While Western Kentucky and Murray State dominated all of those years, TTU would sometimes stick their head up for a second or third place finish (and one not so memorable trip to the Big Dance) but the success would never last.  To be honest in their good years the Golden Eagles got a bit cocky and it usually ended up catching up with them.  Coach Oldham lived by the motto that if you could beat a team by 20 then why not beat them by 40.  The only year that TTU actually qualified for the Big Dance they got destroyed by the diverse team from Loyola of Illinois 111 to 42, still a record for biggest Ass-Whupping in the national tourney.  This season Oldham and his boys come in with a far more humble attitude with reasonable expectations and the goal of competing not only in the OVC but with teams outside their conference which has always been a difficult proposition for this roster with limited talent.  Oldham is on the hot seat in Cookeville and if the Golden Eagles did not have a solid year there might be some big changes in the Cumberlands.  

 Senior big man Jimmy Hagan has had a great career in Cookeville. The fans have adored their dominant big man who almost singlehandedly put this program on the map.  This six ten 215 pound post player is also talented.  A solid scorer inside with a soft touch, Hagan cherishes the battles underneath the basket.  Hagan just loves to put his nose in there and fight for every rebound.  Oldham inserted him as the go to guy in his high post offense two years ago when he was just a fresh faced kid from Hardin County Kentucky.  He had sat out his freshman season due to D-1 rules but this was a good thing because it allowed this skinny pole of a kid to put on weight and get acclimated to the big city life.  After a slow start Hagan responded by literally placing the whole program on his not so broad shoulders and carrying the water to the people.  Hagan took a step back last year as he was not counted on to score as much especially after an early season injury put him on the shelf for a few weeks.  Oldham was smart enough not to try and put his most popular player on the bench when he returned but he did give up quite a few minutes to some of the younger guys trying to find some talent down the road.  Still, Hagan led the Golden Eagles in scoring once again and is by far the best rebounder this program has ever seen.  He is not an overly athletic big man and his old school game does not exactly fit the run and gun up tempo modern game where the three is king.  Big Jim may not have the game for big time ball but he is a great player for the Purple and Gold and has one more chance to get his team back to the Big Dance.  This time they will be hoping for different results.

                 Two other seniors who contributed throughout their careers will also be back for more.  Kenny Sidwell in the backcourt and Herbie Merritt up front have had solid careers with grace and their every usual hard play.  Both lost minutes this year to younger more athletic players but did not say a word and took their new roles in stride.  Sidwell at one point was the number one option on this team.  He was the top scorer for two years (he got to play a full four years before the rules changed) and is a tremendous outside shooter.  Midway through his sophomore year he dropped to number two behind Hagan and Merritt was number three.  Last year Oldham started to bring in some new players including one that played the same position as Sidwell and though he started the entire year he gave up much playing time and scoring.  Times change and the new young athletic studs Oldham have brought in to keep ‘up with the Joneses’ left these guys fighting for their basketball life.  By mid-season last year both Sidwell and Merritt were playing much less and by the end of the year this tandem was barely playing.  The fans in Cookeville will never forgot them though and you could hear the rumbles throughout the season of “Kenny wouldn’t have turned the ball over so often’ or ‘I wish Herbie was in there to show those guys how to mix it up underneath’.  Sidwell as a five eleven shooting guard with no hops never had a chance as he was always was a cerebral player.  Merritt on the other hand does have some skill though at six seven is a bit undersized to play the four especially since he is not much of a perimeter player and relies on his inside toughness.  Fellow senior Ron Filipek is a forward that is the same predicament.  A smooth scorer with decent range, Filipek is a heady player who makes the most of his talent.  He can go inside and bang but is best hitting soft jumpers or running the court.  He is way too small for the four though and this team is now loaded at the small forward spot.  Tom McKinney, Bobby Young and Bruce Harris are a trio of senior big guys who have played here but are even further down the totem pole then this trio.  There days of playing meaningful minutes on Cookeville are probably over.  Juniors Bobby Porter, Tom Schmidt and Rich Stone are also in the mix, especially Stone who had a major knee injury last year and never came back.  Porter might have a chance as he is a 6’8 defender who can block a shot and is decent on the boards.  Oldham has one heck of a rim protector coming back but he had to go to Serbia to find him.  Sophomore Milos Babic is a 7’0 240 pound kid who barely played last year with visa issues and is green as the mountains around these parts but you can’t teach size.  He will get every chance to play and he does have that oh so wonderful word…potential.  A couple of senior guards, Eddie Mason and Tom Richener, are also back but these two got the blame for Big Dance debacle against the Ramblers and have never recovered at least in the eyes of the fans.  They provide depth but they won’t play much unless there are some major injuries. 

