Midstate Chatter: Byrd's UT dream never materialized
Rick Byrd admits there were times he dearly wanted to be Tennessee's men's basketball coach.
Tennessee is his alma mater, where he began his coaching career and the place he tagged along as a kid to Vols practices and games with his dad Ben Byrd, who was the sports editor of the Knoxville Journal.
But any chance of Byrd leaving Belmont for UT has come and gone.
When the position came open again earlier this week after Cuonzo Martin bolted for California, Byrd came to the realization that his timing and that of the Vols simply never matched up.
"I'll be 61 at the end of this month and I just think if I were in their shoes I'd want to start a program with someone you can count on for a long period of time," Byrd said. "I can't see it. You shouldn't ever say 'never' because you never know what might happen, so I choose not to say 'never.' But I'm going to be coaching at Belmont, I feel very sure, for the rest of my coaching career."
RELATED:Byrd is Nashville Sports Person of the Year
Byrd, a 1976 UT graduate, just completed his 28th season at Belmont where his overall record is 597-391. He's guided the Bruins to the NCAA Tournament in six of the past nine years and is considered by many as one of the nation's best strategists.
After arriving in 1986, Byrd quickly built Belmont into one of the very best teams in the NAIA.
When the UT job opened up three times over the next 11 years, Byrd was still coaching on the NAIA level and a long shot to be considered by the Vols.
By the time the job opened up again in 2001, Byrd was in the midst of leading Belmont through the difficult transition from NAIA to NCAA Division I. Belmont wasn't winning much at the time and so Byrd was not a hot commodity.
After Buzz Peterson got the ax in 2005 at UT, Byrd had started to build Belmont into a winner. The Bruins had won the Atlantic Sun in 2002-03 and then earned a berth in the NIT in 2003-04.
It wasn't enough, however, for then-Vols athletics director Mike Hamilton, who hired Bruce Pearl.
When Pearl resigned in 2011 Byrd interviewed at UT and emerged as a leading candidate.
By then he had established himself as one of the nation's brightest coaches. The Bruins were the first team that season to reach 30 wins and also claimed their fourth consecutive A-Sun title and fourth NCAA Tournament berth in six seasons.
But Hamilton instead hired Martin, who is 19 years younger than Byrd.
"My coaching career didn't really line up with UT or any SEC job," said Byrd, who began his career as a graduate assistant on Ray Mears' staff at UT in 1977. "I wasn't going to be hired as an NAIA coach. Then for several years in (NCAA) Division I I wasn't going to be hired anywhere. By the time we're successful at Belmont to some degree in Division I then I'm in my mid- to late-50s and so... If the last 10 years at Belmont had happened when I was in between 40 and 50 then maybe we're talking about something different."
Ole Miss adds TSU player
M.J. Rhett, who had one more year of eligibility remaining with the TSU basketball team, transferred this week to Ole Miss.
The 6-foot-9 power forward from Columbia, S.C,. led the Tigers in rebounds (7.9 per game) and was second in scoring (10.3) last season.
RELATED:TSU men hire next coach
After announcing in March that he would not return to TSU, Rhett said he received offers from Tennessee, Memphis, Texas A&M, Illinois, Georgia Tech, Wichita State and Oklahoma State along with Ole Miss.
Former Wildcat has more knee pain
Former Clarksville High basketball star Henry Thomas' career was cut short after his second season at Kentucky because of a knee injury that is still giving him trouble today.
Thomas, 43, underwent knee replacement surgery earlier this week.
In 1989, after graduating from Clarksville and before he arrived at Kentucky, Thomas tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. He redshirted that season after having surgery.
Thomas played at UK in 1990-91, but his knee was still giving him fits heading into his sophomore season.
"I was getting my knee drained after every practice for about two months and bone fragments were coming out," he said.
If Thomas, who is 6-foot-5, did not stop playing basketball, doctors warned that he would not be able to walk by the time he was 40.
Coach Rick Pitino allowed Thomas to remain on scholarship and serve as a student manager until he graduated in 1994.
In an effort to stay in shape, Thomas played basketball in recreation leagues and pickup games over the next few years.
He shouldn't have.
"I was playing just to stay in shape and over time just wore my knee down and so here I am at 43 having knee replacement," he said.
Thomas regrets not following his doctors' orders more rigidly, but also acknowledges it would have been nearly impossible.
"You can't tell a 20-year-old not to play basketball ever again when it's all he's done and all his buddies are doing," he said. "I knew I had knee issues; did I think it was going to be this bad? No. I started to realize when I was about 31 that I was in trouble because I would play on Sunday and it would take me until Thursday to recuperate."
Doctors told Thomas his other knee would likely need to be replaced within the next 10 years.
