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It was about 7 p.m. Friday night and Harry Starr felt like Dean Smith when Danny Manning chose Kansas over North Carolina. Or when Tom McMillen committed to UNC and then bolted for Lefty Driesell and Maryland.
Manning and McMillen were recruits that Michelangelo thought were in the bag. But the superstars startled him by (gasp) turning down the Heels.
In the past week, Starr had been doing some heavy recruiting too. The East Rowan principal wanted Albemarle’s Jack Gaster as his new football coach. He made no secret of it. As noon came and went, he thought Gaster was in the bag.
East Rowan considered Gaster “Starr” quality. He had a work ethic second to none. He had a strong personality. He knew what to do with teenage potential. And he even had a home address in Rockwell, for cryin’ out loud.
His wife is the principal at North Rowan and Starr said she wanted him to take the job.
It seemed too good to be true. Everything just fit perfectly.
And then, Gaster told Starr no.
“It threw us for a loop,” exclaimed Starr from his home, also in Rockwell. “We were shocked.”
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When a head coaching job in football comes open, a principal turns into a recruiter. It’s a big challenge, especially at a school like East Rowan, with a solid background and an even more solid fan base.
Football is the money-maker at all schools and the football coach is usually the strongest personality on campus.
Jeff Safrit, who recently resigned the post, certainly is. There are some who describe Safrit’s personality with words other than “strong” but hey, they’re usually the ones losing to him.
A lot of people also lose to Gaster, whose scowl and demeanor remind you of a stern Army general.
When his son, Travis, came home from the Air Force Academy after an arm injury ended his career there, he was told that house rules were the same as when he was in high school: Be home at 10 p.m.
“But I’m 20 years old,” Travis moaned.
“House rules,” Gaster said. “Or either get an apartment.”
Travis made it a month in that apartment. He is now going to play football for Chuck Amato at N.C. State.
Starr likes Gaster’s toughness. And even though other names like East Forsyth’s Todd Shuping and East Surry’s Tommy Eanes, a former Davie High quarterback, surfaced, the decision was basically in Gaster’s hands.
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Friday in the sports department began with a phone call to the Albemarle fieldhouse.
“This is Ronnie,” I told Gaster. “What’s going on?”
Whaddya mean, what’s going on?” Gaster asked.
He knew exactly what I meant. He immediately told me he couldn’t comment on the East job.
So Mike London and I hopped in the car and rode down to Stanly County to talk to the man face-to-face.
Gaster was in the fieldhouse handing out helmets to prospects. He said he was preparing to call Dr. Starr at that very moment.
Gaster talked about East in glowing terms. Starr has impressed him as a principal who understands what athletics can do for a high school and said he would love to coach for him.
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But this is where past loyalties take over. Changing jobs and leaving people you love can frazzle a man’s nerves.
And that brings us to Baxter Morris, Gaster’s top assistant. Gaster wanted him included but Morris apparently doesn’t want to leave his Stanly County home. Neither do the other coaches with whom Gaster Gaster talked about East Rowan.
“Every ship needs a captain,” Gaster said. “If you’re going to sail, you have to have a crew. And we have an excellent crew here.”
Morris and Gaster have been together for 17 years, coaching at West Columbus, Smithfield-Selma and Albemarle. Together, they built Albemarle football. They looked at a rat-infested, fieldhouse storage room and made it into a coach’s office. They manicure a sprawling football facility that absolutely glitters under the summer sun. And they have produced kids who win at school and win later in life.
When Gaster suffered a heart attack a couple of seasons ago, there was no question who he would choose as acting head coach.
So it becomes a delicate situation to leave friends like that. And Gaster said that was a main reason he told Starr no.
But Starr wouldn’t give up.
“Dr. Starr told me to take the weekend and think it over,” Gaster said, mentioning that he admired Starr’s persistence.
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Mike and I rode back to the office Friday afternoon wondering who would be the next East coach to interview.
It’s kind of exciting. Remember the fever pitch surrounding Bruce Hardin’s successor at A.L. Brown?
And just like Woodward and Bernstein in All the President’s Men, we got a call from our own “Deep Throat.” He was excited. Wonder coach Tony Paroli, who had been consiered the most likely successor to Hardin, had apparently resigned at A.L. Brown, Deep Throat gushed. Paroli and veteran Wonder assistant Glenn Cook were interested in coming to East.
Those aren’t Starr’s words — or ours. They’re the words of our K-Town source. We couldn’t find Paroli or Cook but it’s two more names to throw in the hat.
Meanwhile, Starr said there are other coaches he wants to talk with and he’ll begin that process Monday.
“We’ll talk to 7 or 8 people and narrow it down to 2 or 3,” Starr said. “We can’t take too much longer.”
In other words, the East Rowan principal is back on the recruiting trail.
He may lose his “Tom McMillen” or “Danny Manning” but there is always someone else out there with “Starr” quality.
After all, Dean Smith got over his recruiting losses OK. Right?
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Ronnie Gallagher is the sports editor of the Post.
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