2008 Woodie Awards
New coach tries to change tide to produce winning basketball
By Josh Rizzo
Rocket Sports Editor
Issue date: 9/5/08 Section: Sports
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Run it again.
Someone else didn't run through the line to finish the sprint.
Run it again.
Coach Kevin Reynolds stands at mid-court, always pacing, commenting on the sprints going on before him.
"We will not take any shortcuts," Reynolds said after one of his players missed the line. "I want you guys to show some heart, but I can't teach that. No one can teach that."
Dressed in a navy blue polo shirt and shorts, he is the new floor general for the mens basketball team.
Reynolds was announced as successor to former boss Jamal Palmer back on May 15, after a two-month nationwide search. Reynolds was one of over 180 applicants for the vacancy.
Reynolds was so excited for the opportunity to be a head coach that he was willing to ignore Slippery Rock's tradition of losing basketball.
"I have been an assistant coach for a while, but always aspired to be a head coach," he said. "We knew coming in [SRU] had 16 of 17 losing seasons and someone told us 22 of 30 years, but it is a great challenge."
Reynolds also pointed out SRU basketball has not always been known for losing.
"In the late 1980s and 1990s, I remember Slippery Rock used to have some pretty good teams," he said. "In 1991, they were ranked No. 2 in the country."
Reynolds is a native of Bethlehem, Pa. and has experience in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference.
He played basketball at Bloomsburg University and was an assistant coach at Edinboro University and Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
Outside of the PSAC, Reynolds served one season as director of basketball operations at Penn State University and six seasons as an assistant at Drake University.
His first taste of being in charge was at the University of Denver. The Pioneers are a Division I school who compete in the Sun Belt Conference.
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