It’s not likely you will ever see Carl English coaching the St. John’s Edge, but don’t be surprised if English doesn’t end up running the basketball team from the front office, perhaps as early as next season.
Two days after the expansion Edge saw their season draw to a close with a 4-2 series loss to the London Lightning in the Central Division final, English and coach Jeff Dunlap met with the media Tuesday at Mile One Centre.
With one question on everybody’s mind, this year’s National Basketball League of Canada MVP had no answers about next season, and if he plans on returning as a 38-year-old.
The Patrick’s Cove product had just come off a long season, in which he suffered an array of injuries, from cracked ribs to a broken nose twice over, to a pair of sore ankles.
He’s not signed for next year, and says he has European offers, but that latter scenario isn’t likely to play out as English, a favourite of owner Irwin Simon, has a future running the Edge as long he wants it.
In addition to that, his brother, Kevin, will be involved in the eventual takeover by Simon of Mile One Centre’s management.
But one thing is for certain, you won’t see English coaching the Edge.
“I don’t know if I’d be ready to coach this level of player, and I don’t know if that’s something I’d want to do,” he said. “And I don’t know if I’d even be a good coach. Sometimes, the best players make the worst coaches.
“I can’t see myself coaching at any time in the near future.”
Between the aches and pains, and the disappointment of the playoff exit, he’s on two minds about playing next year.
But he did come off an NBL Canada season in which he finished second in league scoring, and set a new single-game standard of 58 points.
“It’s tough to walk away from that,” he admitted.
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Head coach/GM Jeff Dunlap, who came to the Edge as their first employee and did a masterful piecing together the roster following a career as an NCAA assistant, is also not signed for next season, but is interested in returning to St. John’s.
Dunlap is mulling over an offer from Cal State Northridge University in L.A., and reportedly has some other options.
But he loved the idea of being a head coach, even though the separation from his family who remained in North Carolina wasn’t easy.
“I loved being a head coach, but I really loved being a general manager,” Dunlap said. “Assembling the team was very rewarding. I fell into some really good opportunities to get guys here, and then to watch them blossom in front of you was exciting.”
If English comes back next season in a suit and tie to the front office, make no mistake he’ll be running the show. But even if he returns to anchor the back court again — and the odds are stacked towards that scenario — English will still have a lot of pull, even if he is in uniform.
“I’m not a believer in mediocrity,” he said. “I’m a winner, and that’s what I believe in and when I signed up, I signed up to win.
“Yes, there were lots of positive things that we can build on, but there will be a lot of change because losing is not acceptable.
“Where I played in Europe, if you don’t win, you’re done. That’s it. As a player, if you don’t succeed the way they want you to succeed, you’re done. That’s it. That’s how sports is.”
If Dunlap is back, he hopes English is with the Edge, whether it’s on the floor, or in the boardroom where the coach would be taking direction from his former player.
It’s a situation – granted, we’re speculating, but one that is entirely possible – Dunlap is okay with.
“I think we could work cooperatively,” he said. “I feel I did a good job, the staff did a good job.
“If Carl wanted to be part of that little team on the side that assembles everything, it would be a win-win situation. Obviously, he’s got great contacts, and I think he could really help us with Canadian players. And he knows the international market extremely well.
“He’d be a great resource for the organization.”
