Baur tapped to lead hoop Axemen after Berry’s sudden resignation

BY JOHN DECOSTE

jdecoste@kentvilleadvertiser.ca

NovaNewsNow.com

Steve Baur’s dream was to one day be head coach of a university basketball team. Last week, that dream came true, and a lot sooner than Baur likely ever imagined.

On Monday, June 23 - the same day Les Berry resigned abruptly - Acadia director of varsity athletics Brian Heaney named Baur, a 2001 Acadia graduate, as interim head coach of the basketball Axemen for the 2008-2009 season.

“It’s exciting for sure,” Baur said Thursday. “There are some really mixed emotions – I’ve worked with Les for five years now, but I’m really excited at the opportunity. I went to school here and this is kind of like a dream job for me.”

Baur said that Berry’s abrupt departure “shocked me a bit. I had been out west attending a wedding and when I got back there were messages for me from Les and Brian. I couldn’t reach Les and the first I heard about it was when I talked to Brian and he offered me the job.”

Baur was interim head coach of the Axemen last fall while Berry was serving an AUS-imposed suspension. “It was a wonderful opportunity for me, and an opportunity you don’t always get,” in that Berry was still very much around to provide advice.

Given that he knows the current Axemen players and has their respect, Baur didn’t expect much of a transition, nor did he plan many major changes. “Things have been working well,” he said, “and a person doesn’t really like to change things too much.”

He confirmed that Berry had most of this year’s recruiting well underway at the time of his departure. “It’ll be up to me to finish the task.”

Speaking Wednesday, Heaney termed Baur’s appointment the right thing to do under the circumstances.

“Steve knows the program, he knows the returning players, and he’s familiar with the new players we’re bringing in this fall. I’m totally comfortable with him as head coach.”

Took Acadia from 2-17 to CIS final

Berry resigned after three years at Acadia. He took the Axemen from a 2-17 record his first year to the conference championship in 2006-2007 and the CIS final this past season. He was also suspended, and the Acadia athletic department fined and sanctioned, for the use of an ineligible player during part of the 2006-2007 season.

Heaney acknowledged Wednesday that Berry’s sudden departure came as a surprise. “It came completely out of left field,” he said. “I never would have predicted this, but these things happen. Les made his decision, it came very quickly, and I reacted to it.”

He has no qualms at all hiring Baur, an assistant to Berry the past six years, two at Brandon and the past four at Acadia. “If I hadn’t felt Steve had the ability and confidence to do the job, I would have initiated a search (for a new head coach) right away,” he said.

Baur “proved himself during his time as head coach last fall and he has the respect of the players,” Heaney said. “That’s why I was able to make the decision so quickly.”