Now it’s his turn.
After working as an assistant for 16 years, Plano’s Brad Korn is calling the shots for Ohio Valley Conference program Southeast Missouri State. It’s his first job as a head coach.
“I’m not sure it’s how you want to start your head coaching career, in the midst of a pandemic, but we’re making the most of it,” Korn said.
“It different, wearing a mask and having the players separated on the bench. But the protocols are in place, and we’ll do what we can to play the games.”
He was speaking by phone Tuesday from the team bus as the Redhawks traveled from Cape Girardeau, Missouri, to Nashville for Wednesday’s nonconference game at Lipscomb.
The teams had just played Monday at SEMO’s 6,972-seat Show Me Center, where Korn’s team prevailed 82-77 to climb to 2-1.
“We were limited to 20% to 30% capacity, so we were able to have close to a real game-day atmosphere,” Korn said.
SEMO also has a 71-66 win at Kansas City and an 87-79 overtime loss at home to Southern Illinois, Korn’s alma mater.
“It didn’t feel like my alma mater, though,” Korn said. “We played here. The jerseys were different, and I didn’t have any connection with their players.
“Obviously, to this point, I’m happy with how we’ve played and competed. Every game has been down to the wire, and we have a great group of men who want to play.”
Korn has inherited a team that is well-traveled. SEMO has been a second and even third destination for several key players on the roster.
“On paper we look like an older team, but with injuries and other things, we haven’t had a lot of time playing together,” Korn said.
Redshirt junior guard Chris Harris, who played in high school at Lake Forest Academy, is averaging a team-high 17.3 points after missing all but two games last season with a knee injury.
Bolingbrook graduate Nana Akenten, a 6-foot-6 guard who transferred from Nebraska, averages 11.3 points and 7.0 rebounds. The 6-7 Nolan Taylor, a fifth-year senior averaging 13.3 points and 7.3 rebounds, has had stops at Pepperdine and Cal Poly.
“The good thing is these guys have embraced it and want to be here to play for SEMO,” Korn said.
A career game: A familiar name led Lipscomb (1-4) in its loss to SEMO on Monday. Aurora Christian graduate Jake Wolfe, a 6-5 sophomore, scored a career-high 22 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including 4 of 4 shots from beyond the 3-point line.
Wolfe is back after surgery on both shoulders limited him to eight games last season.
“He had a great game,” Korn said. “Like most of their players, he can play multiple positions.”
Wolfe has started all five games for Lipscomb, which also has losses to Arkansas, Cincinnati and Tulane.
A slow start for Quincy: NCAA Division II program Quincy (0-5) features two local players in Oswego East graduate Will Wolfe, Jake’s younger brother, and Marmion product Mick Sullivan.
In the Hawks’ 102-61 loss to SIU, Will Wolfe, a 6-6 freshman guard, made one of his two starts and scored four points. Sullivan, a 6-8 redshirt sophomore forward who transferred from DePaul, came off the bench and scored a season-high six points.
Ready to roll: Batavia graduate Eric Peterson is one of three returning starters for Oshkosh, which is ranked No. 15 in NCAA Division III in the preseason by Basketball Times magazine.
The team’s 2021 schedule has yet to be determined.
The 6-4 Peterson, a junior guard, averaged 7.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists last season for Oshkosh (20-9). The Titans, who won a national title during Peterson’s freshman season, lost to North Central in the second round of the 2020 national tournament.