On Monday, Brandon University held its first of three public presentations that will aid in the selection of its fifth head men’s basketball coach of the past six years. Former UNB coach Thom Gillespie was first up with Keith Vassell to follow on Tuesday and Mike Raimbault set for Wednesday. Here’s a glimpse into what Gillespie’s presentation held:

After a 20-minute presentation of his views and philosophies — as well as educational and coaching background — Gillespie was well-spoken and deliberate in answering questions from the public, including questions on the downturn that UNB had in the past four seasons and what his recruiting ability would be in a town like Brandon.

The question marks for Gillespie will undoubtedly be more on the court, than off. After all, here’s a guy who is close to obtaining his Masters, has his Level IV coaching certification and has 16 years of CIS coaching under his belt. No one is going to doubt his resume in that regard.

Still, the 22-58 record over the past four seasons isn’t going away and fans of the Bobcats aren’t particularly interested in watching teams that could be described with any of the following terms, listed in descending order: Decent, average, middling, adequate, passable, struggling, wretched, abysmal, RMC.

So that’s a hump to get over for the Fredericton-raised coach, who also spoke about his recruiting connections across the country. Yet the UNB teams of this century have all had heavy Maritime influences with most players coming out of New Brunswick. It’s also fair to note that UNB is the only CIS team in that province.

Now while fans of the Bobcats might just want to hear about wins and losses, it’s also not to be forgotten that education and commitment to academics is of chief concern to a number of people on the hiring panel. So Gillespie’s approach just may ring true with a handful of people who will be entrusted with the final decision.

The more people I talk to — and let’s be clear this is observers, other coaches, fans, etc., so don’t think this is coming from someone in a position of power in this decision — the more I get the feeling that Gillespie is third on the totem pole. But his educational background could prove to be a big trump card.

We’ll get to Vassell later on Tuesday. The decision will come down late Wednesday night.