By JOHN VARGO - Tribune Chronicle (jvargo@tribtoday.com) , Tribune Chronicle
YOUNGSTOWN - Jerry Slocum doesn't see anything special about Youngstown State's men's basketball game tonight against Detroit Mercy.
He's spent the last 10 seasons as the YSU coach, after stints at Gannon University (Erie, Pa.), Geneva College (Beaver Falls, Pa.) and Nyack (N.Y.) College, where he started his head coaching career in the mid-1970s.
The former guard at The Kings College in New York City became a teacher of young men soon after his playing days were done. The 63-year-old coach has had winning records at each of his three stops prior to YSU.
Slocum, who is in is 40th season, has the second most wins as a YSU coach, trailing only the late Dom Rosselli, the Penguins' legendary coach whose name is embossed on the basketball floor and whose statue stands near the entrance of the Beeghly Center.
Slocum's overall record stands at 699-510, including 118-186 at YSU.
He's mentored about a dozen players who have played professionally at some level, including Kendrick Perry (Australia), Kamren Belin (Portugal), Damian Eargle, Michael Adams, John Barber, Kelvin Bright, Domonique Crawford, Byron Davis, Quin Humphrey, DeAndre Mays, Sirlester Martin and Mikko Niemi.
Assistant coach Mike Wernicki filled in at YSU's weekly news conference for Slocum, who had a severe chest congestion, and said he has a great admiration for what the YSU mentor has accomplished in his career.
If YSU wins tonight against Detroit, Slocum will join other Division I coaches who have already reached 700 like Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, who eclipsed the 1,000 mark earlier this season; Syracuse's Jim Boeheim, who is closing in on 1,000 victories; West Virginia's Bob Huggins; North Carolina's Roy Williams; Wisconsin's Bo Ryan; Louisville's Rick Pitino and Belmont's Rick Byrd.
"We haven't talked about it as a staff, because that's just not what he does," Wernicki said. "He's not focused on that stuff. From a personal standpoint, I don't care who you are, you get to that milestone and you look at the list of guys that have done it, it really validates a career. Whether he gets 700 or not, his career is validated. It really validates a career of hard work, perseverance, recruiting, knowing what you're doing, Xs and Os, game management, the whole package. You don't get to 700 if you can't do all of those things and put them together.
"I know him, he won't say it publically, he'll pass it off if you guys say something to him. He won't address it very much, but I know deep down it will mean a lot to him."
The Penguin players have discussed the potability of 700 wins for Slocum.
YSU is 11-17 this season and 2-11 in the Horizon League with a very young team.
The Penguins won at Wright State on Sunday for the first time since 1994, which makes tonight's goal for 700 a very real potability.
"We knew he could get 700 by the end of this year," YSU sophomore guard Marcus Keene said. "We wanted to do that for him because that would be a big accomplishment to him."
