Call it the very good, the very bad and the very ugly.
Brad Korn certainly could.
That derivative of the 1960s movie title might best sum up what will stand as an impressive fifth season for the Southeast Missouri State basketball coach who hails from Plano.
His team had a bounce-back season, winning the Ohio Valley Conference regular-season title and earning the top seed in the tournament, only to be upset last weekend in the title game 69-48 by SIU Edwardsville, a team the Redhawks had beaten twice.
“It’s been a remarkable year that will stick with me forever,” Korn posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Success is fleeting. I’m sorry we won’t get to play in the NCAA Tournament, but this team will forever be Ohio Valley Conference champions and that brings a smile to my face.
“It’s my hope that we’ve made our folks proud. I know I am.”
So much for some of the good and the bad.
The third time was a charm for the Cougars, who grabbed the conference’s automatic NCAA Tournament berth. It left Korn, the conference’s coach of the year, and the Redhawks dealing with the ugly.
The Ohio Valley is not a power conference and won’t receive a second NCAA bid. Unfortunately, Southeast Missouri State (21-12) isn’t likely to have a strong enough profile to receive a bid to the National Invitation Tournament either. The NIT is also run by the NCAA.
“We play a 20-game conference schedule and win it by two games,” Korn said. “I think we should be in the NIT. It makes me mad we don’t get rewarded for the season we had, but it is what it is.”
He pointed to a recent reduction in the NIT field to 16 teams as hurting a team like SEMO that stumbled in a conference tournament.
“It’s kinda (baloney),” Korn said, noting that the NIT field will likely be filled with higher-profile teams from power leagues who didn’t do enough to make the NCAA Tournament.
How about remaining postseason tournaments like the College Basketball Invitational that will be played at Daytona Beach, Florida, or CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament, played at campus sites?
There could be a spot for Southeast Missouri State, but is it worth it? Korn plans to gauge the interest of his players if an invite comes and then see what his administration says.
“There’s also a financial obligation with those as well and we’d have to figure that out,” Korn said.
Southeast Missouri State’s Israel Barnes, second from front right, dribbles into coach Brad Korn, front left, in front of the bench during the second half of a game at Missouri on Sunday, Dec. 4, 2022. (L.G. Patterson / AP)
Programs have to pay to play in those events, ranging from $25,000 to 30,000 to cover costs.
It puts a bit of a damper on what Southeast Missouri State accomplished.
In his third season, Korn’s team made the Cinderella run, winning four games in four days as the fifth seed to win the 2023 OVC Tournament title and take the automatic NCAA berth.
His contract was extended through 2027.
Last season, the team fell to 9-22 and placed 10th in the 11-team conference, failing to make the eight-team tournament for the first time in Korn’s four-year tenure.
“It wasn’t like we had a complete fall off,” he said. “We had injuries that made a huge difference. We had two seniors, starters at both forward spots, who weren’t able to play all season long.”
Southeast Missouri State coach Brad Korn calls a play during the first half of a game against Missouri on Sunday, Dec. 4, 2022. (L.G. Patterson / AP)
Korn brought in six transfers, five from junior colleges and one via the portal, and one freshman. One of the JC transfers, the portal transfer and junior guard Rob Martin, who had transferred in from Indiana State the previous year, all earned all-conference honors.
The 6-foot-9 Korn played for Bruce Weber and Matt Painter at Southern Illinois after leading Plano to a fourth-place finish in the state. He was an assistant for 16 years and has dealt with continual changes since becoming a head coach in 2020.
“I was hired in March of the COVID year and didn’t get to meet my team until September,” Korn said.
The transfer portal, plus name, image and likeness to pay players, followed.
“Every year, it’s something new,” Korn said. “Even with the changes, there’s no point in complaining. Whether it’s (junior colleges) or portal transfers or signing high school recruits, you try to identify kids of character and talent and then work your tail off with them.
“It’s the nature of the beast. As long as you can retain your core, that’s about the best you can do.”
It appears he could keep the Redhawks in the tall corn.
