From the South: Floyd Central still searching for its boys basketball coach

By Mike Hutsell
Contributing Writer

Ask
Floyd Central Athletic Director Bill Pierce how many people have applied for
the boys basketball head coaching position at his school, and he’ll instinctively
form his thumb and index finger into a “C” shape.

“About
that many,” Pierce said. “We’ve had quite a few.

So
then, why do questions still surround the Floyd Central vacancy? Namely, why is there still a vacancy?

Following
months spent looking and hours spent debating on whom would be the next person
to find a seat on the bench, it was expected a decision would finally be
announced at the May 22 meeting of the New Albany-Floyd County School Board. But
when the session had been adjourned and people began filing out of the administration
office, a dark cloud of speculation remained.

No
announcement has been made, and none appears imminent. Even Pierce seems unsure
when something is going to break.

“I
think there’s people who think the whole decision comes down to me,”
Pierce said following the meeting. “There’s a lot more involved than that,
that’s all I can say.”

Historically,
the Floyd job is a gold mine. The program has produced three Indiana All-Stars,
including 1989 Mr. Basketball and Indiana
University player Pat
Graham.

Joe
Hinton guided the program through its heyday, taking the infamous “Superhicks”
deep into the state tournament several times in the 1970s and guiding Graham to
the â�?��?89 state finals — even knocking off Damon Bailey and Bedford North
Lawrence in a legendary regional duel along the way.

But
the recent results for Floyd aren’t there. In the new era of class basketball,
Floyd Central has had only three winning seasons: back-to-back 11-10 campaigns
in 1999-2000 and in 2000-01, and a 12-11 mark in 2003-04.

Since
1997-98, in fact, the Highlanders have compiled a 72-119 record, including just
4-17 last year in Kirk Hamsley’s final season as coach. Floyd hasn’t won a
sectional crown in the class era, advancing to the final of the Seymour Sectional
just once in that span.

Two
coaches — both former players at the school — have tried to follow in
Hinton’s footsteps. Neither Hamsley nor Larry Schellenberg before him was able
to make a splash, and both fell to the pressure from the win-now mentality so
prevalent in today’s era of coaching.

Now
the clock is ticking for the next guy, whoever it may be.

Some
feel that the Floyd Central job is among the toughest in the state to win in
the current landscape. It ranks among the smallest schools in Class 4A, and is the
second-smallest in the Hoosier Hills Conference. While Floyd is situated in a
highly affluent, rural community, its main rivals are urban-area schools like Jeffersonville and New
Albany.

With
all the other HHC coaches already established and with their respective off-season
programs in place, Floyd may be lagging behind as the search continues to go on
and on — apparently into at least next month, when the next school board
meeting is scheduled. Thus the already-steep task is being made tougher for whoever
comes on board.

Mike Hutsell is sports editor for the Jeffersonville
Evening News and the New Albany Tribune in Southern Indiana. He can be reached at mhutsell@news-tribune.net.

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