Barton takes reins of Terrier boys hoops

The Terriers took a long time to find a replacement for retired boys basketball coach Jim Miller, but the time allotted was justified considering the status of the sport at Carbondale.

That has culminated in the hiring of Troy Barton, who won 35 games in the last two years at Tupelo, Miss., so his move to Carbondale was not a necessity. Rather, Barton felt Carbondale was the perfect match for him.

But, in fact, it was also a perfect match for the Terriers. First, like Miller, Barton is a southern Illinois native. Coach Barton was born in nearby Eldorado.

He coached at Eldorado for many years before moving to a variety of high school and JUCO gigs, including as a strength and conditioning coach at several schools. So, it follows, Barton emphasizes those aspects in his teams - just like Miller did.

Barton is hampered somewhat with the lateness of his hire. He says he will be moving from Mississippi in June to house hunt, so there may be little time for summer basketball camps. Miller used camp play to develop team cohesion.

Barton also would like to get into a scheduled Christmas or Thanksgiving basketball tournament. The Carbondale Holiday Tourney is no more, but the Terriers and Marion will cooperate in fielding a two-city tourney to replace that storied tournament.