will be hard to replace.

He has been a leader as well as a coach, including taking the players on missions trips and outreaches, and truly making the team an extension of the vision of ORU.  Because he fits so well with ORU, and has demonstrated the ability to have continued success, I have thought that he could be content at ORU for the rest of his career.

But then I realized that he is 50, and his kids aren't toddlers anymore (so he is freed up a little more to take on a challenge if that's what he wants), and he's gone to the NCAA tournament 4 times, and hasn't really been in position at the end to win any of those games due to having to play 1 or 2 seeds in the first round.  Then Scott and his assistants get pay increases for sticking around, and so maybe Jerry isn't feeling appreciated, or maybe he is thinking that most schools won't want to hire a coach 55 years old or older, so now is the time to test the waters, or to get Mike Carter's attention.

And of course, Mike Carter's athletic budget is limited, so he may not be able to pay everyone what they truly deserve.  Having success is great, but keeping all those successful coaches around is the challenge that goes along with that success.

I hope that Mike has the ability to take care of Jerry appropriately.  I also hope that Jerry sticks around.  I had ORU women's season tickets this year, and both my kids and I loved going to the games.  I also took my kids out of school so they could be at the women's Mid-Con final game.  I grew to appreciate Jerry's coaching style more this year by being at so many games, and he would be difficult to replace.

[tmh8286]

Everything you say is true, Jason.  One curiosity to me is that only a year or so ago Jerry and Reva moved her parents to Tulsa to be close to them.  I would think that moving half-way across the country would negate the obvious benefits of having them close - unless they planned to take them north with them.

[ORUTerry]

I have not commented on this situation because, frankly, I did not know what to say. Coach Finkbeiner is a perfect fit for ORU in almost every way. He exemplifies Christian character on and off the court. His teams are well coached and always prepared. His players are well mannered and good (great?) students. ORU is blessed to have a coach like him. That said, I cannot blame him (or Scott) for pursuing a job with more challenges that would be financially rewarding. I fully understand that he has to provide for his family.

I just know that replacing him would be difficult if not impossible....

[mickeyb]

But this whole process has given the impression that Coach Fink already has one foot out the door - just waiting for the next school to come calling.  What does that say to potential recruits?  You know teams recruiting against us are using application for the UW-GB job in their favor.

[vcboy2000]

I agree. As fans though, I do feel that it is a little bit easier to digest. Everything these guys (coaches) do is a service. Sure they are getting paid, but we all know that ORU is not at the pinnacle of the profession in competitiveness or pay. As long as there are ambitions and dreams, there will be discontent. Jerry seems like the kind of guy that really needs to have a challenge to conquer. I can remember after the first few times the women made it to the NCAA tournament, he seemed to catch a second wind. He announced their new goal of winning an NCAA game, and he immediately went to work changing his philosophy and style of play to help accomplish the goal. This probably has gotten him through all the crowdless nights at the Mabee Center. We've been back to The Dance several times since then and things haven't quite worked out. When a spot like Wisc. GC opens you have got to wonder if going to another school will increase the chances of accomplishing your goal.

It could probably be a little awkward for his current players. Everybody does deserves the chance to chase after their dreams without feeling guilty for doing so.   

[MadAdder]

What I thought was most interesting was that he came out and said "I contacted them, not the other way around" much like the situation with Conley Clarke. Maybe Fink feels like he's taken the ORU program as far as he can and is ready to pursue a new challenge?

[tmh8286]

I'd find it very ironic if, after all the distress and appearances that we were losing Scott, that Jerry ended up being the coach that left ORU this year.  I really figured him to be a lifer at ORU.  He just seemed like such a perfect fit for ORU and ORU for him - most of his career has been at Christian schools, with six years at SNU, then eleven years at ORU.  I thought that that was an environment that he liked coaching in, and would stick around.  Maybe he still will.

[Bogus Smith]

TH, Jerry may have put that portfolio out there as a fleece to see if God wanted him to pursue other avenues.  By not being UW-GB's first choice, it's very possible that the issue was settled for Jerry...or maybe not.  Time will tell; however, I believe that Jerry will be stronger and better prepared for next season if he stays at ORU after having gone through this scenario.

[tmh8286]

The first thing that Mrs. TMH said when I told her about Jerry was, "Maybe he feels God is calling him to a secular school," and I agree, Bogus, there could be a very good chance of that.  Just like with the Rotnei Clarke situation, we'll just have to see how this one ends up.

[ORUJason]

Not to make this a theological discussion, but putting out fleeces is kind of an Old Testament approach that was utilized by non-kings, non-priests, and non-prophets, (those who could not have the holy spirit in their lives prior under the old covenant) to determine God's will.

Of course, since the indwelling of the holy spirit is now available to every Christian, putting out fleeces seems like a very bad idea, especially with the potential career and recruiting ramifications.

But I guess it's always possible....

[Old Titan]

Since Aaron Johnston has reconsidered his decision to go to UW-GB and returned to South Dakota State, is Coach Fink now in "play" again?

[vcboy2000]

Given his initial interest, you've got to think that that he'll at least interview if they offered.