Romain Martin thought his teammate was kidding.

But Gino-Myers Kyles wasn’t kidding when he told him Eastern men’s basketball assistant coach Marcus Belcher was leaving to join the staff at Evansville after one year at Eastern.

Myers-Kyles said he found out Belcher wasn’t coming back on Saturday when the junior guard called his coach to set up a workout.

It was then that Belcher told Myers-Kyles about his new job at Evansville, a member of the Missouri Valley Conference.

“I was happy for him, but at the same time I was kind of sad because he’s one of the favorite coaches among the guys on the team,” Myers-Kyles said. “We can relate to him. But I guess he had to do what he had to do.”

Belcher’s move to Evansville isn’t a complete surprise, considering Belcher’s connections to the Evansville program.

Evansville hired Marty Simmons, a former Purple Aces’ player and assistant coach, to become its new head coach Friday.

Simmons, who comes to Evansville after five years as head coach at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, gave Belcher his first coaching break.

Belcher, the starting point guard on the Southern Illinois University at Carbondale team in 2002, became an assistant on Simmons’ staff in 2004. Belcher coached at SIUE for two years, and helped the Cougars advance to the Division II Elite Eight in 2005.

Now, Belcher will have his third different coaching job in three years.

But Martin, the 2007 Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year, said initially he was shocked about Belcher’s departure.

“I thought he was going to stick around for next season and for years to come,” Martin said. “Me and Coach Belcher were pretty close. He was a first-year coach here and I was a first-year player so we were both kind of new. “

But now with Belcher’s departure, Eastern will have to replace its second assistant coach in the past two seasons.

Belcher, hired in mid-July, replaced Kwanza Johnson, who left to become an assistant at Nevada in May for head coach Mark Fox.

And Miller will have to hire his third different assistant before he enters his third year as the Panthers head coach.

Miller is out of town this week recruiting and Eastern Sports Information Director Rich Moser said Monday that Miller wouldn’t comment on Belcher since it is an Evansville hiring.

Phone messages left for Belcher at his office at Evansville were not returned.

But Myers-Kyles said Tuesday that he would miss the assistant coach who “always made himself accessible to the players.”

For Panther junior center Jake Byrne, it’s one more coaching change he’s had to experience in his three-year career at Eastern.

“It kind of sucks because I liked him,” said Byrne, who has had two head coaches and seven different assistant coaches during his time at Eastern. “Also at the same time, you have to understand. It’s a better opportunity for him. Everyone wants to keep moving up.”

Evansville finished eighth in the 10-team Missouri Valley Conference last season, but has experienced success in the past.

The Purple Aces advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 1992, 1993 and 1999, while Simmons was an assistant under head coach Jim Crews.

“I think Coach Belcher has a very bright future,” Martin said. “He could be a head coach in a couple years or so. At Evansville, I think he’ll learn even more.”