Penn State hires TSU strength coach
Former Vanderbilt football coach James Franklin, who is now at Penn State, hired TSU strength coach Alvin Futrell this week to be an assistant strength and conditioning coach.
PHOTOS:James Franklin's last day at Vanderbilt
Futrell will work for former Vandy strength coach Dwight Galt, who went to Penn State with Franklin.
Futrell was a defensive back at Beech, and walked on at Western Kentucky. He began his coaching career at WKU and had been at TSU since 2009.
Following his dream
Former Ohio Valley Conference commissioner Dan Beebe said he considered moving back to Nashville after he was fired as commissioner of the Big 12 in 2011 and received a $4.5 million settlement.
He instead moved to Kansas City, where the Big 12 held its annual spring meetings, and started his own business — the Dan Beebe Group — which serves as a consultant for businesses dealing with risk management.
Beebe's son Patrick, however, did recently move to the Music City. He's a 19-year-old aspiring country music performer who recently dropped out of school at Kansas State, where he was studying architecture to follow his dream.
"He was spending more time trying to find places to play at night around Manhattan than studying so I just told him to go to Nashville and give it a try," said Dan Beebe, who was in town this week to take part in an ethics discussion at Belmont.
Patrick's mother, Molly, came to Nashville to help get his career going. She has experience in the music business, having worked for Mercury Nashville, now Universal Music Group Nashville.
Local baseball great Maxwell dies
Former Overton, Volunteer State and Middle Tennessee State baseball star Kerry Maxwell died last Monday from cancer. He was 57.
Maxwell, who played at Overton (1972-74), was one of the best infielders to ever play in the Nashville Interscholastic League.
He earned a reputation in college — Vol State (1974-76) and MTSU (1976-78) — as a third baseman who didn't mind getting his uniform dirty.
Former Overton, Vol State and MTSU baseball players served as honorary pallbearers at the funeral on Thursday.
Former Commodore stars at Cumberland
Former Vanderbilt infielder Sam Lind is enjoying an outstanding season at Cumberland.
Lind transferred from Vandy, where he played in 34 games and started nine in 2011, and transferred to Cumberland.
In his first season with the Bulldogs, Lind hit .339 with 12 home runs and 49 RBIs.
He broke his ankle in the fall of 2012 and had to sit out last season, but has returned this season strong and emerged as an All-American candidate.
Heading into this weekend's series against Bluefield, Lind was ranked in the top five nationally in three statistical categories. He is first in hits (72), second in total bases (112) and fifth in RBIs (52).
During a one-month stretch (19 games) earlier this season Lind batted .571 (44-for-77) with seven doubles, five homers, 34 RBIs and 25 runs scored.
Former Tenn. Tech football star dies
Albert Matthews Sr., who played football at Springfield High and Tennessee Tech before becoming a highly successful high school coach, died last Monday. He was 87.
Matthews played at Tennessee Tech from 1947-49, earned his master's degree from Vanderbilt and then moved to Georgia, where he became the football coach at Acworth High (now North Cobb) north of Atlanta.
In his 17-year career, Matthews led two teams to state championships. In 1993, the football field at North Cobb was named in his honor and in 2006, he was in the first class to be inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame.
Singer Owen speaks up for tennis
Recording artist Jake Owen played on the golf team at Florida State, but also enjoys playing tennis and is the celebrity spokesperson for the 41st annual Music City Tennis Invitational, which is next Saturday and Sunday.
The tournament will be at the Brownlee O. Currey Jr. Tennis Center at Vanderbilt and benefits the Center for Child Development at Monroe Carell Jr. Chidren's Hospital at Vanderbilt.
It is open to players of all skill levels. To register or for more information visit musiccitytennis.com.
Hillwood gets women's championship
Hillwood Country Club landed the 2015 U.S. Senior Women's Amateur Championship this week.
It will be the first U.S. Golf Association championship ever played at the private club. The tournament is scheduled for Sept. 26-Oct. 1.
Hillwood has served as host for several statewide events including the 1963, 1966 and 1971 Tennessee State Opens and the 1975, 1982 and 2004 Tennessee State Amateurs.
If you have an item for Midstate Chatter contact Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on Twitter at MikeOrganWriter.
SPORTS ON NASHVILLE TV
The top 5 local sporting events television ratings for April 7-13.
1. NCAA Men's Basketball Final UConn-Kentucky: 20.1 rating
2. Masters final round: 8.5 rating
3. NCAA Women's Final UConn-Notre Dame: 6.8 rating
4. NASCAR Darlington 500: 4.9 rating
5. Masters third round: 4.8 rating
Each rating point is equal to 10,434 Nashville homes.
Source: Mark Binda, WTVF-5 program & research director