FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 5, 2006 Corn inducted into Illinois Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame MSSU head men's basketball coach goes in as a player By Wendell Redden MSSU Sports Information Assistant JOPLIN, Mo. - Robert Corn, men s head basketball coach and associate athletic director at Missouri Southern State University, has been named to the Illinois Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame as a player. Corn was a member of the outstanding prep program headed by Coach Rich Herrin at Benton, Ill. "I played varsity basketball for Coach Herrin for three years," Corn recalled. "Illinois went to a two-class system during the 1970s and we were one of the smallest schools in the large school division. "We reached the quarter-finals of the state tournament my sophomore year. Coach Herrin s program was one of the most respected in the state. I think that s why I was selected for this honor, not because of what I accomplished, but because of the respect other coaches had for our program. We had a great program and we had some great players who went on to play college basketball." Corn received a scholarship from Memphis State and played his freshman and sophomore years there before transferring to Missouri Southern. Memphis State played in the National Invitation Tournament the two years Corn was there. He was a member of Missouri Southern s team that advanced to the NAIA National Tournament in Kansas City his senior year (1978). The Lions finished 27-9 that year, losing to Quincy College 73-66 in the quarterfinals. Corn was an assistant coach at University of Alabama-Birmingham under Gene Bartow before returning to Missouri Southern to take over the head coaching duties in 1989. In seventeen years at the MSSU helm, Corn s teams have won 264 games and lost 218. His 1999-2000 squad finished 30-3 and reached the semifinals of the NCAA Division II national tournament. Six of his teams have won at least 20 games. Corn was among "40 to 50" players, coaches and friends of basketball honored during the awards banquet at Illinois State University in Bloomington on Saturday, April 29. "This was one of the best honors I ve received as an athlete," Corn said. "It s very humbling to be included among the great players who have been inducted. The awards program was first-class. They recognized past inductees who were in attendance and presented plaques to all of this year s inductees." Corn and wife, Cindy, are the parents of two sons, Rob, 20, and Scott Michael, 13.