10/23/2008 football Edit

Case has bright outlook in new post

Randall Thomason

GoMiddle.com Publisher

Scouting reports, player development, recruiting, travel.

The responsibilities placed on an assistant coach in major college basketball are nearly endless, but new Middle Tennessee men's basketball assistant Win Case doesn't mind one bit.

After being hired on September 9th to fill the open post on the Blue Raider staff, Case jumped right into all of his duties with both feet.

Case has already made an impact on the recruiting trail and that is what he views as one of his chief responsibilities.

"Number one is recruiting," Case said. "You've got to get out and dig the bushes. The thing that makes recruiting really fun for me is that you've got a guy like Coach Davis that is a real good recruiter himself. He's the guy that closes the door. You can do so much from a recruiting angle and really get to know the kids and try to sell them, but then when Coach Davis gets involved he is really good. I have told him that many times because he works his tail off. With the facilities here, I think this is a gold mine.

FULL TIMEOUT WITH WIN CASE

Q: Now that you've had some time to get your feet wet, what are your initial impressions of your new job and the Middle Tennessee program?

A: I just like the way Coach Davis runs his program, from the academics and making everybody accountable to community organization and getting the kids out into the community with Special Olympics. You can just go on and on about his community service with this basketball team. I've been around a lot of different programs and teams and players and I just like the way he runs things. He's one of the best in the business ... I've been coaching for twenty something years and haven't seen anything like this before.

Q: Has it been difficult developing a relationship with the players? It's a pretty veteran team and you're the new guy in town, so on the surface that seems like it would have been one of your biggest challenges at the outset.

A: It's a lot easier when you have a bunch of guys that are low maintenance and that's what we have on this team. I've been around teams before where five, six, or seven guys are high maintenance type guys that you have to keep a lid on. But this group here, I've never seen a group that is just a bunch of really good guys that work really hard, go to class, and are very coachable. That's made it that much easier for me to get to know them. I enjoy coming to practice and I enjoy being around them. I've had teams before in my 15 years as a head coach that I just didn't enjoy being around them. But this group here, I just enjoy them. I've gotten to know all of them, I stay after practice to shoot with them and I've really enjoyed it.

"I don't think it's going to be very hard to sell Middle Tennessee and Coach Davis and I want to try to do those two things. When you bring a kid in here and he sees what we have it makes him that much more interested, and when you've got a guy like Coach Davis that can close the door and seal the deal it makes it that much more fun for me as a recruiter."

Case came to Middle Tennessee after successful stints as a head coach at Redlands College, Eastern Oklahoma State, and most notably Oklahoma City University where he was head coach for 15 seasons and won two NAIA national championships.

Despite having that type of impressive resume, Case says his experience so far at Middle Tennessee has really helped him learn and grow more convinced that the Blue Raiders can reach a championship level.

The chance to work with Kermit Davis in Murfreesboro is one Case felt like he couldn't pass up after sharing a phone conversation with Kansas head coach Bill Self, who now employs Case's son as a graduate assistant and was Case's college teammate at Oklahoma State.

"One thing that Bill Self said when I was trying to decide if I wanted to pursue this job, he said (Davis) is just a genius when it comes to coaching and teaching. He is a really good teacher. There are a lot of coaches out there but you have very few teachers. That's one thing I've noticed is just the way he teaches. He pays attention to detail, the way you set screens and the minute type things. That's what I'm more impressed with than anything is just the way he teaches."

Case has been with the team now for the first week of official preseason practices and he likes what he has seen so far from the veteran squad.

While he isn't predicting a national title for Middle Tennessee this season, Case cautiously compares the way the Blue Raiders have been preparing for the season to what he has seen first hand from the defending NCAA champions.

"I just like the way this team is working," Case said. "They are working very hard and very unselfish. Not to jinx this team or anything like that but they remind me of the way Kansas plays. We are a good passing team and just good guys that are willing to sacrifice for the team."

GoMiddle.com Countdown to Tipoff

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