Coach Nelson leaving the Red Rebels?

[o21putt]

OK, all you Maryville Red Rebels experts. What is the story on Coach Nelson leaving Maryville? Just heard that this is or might be happening.

[CoachT]

Article from 7/16

[GovMan]

Don't know any details. Have heard rumors and speculations ... but that is all they are at this time. In my opinion, The Times should have held back on story until more specifics are known. I guess they wanted the "scoop" though ... kind of a slow time for local sports in the summer.

 

Whoever coaches the team this year ... they are "loaded." This will be one of the better Maryville teams in recent years.

[dheat]

My understanding is that this is the end of his career, no matter what the paper says. Had to take a leave or else. I guess he did not have that Football connection or this would not even been an issue.

[REBELRON]

I thought Rodney Nelson did a good job at Maryville. He gets a lot of heat for not taking many teams to Murfreesboro. But! I remember too well what Maryville Basketball was before he coached there. Rodney started coaching at Maryville my senior year. While I was in high school the basketball team was terrible. My junior year they went 2-25. They went 5-22 my senior year. I remember Maryville would lose to Rule and Holston by 50 points. I remember every school in the county would kill Maryville. My senior year Heritage beat Maryville at Maryville by 25 points. Then Heritage would lose to AE by 50-60 points. Bearden,Farragut and Fulton would kill Heritage in those days.

 

Maryville not only got killed by Heritage and other county teams. I remember teams like Midway beating Maryville while I was in school. Maryville always lost to Powell,South Young,Kingston,Lenoir City and Loudon. Maryville basketball was a laughing stock while I was in school. They were terrible. Now they beat teams like Fulton,Bearden,Farragut,Science Hill,Dobyns Bennett,Oak Ridge and Powell. Rodney has raised the bar at Maryville. Rodney did a good job at a school where football will always be king.

[whyhello99]

Rodney Nelson is purely a basketball genius he loves the game so much and knows so much, i cant imagine him not going anywhere else to coach he could even go to a college and be a shooting coach.

[jimmy dolan]

i played for nelson, and i will be the first to tell you that he is an awesome guy. he is a great x's and o's coach. i think, at times, his system was a little too complicated for his players. i think that nelson would make a good college coach. his coaching style would be more suited for the college level. parents dont agree with his style because, lets face it, kids just arent tough enough to play for an in-your-face kind of coach anymore. the majority of kids are soft and dont understand the game of basketball. they play ball, but they dont study or love the game the way they should. i agree that nelson, at times, was very vocal which could be seen as him losing control. but, i never felt threatened by the guy. he made me a much better player physically and more importantly mentally. i think nelson would be a great hire for any school, but i dont think that he will coach again. he has put in his time and impacted hundreds of kids lives. he deserves to take a break and enjoy his family. plus, he could always work on his golf game. i know it needs a little fine-tuning.

[Norman Dale]

i played for nelson, and i will be the first to tell you that he is an awesome guy. he is a great x's and o's coach. i think, at times, his system was a little too complicated for his players. i think that nelson would make a good college coach. his coaching style would be more suited for the college level. parents dont agree with his style because, lets face it, kids just arent tough enough to play for an in-your-face kind of coach anymore. the majority of kids are soft and dont understand the game of basketball. they play ball, but they dont study or love the game the way they should. i agree that nelson, at times, was very vocal which could be seen as him losing control. but, i never felt threatened by the guy. he made me a much better player physically and more importantly mentally. i think nelson would be a great hire for any school, but i dont think that he will coach again. he has put in his time and impacted hundreds of kids lives. he deserves to take a break and enjoy his family. plus, he could always work on his golf game. i know it needs a little fine-tuning.

 

Great post Jimmy Dolan and I agree with you wholeheartedly. I have known Rodney for a long time. He is a very demanding coach who confronts mental mistakes, sloppy play, lack of effort, etc. very forcefully in a manner which makes some players and parents feel very uncomfortable at times. He is definitely an "old school" coach and , in my opinion, that isn't all bad.

 

I think how Rodney has handled his leave of abscence this year has been admirable. From everything I have heard, he has been very supportive of Coach Eldridge and the players this year. This had the potential to be a very awkward situation for everyone involved but I think Eldridge, Nelson, and the players have handled it in a first class manner.

 

I don't pretend to know what the coaching future of Rodney Nelson will be. I do know he still loves the game. I saw him at a game recently and, in vintage Rodney Nelson form, he began diagramming plays on the bleachers for me using his daughter's Starburst candy pieces. However, Jimmy D you may be right about him enjoying his time off and quitting coaching permanently. I guess time will tell.