Ex-Vols great Ron Slay driving for Uber, going to school, preparing to coach
Ron Slay has gone from driving on the hardwood to driving for a living.
He's working for Uber in Nashville while preparing to take the next step in his career.
The former Pearl-Cohn and Tennessee standout, who always had a knack for driving to the goal, is not ready to leave basketball in his rear-view mirror. He eventually hopes to become college basketball coach.
Slay, the 2003 SEC player of the year and third-team All-American, retired last July after a lengthy professional career in Europe.
Uber passengers often do a double-take after climbing in and seeing the 6-foot-8 Slay in the driver's seat.
Many recognize the former player who was honored as a Vols legend at the SEC tournament in March at Bridgestone Area.
"I'd say I've had 25 Uber rides since I started and 18 of them knew who I am," said Slay, UT's 15th all-time leading scorer (1,569 points). "All the conversations are cool and it makes the ride a little more fun because they're either Vols fans, SEC fans or just basketball fans in general. It's really a shocker for everybody. They get in and say, 'Ron Slay! What are you doing Ubering?'"
Toting folks around town isn't the only driving Slay's done since hanging up his high tops. He's also made the trek from Nashville to Knoxville each week after re-enrolling in school and working on his degree in African American studies. He is set to graduate on May 13.
When asked if he plans to walk across the stage with the younger students and receive his diploma, Slay, 35, said no.
"I'm going to do cartwheels across the stage," he said.
Slay is excited and eager to get his degree so that he can make a fast break to begin his next chapter on the court.
"I want to start as a college coach because I feel like your identity is put into the kids a little bit more," Slay said. "ln college you get to break them down. You get to put your fingerprint on them a little bit more. That's what I look forward to."
In what little spare time he has, Slay already has started putting feelers out in an effort to land a job.
Since he's been in Knoxville Tuesday through Thursday each week he has naturally had a few conversations with Vols coach Rick Barnes.
Slay's also been in contact with Chris Ferguson, who was an assistant at UT when Slay played, and is now on Mark Price's staff at Charlotte, along with Tennessee State coach Dana Ford.
"I've been talking with the guys along the way and they told me when I got close to getting my degree to give them a call," Slay said. "Well I'm close and I'm calling them now."
UT caravan stopping only once in Nashville
Tennessee's Big Orange Caravan's only stop in Nashville this summer will be July 10 at the 51st annual UT Alumni All-Sports Picnic at Sycamore Farms in Arrington.
In the past the caravan made one other stop in Nashville.
The complete schedule will be released soon, according to UT associate director for communication Ryan Robinson.
Vandy caravan staying close to Nashville
All five of the Vanderbilt Coaches Caravan stops will be in the Midstate.
The first is Wednesday (6-8 p.m.) at Corner Pub on Old Hickory Boulevard in Brentwood.
Football coach Derek Mason, men's basketball coach Bryce Drew, women's golf coach Greg Allen, women's soccer coach Darren Ambrose and bowling coach John Williamson will be there.
The other stops: May 1 (5:30-7 p.m.) at Chick-fil-A in Madison, May 10 (6-8 p.m.) at Corner Pub in Mt. Juliet, May 17 (6-8 p.m.) at Famous Dave's restaurant in Smyrna and May 24 at First Tennessee Park (6:35 p.m.) for the Sounds-Omaha game.
Belmont women, men finish in top 25
The Belmont women's basketball team ranked seventh in the final collegeinsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll and the men's team was ranked 12th.
The women ended the season with a 27-6 record and earned a berth in the NCAA tournament while the men were 23-7 and advanced to the second round of the NIT.
Former NBA stars will play at Bridgestone
The BIG3 basketball tournament founded by entertainer Ice Cube is coming to Nashville this summer.
The 10-week schedule includes a stop at Bridgestone Arena on July 23. It will be the fifth stop on the tour.
The 3-on-3 league will be made up of former NBA players including Allen Iverson, Charles Oakley, Latrell Sprewell, Chauncey Billups, Jason Williams and Steve Francis.
More players will be revealed at the draft lottery next Friday and draft on Saturday and Sunday at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas.
Eight teams will play four games each Sunday from June 25-Aug. 26.
The coaches include Julius Erving, Clyde Drexler, Rick Barry, George Gervin, Rick Mahorn, Gary Payton and DerMarr Johnson.
Tickets for the game go on sale May 6 at ticketmaster.com.
