Tennessee men's basketball coach Cuonzo Martin will greet plenty of old friends and potential candidates to fill out his coaching staff while in Houston this weekend for the Final Four.
But one of Martin's newest friends and a candidate for a position on the staff will remain in Knoxville this weekend in the form of coordinator of video scouting Houston Fancher.
“Coach Fancher is definitely a guy I'm considering,'' Martin said Friday.
Martin, who was hired on Sunday after three years at Missouri State, has already added 30-year-old Jon Harris to the coaching staff. Harris joined Martin at Missouri State after a five years as an assistant at Wisconsin-Green Bay.
Martin still has two full-time assistant openings left to fill on his coaching staff, and the Vols need to hire a director of basketball operations.
UT also has two graduate assistant positions open, but it remains to be seen if the program will maintain its assistant to the head coach position formerly held by Marc Pancratz.
The 45-year-old Fancher was coach at Appalachian State from 2000-09, resigning after a 137-136 coaching record that included a school-record 25-win season in 2006-07 and Southern Conference Coach of the Year honors in 2002-03.
Fancher served as UT's interim head coach after Bruce Pearl was fired on March 21.
“It would be an honor for me and my family to stay at the University of Tennessee and work for someone as well-respected as Coach Martin,'' Fancher said. “As a Tennessee native, that's something I would certainly embrace if given the opportunity.“
Fancher is a native of Newport and attended Middle Tennessee State. His coaching stints included four years as an assistant coach at Maryville College (1988-92), three years as coach at Division ll North Greenville (1992-95), a season as an assistant at Vanderbilt (1995-96) and four years as an assistant at Appalachian State, the final two years as associate head coach before he was promoted to head coach.
Martin is still considering assistant coaches at Missouri State for his Tennessee staff, though that could depend on who the Bears hire as coach.
Kent Williams was an assistant to Martin at Missouri State and remains a potential candidate for a coaching position or the director of basketball operations slot at UT.
Williams finished his high school career as the all-time leading scorer at Mt. Vernon (Ill.) before playing at Southern Illinois (1999-2003) where he led the Salukis in scoring all four years and finished as the program's second all-time leading scorer.
Williams, 29, played at Southern Illinois under Bruce Weber – a prominent member of Gene Keady's Purdue coaching tree – and Boilermakers coach Matt Painter was also on the SIU staff.
From there, Williams played a season in the NBA Development League, leading the league in 3-pointers made and 3-point percentage, and he was supervisor of basketball operations at Purdue from 2005-08 before joining Martin at Missouri State.
Former UT standout Dane Bradshaw has met with Martin about possibly attaining a position on UT's staff, too.
Bradshaw, 26, played for the Vols from 2003-07 and was named to UT's 20-member All-Century team in 2009.
Bradshaw has no collegiate coaching experience but has served as a team captain on every team he has played on and has run youth coaching camps and clinics.
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Comments » 18
VolunteerLifer writes:
I'm sure all of these guys can coach. The question is: Who will do the recruiting?
macon_volfan writes:
I'd love to see Coach Francher stay on staff. He's an A+ person and a good coach. Bradshaw would be a great grad assistant as well. I'd love for them to find a way to keep Pancratz on staff, but I don't think there's a place for him on Martin's staff--save the director of basketball operations position. Mark wants to coach, though, so I'm not sure that position would be best for his future plans.
FearlessFreep writes:
Memo to Coach Martin:
Hire who you want. Don't be swayed by pressure to hire the 'hometown' guy. Tell everyone else to go pound sand.
GreerVol22 writes:
Does anyone know Fanchers goals? Do they include another HC job? Sounds like he would like something semi permanent. Dir of Ops wouldn't be a bad gig.
RoyaltyVol writes:
I hope Houston gets the job, he is a diehard Vol fan. I can see Houston as a lifelong UT assistant, he loves the Vols that much.
Rich_Is_Re-born writes:
The Fanchers are fabulous people. He is 20 times more qualified than Bradshaw. Not taking a shot at Dane, but it is what it is. This is one guy I would like to see them keep, but if not it would not be the end of the world.
dvols writes:
is that a porn-stache?
Rich_Is_Re-born writes:
Better known on GVX as a Brett Maverick stach. Nice observation.
huntined#565710 writes:
Don't need him as a coach..let him do other things...better get a great x and o coach...
Our big O was a pain to watch last year and big D was even harder to watch!!!
Witch_Doctors writes:
Witch Doctor say his heart with Tennessee and WANTS to be here. Witch Doctor say this one easy.(theres room somewhere Im sure?)
Bones never lie.
Vols4Ever writes:
Usually agree with you WD(G), but heart isn't enough. If that was qualifying metric, we would be AD and head coach. Just want best for our VOLS and if it helps players get beyond this trauma then that is enough justification. Lean times ahead, especially with the Cheating Cats back around along with the Little Munster being stocked.
Witch_Doctors writes:
Witch Doctor thinking admin. (?) Witch Doctor say in retrospect this year wasnt spectacular after the preseason NIT. Witch Doctor Vol when the black drapes hung around TBA, Witch Doctor really aint got no choice. Good or bad Vol fan..realistic Vol fan..but Vol fan.(ETSU grad)
Bones never lie.
Vols4Ever writes:
Wish black drapes could be used again to wrap up Hamilton career as AD. Never, ever can it be forgotten or forgiven his inappropriate, unnecessary and idiotic public remarks 2 days prior to our team playing in the Dance.
jamgod writes:
Does Mike Hamilton drink or have a drug problem....maybe somebody should investigate that (lol!!); poor guy. ANYWAYS...glad to see everybody off the "Oh no, we forgot to tell Pat Summit we hired a coach!" Seriously...there's always some jerk-off idiot tryin' to stir something up....she probaly didn't think twice about it, or for that matter once...
Witch_Doctors writes:
Witch Doctor say the reason they dropped the "nobody told Pat" is Joan Cronan is AD for lady Vols sports and would be who would contact Pat. lol
Bones never lie.
Orange_since_84 writes:
Interesting. I was an ETSU grad in 84. Didn't like the Vols and loathed orange. Started grad school at UT in 84, however, and my blood turned orange at some point between making my way through the crowd to my first game at Neyland and the opening kickoff. I haven't been very realistic since, but optimism was crushed by CBP. I was looking forward to the building of a Pearly Gated on Phil Fulmer Way after he won our first NCAA title. Oh well, Martin has been a pretty successful name for us. Maybe there is still a glimmer of optimism.
Witch_Doctors writes:
Witch Doctor say "Walt" sounds real sad and lonely.
Bones never lie.
BigOrangeSmoker writes:
looks like martin cares more about the final 4 than recuting,hes a deadbeat coach
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