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Two former Morehead State basketball players Marquis Sykes and Ramon Kelly have returned to the program. This time as coaches. On November 7th 2005 Marquis and Ramon officially joined my staff as Assistant Coach and Basketball Operations Manager respectively. Marquis was a four year starter and worked his way up from a good high school scoring guard out of Mansfield, Ohio to leaving Morehead, degree in hand, as the all-time assist leader from the point guard position. Ramon also played four years. He started off and on during his career and despite some injury issues he never let his work ethic or attitude wane. After a short stint with Wells Fargo back home in Belleville, Illinois, Ramon realized he wanted to get started in coaching and get his masters degree.

After reviewing a long list of qualified candidates for the positions, the decision basically came down to who I thought would do the best job for what I needed. Neither "Quis" or "R-Kel" had any real coaching experience, but that really never bothered me. You might recall, I was also hired with "limited" coaching experience. However, I did watch them both bust their tails in practice and games for four years, so I know they aren't afraid to work. Both were good students too, so I am sure they will quickly catch on to being on the bench instead of on the floor. These two understand first hand my expectations of my teams and program, as well as how I do things. Both excelled within that system! They are also young enough that if my current players don't watch, they might get beat in some one on one games!

I am often asked by young coaches, what is the best way to become a college coach? My normal reply is I am probably not the one to ask. As I mentioned before, I played through college and professionally for 10 years and was raised in a sports family (My dad was a coach), but I was broadcasting and working in a bank when my day came. I encourage all young coaches to get involved because of their love of the game, (not the salaries, glamour or fame-ha) work at the job you have now not always working for the next job, meet as many people as you can within the game, and never stop learning! We all know politics plays a part in many of our life decisions, but I am still a firm believer in the hard work ethic. I am happy Marquis and Ramon are now seeing the rewards for their belief and hard work too. Of course, by the end of the year they may not use the word "reward!"