Published: August 23, 2007 11:41 pm            

Hall bids goodbye to KHS

He accepts position on BSU women’s hoops coaching staff

During 26 years of coaching as many as four sports at Kokomo High School, Hall of Fame coach Charlie Hall had several opportunities to get out the door and venture to new sites and sounds.

He didn’t leave, he said, because Kokomo was home.

Thursday, however, the opportunity became too good to pass up. Hall accepted an assistant coaching position on the staff of the Ball State women’s basketball program. He’ll resign his teaching position at Kokomo Wednesday and begin his new life in Muncie the following day.

“I’ve been in Kokomo since I was a kid and it’s special to me,” the well-liked former KHS girls basketball coach said. “There are friends here and it’s a great place to live. At the same time though, I’m so excited about what’s ahead. I hate leaving Kokomo, but I have no second thoughts.”

Hall joins Lisa McDonald and Marsha Frese as assistants under head coach Tracy Roller, who in just six seasons has already become the program’s most successful coach. Her Cardinals are 115-66 and coming off the best season in school history — 24-7 overall and 13-3 in the Mid-American Conference.

Roller said she is delighted to have Hall join her staff.

“[Hall] has been a great mentor to me throughout my career,” Roller said. “He is a proven winner with incredible knowledge of the game and is well known in the state as a premier coach. … He brings his championship mentality and work ethic to our BSU family.”

Hall’s decision also reunites him with his niece, Audrey McDonald, who played three seasons for Hall at Kokomo and just finished her freshman season with the Cardinals. McDonald enjoyed an outstanding season, moving into the starting lineup immediately and making the all-MAC freshman team after averaging 8.7 points per game while finishing 20th in the nation in 3-point shooting percentage at 40 percent (62 of 155).

Hall said while he will enjoy seeing more of McDonald, his move to the college ranks wasn’t timed with that in mind.

“Tracy and I had talked about me joining her staff and she offered me a job several years ago,” Hall said. “At that time, it just wasn’t feasible.

“Last spring I went to Ball State’s [post-season] banquet and I found that I really missed those relationships that you only get from coaching. It made me miss coaching again. It turned out that one of her assistants left, she had an opening and she offered me the job.”

This time the Ball State graduate didn’t pass it up and he’s eager to get back in the game and be associated with Roller, who recently signed a four-year contract.

“She’s an up-and-coming coach and the program is on the rise,” Hall said. “What I like most about her is the way she handles players. She maintains a high degree of discipline, yet gets along great with the players. She knows when to pat them on the back and when to give them a push and that’s always something I tried to do as a coach.”

Hall said his main responsibilities will be game preparation “Xs and Os” and he’ll primarily work with post players in practice. Details haven’t been finalized, but he may also teach a coaching philosophy class at the university.

Hall, who won 89 percent of his games (172-22) in eight seasons with the Lady Kats, addressed the issue of helping coach his niece’s team prior to accepting the position.

He said McDonald actually phoned all of her teammates to get their OK and Hall said the final phase of his interview was with the players.

“Everyone was comfortable with it,” Hall said. “I’m not the one who will dictate playing time and I’ll be working with post players in practice, not guards.

“Audrey doesn’t need uncle Charlie around to make her successful,” Hall said with a laugh. “It’s been her parents, Mike and Helen, who have helped make her what she is, not me. Like all good players, Audrey is the one who has put the time in to get where she is today.”

Hall isn’t saying good-bye to the community. He said his wife Penny would finish out the semester as Kokomo High’s media center director and that while he wasn’t sure where the Halls would eventually live, they aren’t selling their home here.

“Once [the Ball State stint] is over, I’ll be coming back home,” he said. “We’ll definitely retire in Kokomo.”

        

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