Nic Lists Trio As Candidates For Hoop Job

North Idaho College has narrowed its search for a men’s basketball coach to at least three finalists from a pool of nearly 40 applicants, The Spokesman-Review learned on Tuesday night.

The three are former Idaho assistant coach Hugh Watson, NIC assistant coach Brian Hancock and Mark Adams, head coach at NCAA Division I Central Connecticut State. Those three are expected to be interviewed next week in Coeur d’Alene, beginning with Watson on Monday.

There’s a possibility of a fourth finalist, sources indicated. And there are apparently a couple of alternates - including San Francisco assistant Bill Carr and former Illinois assistant Mark Bial - but they are expected to become factors only if a coach isn’t selected from the finalists.

NIC is replacing Rolly Williams, who is retiring after 35 seasons. NIC officials hope to select the new coach by the end of next week.

Watson, 55, has head coaching experience at Hiwassee Junior College in Madisonville, Tenn. In six seasons, his teams won three conference titles and twice advanced to nationals.

He assisted at Idaho (1990-93) and was responsible for bringing Hiwassee star Orlando Lightfoot to Moscow. Lightfoot became the Big Sky Conference’s all-time leading scorer.

Watson has spent the last three years as the head coach at Columbia (Tenn.) High School.

NIC has put an emphasis on the new coach assisting in marketing the program to the community, which would seem to be ideal for the personable Watson.

Hancock, 28, is a former NIC player who has assisted Williams for the last five years. During that time, Hancock has been instrumental in recruiting many of the players on NIC’s roster.

Hancock, a Coeur d’Alene High graduate, has inherent advantages of knowing the Scenic West Athletic Conference and the caliber of players required to succeed in the league. He’s also experienced in recruiting on the West Coast.

Adams, 39, is 40-95 in five seasons at Central Connecticut State, where he was hired after serving as an assistant to Kelvin Sampson at Washington State.

He assisted at Idaho State (1979-82) and was the head coach at Rocky Mountain College (1982-85) in Billings, Mont., and at Western Oregon State College (1985-89) in Monmouth.

At WSU, Adams was in charge of promotions, scouting, Cougar Cage camps and had various recruiting responsibilities.

, DataTimes