La Rocque leaves Belmont for Stanford
Lindy La Rocque , who spent the past two seasons as a Belmont women's basketball assistant, joined the staff at Stanford this week as an assistant.
La Rocque, a Las Vegas native, played at Stanford where she appeared in four Final Fours (2009-12) under Hall of Fame coach Tara VanDerveer.
Stanford posted a 137-12 record during the four years in which La Rocque played there.
Johnson takes over at Ted Rhodes
Former McCabe Golf Course assistant pro Audie Johnson is the new head pro at Ted Rhodes Golf Course.
Johnson replaced Wayne Evans, who became Metro superintendent of golf last fall.
Before going to McCabe, Johnson was the club pro at Lebanon Golf & Country Club.
Former UT associate AD is new AD at UNLV
Desiree Reed-Francois, who served as a senior associate athletics director at Tennessee (2008-2012), is the new athletics director at UNLV.
The Fremont, Calif., native became the first female Hispanic athletic director of a Football Bowl Subdivision school. She signed a five-year contract for $350,000 annually.
Reed-Francois, 44, had been the deputy AD at Virginia Tech, where she had been since leaving Tennessee.
While at Tennessee, Reed-Francois dealt primarily with strategic planning and initiatives.
Ex-TSU star signs with arena team
Former John Paul II and TSU receiver Devin Wilson signed a contract with the Jacksonville Sharks of the National Arena League on Wednesday.
Wilson, who graduated from TSU in 2014 with 102 career catches for 1,200 yards, played for the Cleveland Gladiators in the Arena Football League in 2016 and before that the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Canadian Football League.
Nashville gets 2021 NCAA golf regionals
The 2021 NCAA Division I Men's Regional Golf Championships were awarded this week to Nashville.
The tournament will be May 16-19 at The Golf Club of Tennessee.
In 2005 the Nashville Sports Council and The Golf Club of Tennessee hosted the NCAA Men’s Golf Regionals.
Motlow State coach joins Morehead staff
Motlow State men's basketball coach J.T. Burton, a former Tennessee assistant, has joined the staff at Morehead State.
Burton led Motlow to a combined record of 55-13 the past two seasons, including a trip to the Elite Eight in the 2017 NJCAA national tournament.
He was named the Region XII coach of the year this past season.
Burton spent the 2014-15 season as director of player development at UT.
McCabe team wins pro-assistant tournament
McCabe Golf Course pro Loren Personett and assistant Steve Munson posted a 10-under par and won the annual Tennessee Pro Golf Association Pro-Assistant Championship earlier this week. Personett and Munson won $2,500.
The tournament at Hermitage Golf Course was shortened to 14 holes because of rain.
Jordan Douglas of Black Creek Club in Chattanooga made a hole-in-one on the par-3 No. 12 hole using an 8-iron.
Ex-Vol Inky Johnson speaking at Boys & Girls Clubs dinner
Former Tennessee defensive back Inky Johnson will be the featured speaker on May 11 at the 28th annual Steak & Burger Dinner benefiting Boys & Girls Clubs of Middle Tennessee.
The dinner will be in Liberty Hall at the Factory in Franklin. It begins at 6 p.m., and tickets are $125.
Johnson's right arm was paralyzed when he made a tackle in a game at Neyland Stadium in 2006. The injury ended his career.
In 2011 Johnson wrote "Inky: An Amazing Story of Faith and Perseverance."
For tickets call 615-833-2368 or visit www.bgcmt.org.
Music City Tennis Invitational registration open
Registration is open for the 44th annual Music City Tennis Invitational.
The tournament will be May 27-28 at Vanderbilt's Brownlee O. Currey Jr. Tennis Center.
It's open to players of all skill levels.
Registration is $240 per person. Anyone wishing to be paired with a professional in a doubles format can register for the pro-am on May 26, and registration is $100 per person. Contact Shannon Lapsley at 615-322-7733.
If you have an item for Midstate Chatter contact Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 and on Twitter @MikeOrganWriter.
SPORTS ON NASHVILLE TV
The top 5 local sporting events television ratings for April 10-16
1. NHL playoffs: Predators-Blackhawks (Game 2) 5.8 rating
2. PGA: RBC Heritage (final round) 4.2
3. NBA playoffs: Thunder-Rockets 4.0
4. NHL playoffs: Predators-Blackhawks (Game 1) 3.8
5. NBA playoffs: Pacers-Cavaliers 3.6
Each rating point is equal to 10,116 Nashville homes.
Source: Mark Binda, WTVF-5 program & research director