Childers speaks out after exit from Winthrop

By David Thackham

thackhamd@mytjnow.com

Photo courtesy of the Winthrop Athletics websiteFormer Winthrop women’s basketball head coach Bud Childers stepped down on March 14  following his squad’s semifinal run in the Big South Conference Tournament. Last week, however, the head coach described in an email to The Johnsonian an up and down relationship with athletic administration.

The coach believes he was misled by the athletic department about the state of his team and his future with the Eagles after 2011. The former coach said he left the school with “no regrets.” Childers said he “saw Winthrop as a destination job and not a stepping stone one, but I guess I was wrong,” Childers said in the email.

Childers, who has turned around dead end programs at Cumberland College (1981-83), Murray State (1984-89) and James Madison (1997-2003) came to Winthrop for a similar overhaul. In the 2002-03 season before Childers arrived, the team finished with a record of .357 (10 wins, 18 losses). 

“When I took over it was one of the worst programs in the country,” Childers said. “As a matter of fact it was in far worse shape than I was led to believe.”

Regardless, Childers reformed the team over the course of four years, culminating in a 20-12 record in 2007-08 and a first time appearance in the Women’s National Invitational Tournament. 

“I leave here knowing we accomplished a great deal,” Childers said, “and most importantly we gained respect for [the] Winthrop women’s team.“

Since that commendable season, however, the Eagles’ records have dropped considerably and little of their play has been pretty to watch. Winthrop finished 2010-11 with 12 wins and 17 losses in the regular season.

Winthrop athletic director Tom Hickman says the time between the end of the regular season and the beginning of the postseason is when the discussions began to take place between coaches and the department. 

“We typically sit down and have a meeting and talk about the program, at the end of the season, to see what the coaches’ goals are and the goals of the department and see how they match up,” said Hickman. “If it turns out that it looks like [it’s the] case it’s better for both parties to do something different, then that’s the conclusion you come to.”

Hickman said Childers made the initial request for the meeting. Differences occurred between Childers and the administration, however, regarding the direction of the women’s team. 

“Unfortunately,” Childers said, “administratively we differed on the state and progress of the program,” the former coach said.

After embarrassing losses to Liberty (by 35 points), Southern Polytechnic State (by 37 points) and Southern Wesleyan (by 47 points), there were many questions of the team and their 54-year-old coach’s capability. 

“We were the youngest team in the league this year,” Childers said, “ including the year’s Freshman of the Year (Dequesha McClanahan) and were the only team (in the Big South) to suffer any season ending injuries.”

The Eagles lost potential freshman playmakers Kristine Rishel and Samiya Wright to knee injuries in the preseason. They will return for next season alongside recently signed recruits, Kelsey Corcoran and Taylor Calvert. 

“We were reloading the team with young talent,” Childers said . “Now I hear that some of the key players are thinking of transferring and recruits are debating as to whether to still come. For those that may end up leaving I will be mostly sad for them in that I wasn’t able to see them through the finish of their careers like I promised them and their families.”

Hickman said he hasn’t heard such rumors of players leaving. 

“The indication we have so far is that they still intend to enroll,” the athletic director said. 

Childers will remain compensated by the university until the end of June when his contract runs out, providing he does not sign with another team, Hickman said.

The coach received a yearly salary of more than $87,000, according to The State newspaper’s S.C. employee online database.

Assistant coach Chris Vozab has been appointed as the interim women’s basketball administrator and will take charge of operations until a new coach is determined, Hickman said. 

“I felt it was more appropriate [than to name an interim head coach],” said Hickman, “because we needed a caretaker until we get somebody to take them over… I’m hoping it’s not going to take too long.” 

Coach Childers described himself as disappointed to leave because of the potential of the Eagle program.

“I will always wonder what we could have accomplished with this group we had coming back and the new ones coming in next year,” he said.