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SOU search for coach narrows to 3 Raiders likely to make decision Friday By DON HUNT ASHLAND - Southern Oregon University has narrowed its search for a women's basketball coach to three finalists, and one of them will likely be chosen Friday, Athletic Director Phil Pifer said Tuesday. A list that once numbered more than 20 has dwindled to Kent Stanley, who guided Oklahoma City University to a five-year record of 103-61 and two NAIA Division I national championships; Kevin Charles, who brought stability and respectability to tiny Colorado Northwestern Community College in Rangely, Colo.; and Paula Krueger, a former NAIA National Tournament most valuable player who has been an assistant coach at Northern State University in Aberdeen, S.D., for the past two years. A five-person search committee chaired by SOU Sports Information Director Rich Rosenthal has been combing over resumes, checking references and talking to former players of the finalists in an effort to select the best candidate to succeed Shirley Huyett, who took the head women's job at Idaho State on June 29 after spending 11 seasons with the Raiders. Here's a look at each candidate: KENT STANLEY: The native Canadian has a glowing resume that would stack up against just about any college basketball coach at any level, but Stanley was fired by Oklahoma City University on April 24, 2000, amid allegations of verbal and sexual abuse of his players. Stanley left the school after reaching a financial settlement and has spent the last year at Simpson College in Redding, Calif. In a story that ran in The Daily Oklahoman newspaper on June 9, 2000, two former players alleged that Stanley visited players in their hotel rooms on road trips, tickled them and provoked wrestling matches. The players also said Stanley once pulled on a player's dress straps to help cover her breasts, then told her that the dress attracted men. They also accused him of telling certain players they were fat. One of the players suffered a knee injury and quit the team after her sophomore season, partly due to the injury but also because of Stanley's alleged mistreatment. "I was afraid to (return)," Sellmeyer told The Daily Oklahoman. "I would cry to my parents. I was just drained. I felt sorry for my teammates who didn't talk to their parents." Oklahoma City University officials interviewed eight players with eligibility remaining and their testimonies were consistent with the earlier accounts of abuse, OCU officials said. Reached by phone Tuesday, Stanley said he was the victim of a witch hunt by two players, their parents and a couple of OCU administrators. "If you go back through the rest of my career you'll find nothing," said Stanley, who coached Oklahoma City to a 33-3 record during his final season with the Stars. "This was something that got started and then had a snowball effect." Rosenthal said the Southern Oregon search committee was aware of the allegations and was attempting to ferret out the truth. "We've made a lot of phone calls and contacted a lot of people who are familiar with the situation - ranging from athletic department officials to the players to the newspaper reporter in Oklahoma City," Rosenthal said. "We've heard all sides of the issue and about the only conclusion we've come to so far is that it was obviously a mess." "We're not trying to dig up negative information," Rosenthal added. "We're just trying to find out the circumstances of a coach who won two national championships and then wasn't rehired." Rosenthal said he received nothing but positive reviews of Stanley when he contacted officials and former players at Fresno (Calif.) Pacific University. Stanley produced six 20-win seasons in eight years at Fresno Pacific, where he was the head coach from 1987-95, and led the school to five NAIA National Tournament berths. Stanley also claims to have graduated 100 percent of the players who stayed in his program through their senior years. He is also known as an outstanding fund-raiser and instructor. "One thing I noticed is that several of Kent's former players have become coaches," Rosenthal said. Stanley's allies include several Division I coaches, include Jerry Finkbeiner of Oral Roberts University. "There's no question of morality or intent," Finkbeiner told The Daily Oklahoman. At the time, Finkbeiner wondered if Stanley was the victim of an undeserved player revolt and questioned Oklahoma City University's loyalty to the former coach. "It amazes me that some of the fires that burned him weren't put out," Finkbeiner said. KEVIN WILSON: Wilson led Colorado Northwestern Community College to 17 victories last season and 13 the previous year at a school that was struggling mightily prior to his arrival. The school has only 400 students and the town - Rangely - numbers just 1,500. "He has made wine out of water at a tiny junior college in a tiny town in one of the top JC basketball leagues in the country," Rosenthal said. "The word we get is that he's a great person and a great recruiter." Wilson also coached softball at Colorado Northwestern last year and at one time was the school's volleyball coach. "He did all that in addition to teach," Rosenthal said. Wilson was scheduled to be in Ashland today to interview for the SOU job. PAULA KRUEGER: The former standout player has been an assistant coach at Northern State University, her alma mater, for the past two years. Prior to that, she was the head coach at Pahrump Valley High School in Pahrump, Nev., for one year and was an assistant at Warner School in Warner, S.D., for two years. Krueger, who will interview for the SOU job Friday, has never been a head coach. Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.