Lipscomb's Roller Resigns

[tackle]

LIPSCOMB HIGH SCHOOL˜S ROLLER STEPS DOWN AS HEAD COACH; PICKENS APPOINTED

 

NASHVILLE (April 4, 2003)- David Lipscomb High School head basketball coach Mike Roller today announced his resignation from that role effective immediately.

 

Assistant Coach Ritchie Pickens will be elevated to the role of head coach, said Glenn McCadams, athletic director for the high school. The announcement was made during a team meeting this morning.

 

Roller will remain with the school and take on expanded duties related to his administrative role as admissions director for David Lipscomb Campus School, the K-12 academy affiliated with Lipscomb University, said Mark Pugh, high school principal.

 

˜We regret to lose Mike as our basketball coach from the standpoint of his expertise, experience, and the accomplishment of having a positive program with more than 500 career wins. I consider him to be one of the very best basketball coaches in Tennessee,˜ McCadams said.

 

Roller said he felt like it was time to devote more time to his administrative role and to teaching basketball in summer camps.

˜It˜s really been an honor and privilege to work with the young men and coaches I have had a chance to work with at Lipscomb and all through my coaching career. I just feel like it˜s time to step back and reevaluate what I want to do coaching-wise,˜ he said.

 

˜It˜s been a great situation at Lipscomb - the administration has been very kind to me and continues to be. My role as K-12 admissions director will be expanded, and I˜m excited about that. And they will let me keep working with camps and teaching basketball, which is what I like to do anyway,˜ Roller said.

 

As is expected from any coach at Lipscomb, McCadams said, Roller brought much more to the program that Xs and Os through his involvement in the lives of his students and Christian influence. He said Pickens would bring similar characteristics to the position.

 

˜We˜re excited to have someone of the caliber of Ritchie Pickens who is already in our program and in our school to be available to continue the strong tradition of Lipscomb basketball. He˜s already had a strong influence in his role as Mike˜s top assistant coach and feel like fits our position as well as anyone we could hire at this time. He has a great family, is a good teacher, and is very much involved in kids˜ lives at school. We really feel like he fits the mold,˜ McCadams said.

 

Pickens graduated in 1990 from Lipscomb University, where he played baseball four years for the late Coach Ken Dugan and was a student assistant for the Bison men˜s basketball team under Coach Don Meyer for one season.

 

He was head girls˜ basketball coach and assistant baseball coach at Columbia Academy in 1990-91 before joining the David Lipscomb High School faculty as assistant girls basketball coach (1991-94) and assistant and pitching coach for the baseball team (1991-97). He has served as an assistant to the boys˜ basketball coach since the 1995-96 season. Pickens also teaches in the school˜s Bible department.

 

Roller has served as head coach of the high school team twice for a total of 13 years. His teams went to region play in all 13 years, to the SubState 11 years, to the state tournament six times and to the final four three times. His team this year finished 25-4, losing to Portland in the region tournament. Roller was named Coach of the Year in Region 8-AA this year.

 

Roller, who posted a 170-9 record during six years as boys' head basketball coach at Georgia Christian School, Valdosta, Ga., leaves his head coaching position at Lipscomb with a career record of 501-89, an .849 winning percentage.

-30-

 

 

G. David England

Assistant Vice President,

Marketing and Public Relations

Lipscomb University

3901 Granny White Pike

Nashville, TN 37204-3951

615.279.6497

david.england@lipscomb.edu

[ruppsrunt]

Great coach and gentleman.

[chuckyboy]

Coach Roller not coaching at DLH?! Holly cow! What a great coach and great man! He was one of those coaches that if you were a young coach you tried to pattern yourself after and if you were coaching against him you knew you were in for a fight! Coach Roller is a excellent teacher of the game and his knowledge is only surpassed by his love for the game! Hats off to you sir, the high school coaching ranks is a little worse off today!

[horsefly]

When this sinks in, I'll have more to say - - but for now - - Mike Roller is a gentleman, a truly awesome coach, a mentor, a spiritual leader, a friend and a great example for young men and other coaches.

 

He will be missed in the Lipscomb basketball program.

[bigAsports]

I am a much better coach and person after coaching under Mike Roller. He is one of the finest Christian men I know. He brings so much on and off the court. I am saddend that I won't see him on the sidelines anymore. Lipscomb will still be a top notch program under Richie Pickens. Richie has paid his dues and has been a loyal assistant and friend to Roller. I do hope to see Roller coach again one-day. I hope Roller is happy in all that he does and enjoys his new free time. Thanks for being such a good friend Mike.

[RystalQuinn]

I know you don't read this, but I still want to say, Goodbye. I enjoyed my time working with you.

 

 

 

-P.C.

 

Manager of DLHS Boys Basketball Team

[Guest KillsAndThrills]

As a former and present attender of the David Lipscomb summer basketball camp, I can say that Mike Roller knows his fundementals and has, by far, the best basketball camp affiliation in Tennesse period. I'm excited about joining the camp once more this year and becoming part of this great program. Congrats to Coach Roller on a great coaching career at DLHS. He deserves all the credit and congratulations everybody is giving him.