DAUME ENJOYS COACHING AT MIZZOU

When it comes to college basketball Nathan Daume probably has one of the best seats in the house -- a courtside seat in fact.

A 1989 graduate of Oak Ridge High School, Daume is now a student assistant coach with the University of Missouri Tigers basketball team. The team is ranked ninth in the most recent Associated Press college basketball poll.

Now working on a graduate degree in physical education at Mizzou, Daume became a student coach at the start of the fall term. The job is the fulfillment of a longtime dream for the local man, who hopes to make a career in coaching, ultimately at the college level.

For now, Daume can be found most every afternoon setting up conditioning drills, reviewing films of practices and games with assistant coaches and helping with the myriad other duties required of a member of the Tiger coaching staff. In addition to constant contact with such Mizzou basketball standouts as Julian Winfield and Jason Sutherland, Daume also has the opportunity to work with head coach Norm Stewart.

He seems to consider his job not so much as work but as a very enjoyable pastime.

"I'll tell you, working with the team has been everything and more than I thought it could have been," Daume said. "It's been an unbelievable experience to work with the players and with a coach of the status of Norm Stewart."

Daume's day as a college student ends and his day as an assistant coach begins each afternoon at about 1 p.m. when he joins other assistant coaches to get ready for the Tigers' afternoon basketball practice.

"Everyday is a little bit different," says Daume, explaining that the day's job may begin with a review of scouting films of opposing teams or even films of Mizzou's own games and practices. Then again, he and the other coaches might prepare for the day's practice by setting up pre-practice conditioning drill equipment for individual players.

"The assistant coaches do a lot of drills before practice working on individual players' games and then Coach Stewart comes in and works with the team during practice," explained Daume.

Once Stewart begins the team practice, Daume may be called on to film the scrimmages or even do odd jobs in the basketball team's office.

Daume has maintained an interest in athletics throughout his life having been a point guard on his high school basketball team and an infielder on the baseball team.

After graduation from high school, Daume enrolled at Southeast and practiced with the baseball Indians as a redshirt freshman. In January 1991, he transferred to Jefferson County Community College and played third base on the baseball team there.

Daume enrolled at the University of Missouri in January of 1992 and began pursuing an undergraduate degree in physical education in the hopes of being a coach. To bolster his classroom education, he began working with a Columbia area high school basketball team on a volunteer basis and worked at junior basketball camps when they were held on campus.

Last fall, Daume was in the office of Tigers assistant basketball coach Kim Anderson to ask for a job working at a basketball camp being held on campus for high school students when Anderson asked if Daume would like to work as a Tigers assistant coach instead.

"The opportunity presented itself and it seemed to be a way of being able to pick up some of the points of the game," said Daume. "I always wanted to be a coach and felt like it was the best step I could take."

Having been with the team for several months, the aspiring coach has been most impressed with head coach Stewart.

"The thing that has impressed me the most as far as coaching is concerned has been being with Coach Stewart and seeing how he handles the kids, the other coaches and the players," Daume explained. "There are a lot of coaching styles and philosophies out there but he does a tremendous job.

"Coach is intense and he wants to win as much as anybody," he added. "He gets onto the players but he also shows them a lot of respect and during practice he injects a little humor and I think the players relate to him."

Of course, the student assistant gets to work a great deal with Mizzou's players. Of those, Daume is most impressed with 5-10 sophomore guard Chip Walther and his old-fashioned work ethic.

"He'll come to practice early everyday and battle his butt off," he said of Walther. "He battles [6-1 sophomore guard Jason] Sutherland a lot, and as you know, Sutherland's a tough player.

"Not to take away from anyone else, Chip just works hard. He's kind of a quiet leader who pushes everyone else."

In addition to working at practice, Daume also gets to put in a little game time, doing a variety of jobs including keeping team statistics.

"One of the things that has been great has been the chance to travel a little with the team and be in front of 13,000 and 14,000 people both at home and on the road," he said.

As to the Tigers' prospects heading into March, Daume concedes the ever-present factor of chance which exists in any game but remains optimistic just the same.

"It's like Coach Stewart says, 'Basketball is a call here, a bad bounce or a free throw,'" said Daume. "We had some tough games early and with a lot of the young guys on the team -- we lost eight seniors -- it was tough. I think some of the freshman didn't know what was really needed but the Illinois game was a turning point and now that the work ethic is improving and everyone is working hard, I think we have a shot to go a long way."

No matter the end result of the season, Daume won't be disappointed.

"Everyone I know asks me, 'Are you sure coaching is what you want to do,'" said Daume, "and I couldn't imagine doing anything else."