MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Dave Tallman, Jr. is in the process of getting moved back to West Virginia after being officially named last week as Morgantown’s new boys basketball coach.
Tallman has been at the helm with St. Mary’s Ryken in Maryland since 2007 and is the son of current Magnolia boys basketball coach Dave Tallman, Sr. He won a state championship with Magnolia under his father back in 2000.
“It’s the only job in the state that I would have considered coming back for,” Tallman said on the MetroNews Statewide Sportsline. “I just think the timing, location and everything just worked out. I put my bid in and I was lucky enough and blessed enough to be hired.”
Tallman takes over for longtime Morgantown coach Tom Yester who stepped down after this past season following 32 years at the helm.
“I think our style of play will start with just toughness and pressure,” Tallman said. “There’s a lot of talent at Morgantown and they’ve been very successful. But it seems when they would run into teams that play pressurized basketball, that’s when they would struggle. That’s something I’ve seen the last seven years playing against the DeMathas and the O’Connells. We take the court and it looks like there are 17 defenders out there.
“I think getting in the weight room and getting bigger, faster and stronger will be very important,” he continued. “I know there are shooters in place and we’ll continue to work on their skill-set. But toughness and intensity is what I think I bring to the table.”
The complete Sportsline interview is posted above.