Brandon Farmer was given an inside look at an aspect of college athletics that most players don’t get to see, let alone be a part of.
The 5-foot-10 University of Illinois Springfield senior point guard was a part of the search committee whose job it was to help find a replacement for former UIS men’s basketball coach Kevin Gamble. Gamble resigned in June to become the director of player development at NCAA Division I Providence College.
“At first I thought, ‘Why would they want a player on the committee?’ Then it made sense,” said Farmer, a former Lincoln High School standout and two-time Central State Eight Conference Player of the Year. “I kind of thought I was just going to be there, but I actually felt they used my opinion a little bit.
“They wanted to hear what I thought as a player, and I think they listened to me a little. I enjoyed picking our new coach and having some kind of say in it from a player’s perspective.”
As part of the committee, Farmer spent three days studying more than 100 applications. He says from there, they narrowed the list to seven candidates, then three finalists. He was present for interviews and other aspects of the search.
Farmer was featured in a November 3, 2010, article by The State Journal-Register.
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