The one player who really stepped to the forefront this year is Junior Frank Jones.  Jones is a terrific two guard who can flat score and finally pushed beyond Tidwell into the starting lineup.  He slowly moved up the pecking order and by the end of the year tied for second on the team in scoring though like everyone else on this roster he did not even average 30 minutes a game.  Jones is an athletic perimeter player who goes six two but plays much bigger because he can really get up in the air.  He is a good shooter but is best at creating his own shot which is something Tidwell could not do, at least not against the kind of competition the Golden Eagles were laying.  Jones switched over to point guard at times because he has good ballhandling skills and because Oldham wanted to get his best players on the court.  This was not the best fit for Jones of the GE’s as though he can really get to the hoop Jones is not a terrific passer or let’s say he would rather score first.  Once he settled in at the two however he became a terrific offensive weapon and his defense is pretty solid as well.  He did have to deal with rednecks who did not like Frank replacing their boy Sidwell but he handled it well and by the end of the year was as popular as any player on the team not named Hagan.  Next year will be a bit more of a challenge for Jones as he will be asked to take on a bigger leadership role as the already anointed starting two guard and only one of two returning upperclassmen (fellow junior point guard Wayne Pack is the other new starter).  Teaching these younger players how to play seems like second nature to Jones however as these ‘kids’ all look up to him as he seems to not only play the game the right way but lives the right way off te court with the right goals.  He is a team first guy that does whatever it takes to get the job done and could probably score even more if he was a little less selfish but that is now who he is!  This Chattanooga product will continue to start next year at TTU and with his work ethic and desire to succeed will have a bright future in this sport or whatever else he chooses in life.  Whatever that may be Frank Jones will be helping someone achieve their goals! 

Some of those younger players included a duo of small forwards that really tuned up the offense in Cookeville.  Sophomores Stephen Kite and Earl Wise stepped into the kitchen this season and showed they could handle the heat.  Kite is a big time player who brings it every night.  He loves to post up or hit midrange jumpers.  He is big enough and tough enough to bang inside.  Wise is the same style of player with a little more range. This may be the best pair of young forwards in the league.  The only problem is that they are very similar players.  Both are true small forwards who do the same kind of things to help a team win.  They also are arguably the two most talented players on the roster so Oldham did everything he could to get them on the court together.  That meant one of them having to guard much bigger and thicker fours.  Kite is six foot six and Wise is six seven and do not carry much meat so neither is really big enough to guard a Popeye Jones or Truck Robinson in the paint but they tried.   They switched off with defensive duties and Oldham even had Kite get some time at the two guard to keep this dynamic offensive duo on the court together.  Wise a little more apt to go out behind the three point line than Kite who likes to keep it at mid-range but has found the water out beyond the breakers can be very cold.  He is better suited like his sidekick of using his quickness and athleticism to blow by slower forwards for easy baskets and pulling up for jumpers.  Kite just loves to float in the air and maneuver by the defender on his way to the hoop.  He is actually a bit more physical than Wise and both help rebounding though neither is exactly a board man.  Their defense is solid using their length and athleticism to get steals on the wing but their downside of course was getting banged in the paint.  The truth is that this duo almost had identical statistics with the only big difference is Wise is a little better free throw shooter and passer and got a few more minutes a game (he actually led the GE’s in minutes with just over 27 a game as Oldham rotated often trying to find the right mix) and thus scored a few more points.  They will be back together for two more years and Oldham (or whoever is coaching) must figure out a way to keep them on the court together as there really is no one else on the team near these two in talent.  

 Point guard was a mystery to Oldham as he started the season with the mindset he was going to be able to play Jones and Sidwell together.  It became obvious this was not going to be the case and he soon began the process of finding the present and more importantly point guard for this program.  The aforementioned Pack and Sophomores Anthony Avery and Carlton Clarington all got their shot but in the end it was the kid with the super quicks that won the job and he did it with style.  Pack was magnificent in his second year once he got onto the court. A solid passer and ball handler, Pack loves to pressure the ball and get cheap steals. Pack came from Indianapolis where his perseverance paid off after getting cut three times he finally made the team and ended up leading Roosevelt to a state title.  He at variance times in Cookeville has been the starter at point or been a deep bench guy. Pack will start this year and he has come here for the right reason.  To get a degree as he is a business major who will continue to work his tail off to get where he wants to be.  Avery has the best chance of pushing Pack as he is a gifted offensive player.  He can score and pass but is not in the other Pack’s level defensively but has a shot.  Carleton is a similar but was on the JV most of the year but played well.  This trio all can play but Oldham is always looking to upgrade and has a few studs coming to town.  After all Oldham comes from Western Kentucky where the Hilltoppers reload and he is trying to implement a bit of that for the GE’s.  He wants the ‘best players’ on the court and it does not matter what class they are in or what color they are! 

The Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles have never had a great program.  They have been mired in mediocrity for years.  This last year was no different but this time around they had some players who stepped and showed a little different style of Golden Eagle basketball.  Coach John Oldham has brought in some athletes and the difference is noticeable.  If this team grows together and keeps learning, they have a bright future.  Of course that is a big If? And after a 9 and 20 season and a 7th place finish in the Ohio Valley Conference the legendary Oldham might be looking for new digs in which to coach his own unique way!  With or without Oldham this program has to figure out a way to match up with the gifted athletes of the top programs in this conference and believe with their youth movement this year they might have found some of the answers.  With a slew of talent and size coming back there is hope in Cookeville for the first time since they shocked the world by earning a trip to the Big Dance.  Of course they ended up losing that one and only game by 69 points (no that is not a misprint and no I am not trying to be glib) in still the worst drubbing in tourney history.  The fans of Cookeville know next time will be better (it obviously can’t be worse) but to get there they have to be able to match up with the Racers and the Tigers and that is much easier than it looks in this vastly under rated conference that the Techsters have been a part of forever!  Of course nobody outside of Cookeville knows who the Golden Eagles are and if that is to change the talent must continue to improve and the raw players they get here must bloom all at the same time!