Southeast Missouri State University student publication

Rick Ray signs contract extension through 2021

Friday, September 8, 2017

Southeast men’s basketball head coach Rick Ray agreed on a two-year contract extension through the 2020-2021 season, on Aug. 28.

Last season, Ray led the Redhawks to a 15-18 overall record while going 9-7 in the Ohio Valley Conference. Ray said it’s a good feeling when the people you work for want you to return.

“It’s always a positive that the people you work for, your administration, [Dr. Carlos] Vargas, Brady Barke, want to extend your contract based off of your performance,” Ray said. “That means that it gives you validation that you’re moving the program in the right direction.”

Southeast Director of Athletics Brady Barke said he has been very pleased on what Ray has done so far with the basketball program.

“I have been pleased with what he’s done and certainly want to try to keep him at this institution,” Barke said. “More so, just trying to emphasize the commitment that we have towards him in that program because I feel like there is a very bright future there.”

With only having two years left on Ray’s remaining contract, Barke saw the importance of re-signing Ray for two more years.

Barke also thought the length of the contract extension was significant for both the athletic department and student-athletes with who will be running the program.

“From a recruitment standpoint, it’s very important for prospective student-athletes to know that the coach is likely going to be there when they arrive,” Barke said.

Ray said he wanted to become a basketball coach to help develop young men on and off the court.

“For me, it’s to make sure that each young man, while they’re in this program and ultimately when they leave this program, feel like they had a positive experience and that we put them first,” Ray said.

Ray said he wants the Southeast fan base to feel like they are operating the program with integrity.

“I never want that to be questioned as far as how we go about our business that we are going to make sure we are going to comply with NCAA rules and regulations,” Ray said. “And then finally, make sure we are going to make sure we are putting a quality product out on the court.”

Barke said the basketball program is in a position where they can compete for the OVC championship and participate in the NCAA tournament as well.

“I think with the pieces that he has put in place and continues to strengthen, that program is certainly within reach in the next couple of years for that program to be at that level cumulatively to try to do that,” Barke said.

Looking into the upcoming season, Ray said they will go from one of the most experienced teams in the OVC to one of the most inexperienced.

“It will all boil down to how our guys can form against competition that they have never played against before,” Ray said. “If you look at our roster and look at how many guys have played division one college basketball, you’re looking at four guys that have competed against Division-I competition.”

To help out with the players who have never played against Division-I college basketball, Ray said they have to make sure that they are giving those players the proper skillset in order for them to succeed.

“Our job as coaches is to make sure we’re preparing them for what they might see once they step foot on that court,” Ray said.

Even though it seems simple, Ray said first-year players at the Division-I level have to dribble, pass and shoot against pressure. The plays that may happen in high school basketball may not be able to happen as easy in collegiate basketball.

“In high school, you aren’t playing against guys that look like you,” Ray said. “You could be playing against a fifth-year senior that has four years of weightlifting underneath his belt where you have six months of lifting weights.”

For these players to succeed at this level, Ray said they have to instill confidence in them that they have the ability and necessary tools to be successful in college.

With coming back to Southeast to coach the Redhawks, Ray said it all starts with family.

“To me, this community and the Southeast Missouri area has really welcomed my family, my family feels really comfortable here,” Ray said. “The No. 1 thing is that the administration and the community has made my family feel like this is home.”

With the return of sophomore guard Denzel Mahoney, it showed there was confidence within Ray and the program to be successful.

“Unfortunately, in college basketball you got a situation where people are being poached at our level to go play at a higher level, and with the type of success that Denzel Mahoney had his freshman year, there’s a roundabout way of people showing interest in him that he can transfer up,” Ray said. “So for him to come back to our program to show faith in me, our coaching staff and our basketball program really speaks volumes and makes you want to come back and coach a young man like that.”

Ray continued to say that with such a promising young roster this year, they are building a solid foundation for years to come.

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