March,
8
THE ART OF THE COACHING CHANGE
 Nowadays
you can find it under “other skills” at the bottom of
one’s resume. It’s the manipulative art of removing
and replacing, which is accompanied by such subtleties
as, “I thanked him for his time here” or “His service
to this university will always be appreciated” and
those are usually followed by, “we needed to move in
another direction” or “we look forward to a new
beginning.”
Well-selected words and a coy manner are always
preceded by at least a year of in-depth analysis and
scouting. This team is going to be very good next year
so let’s make a change now. Not for all, but for all
too many that introduction fits the description of
today’s new athletics director.
Change based on performance is both common and
understood in any industry, but while the definition
of failure has remained the same it’s hard to figure
out what is considered success anymore.
Two years ago Utah was in the Sweet 16. Two years
later, in just his third season, Ray Giacoletti
is out.
Dick Davey (Santa Clara) and Riley Wallace
(Hawaii) are forced into retirement, while Illinois
State and San Diego figure to compete for
league title in the Missouri Valley and West Coast
Conferences next season. Both will do so with new head
coaches.
In the case of the latter two, success is inevitable
so make a change now and look like a genius in twelve
months. More often then not it’s prompted by a change
above. Want to play a really bad joke on a coach, tell
him they just hired a new athletic director. A new AD
is like the afternoon shadow for a coach. No matter
how fast he runs; the shadow is always on his heel.
Of course it may not happen immediately. It’s all
about timing. Coaches scout future talent and
administrators scout the same talent when it arrives
on campus. It’s amazing how often coaches get replaced
just as their teams are on the verge.
It’s all about who has the power. The new guy wants
his guy and he or she will spin it however it needs to
be spun.
COACHING CAROUSEL
A change was going to happen in Central Florida,
but 22 wins later Kirk Speraw may actually get
a well deserved raise. Finally! But don’t mark this
done quite yet. Just a week ago the talk was, that
despite all the success this season, he was going to
be let go. The die was cast early on this one and the
22 wins seem to have gotten in the way of an
administration bent on change. That C-USA Coach of the
Year honor didn’t help their cause much either.
Still, don’t be shocked if he does leave, either on
his own, taking the Brad Brownell rout (get out of
town before they escort you to the city limits) or
because they deem change as being needed.
You can’t even label this one as comical. It goes way
beyond that.
Elsewhere Bowling Green has been exploring the
level of interest from other coaches in their
soon-to-be-vacant head coaching position. One of the
true classic individuals in the coaching profession,
Dan Dakich is on the way out. Considering the
defections and injuries he has had to endure of the
past couple of seasons, Dakich deserves at least one
more year. It's unlikely he will get it.
And should
Michigan fail to qualify for the NCAA tournament,
Tommy Amaker won’t have a chance to coach them into
the tournament in 2008.
The Minnesota job is Chris Lowery’s
(Southern Illinois) if he wants it, but it’s unlikely
he would leave Carbondale for that vacancy.
The recently fired Royce Waltman offered up a
great line when he spoke to the media after being ‘let
go’ by Indiana State last week, “Cheating and
not graduating players won’t get you in trouble, but
that damn losing will,” he said.
CLICK HERE FOR ALL THE LATEST COACHING CHANGES
February, 18
THAT TIME OF YEAR
The final days of February signify two things. One is
obvious and one is ominous. March is within arm’s
reach, as is the time when the switch remains in the
‘on position’ for the coaching carousel.
It’s been a trying season for New Mexico head coach
Ritchie McKay, which wasn’t made any easier after the
Jan. 30 brawl against Wyoming and the recent
indefinite suspension of star player J.R. Giddens.
Albuquerque is a great town unless you are the coach
of team that isn’t winning. McKay did lose four
starters from a team that won 17 games and finished
8-8 in the Mountain West and a year earlier the Lobos
were in the NCAA tournament. This year fans and media
types have been calling for his dismissal. One
currently retired coach has actually relocated to
Albuquerque in the hopes of being the next head coach.
Saturday night was the final home game for longtime
Santa Clara head coach Dick Davey. Fifteen years and
250 wins apparently weren’t enough to keep him
coaching the Broncos. The administration wants to get
younger at the head coaching position so they have
quietly moved Davey to retirement. He’ll go out as the
West Coast Conference coach of the year and perhaps
with another trip to the NCAA tournament. Hopefully
longtime assistant Steve Seandel will succeed Davey.
Seandel has paid his dues and is a star in the making.
Unlike Davey, Murray State head coach Billy Kennedy
will return for another season, but the first-year
coach is a little under fire. You read that correctly
-- first year coach. The people in Murray, KY are
accustom to winning and one year removed from another NCAA tournament the mood is not good. That’s comical.
As for Hawaii’s Riley Wallace, who was ‘unofficially’
retired before the season started, see the paragraph
above on Dick Davey.
UNAPPRECIATED
Until their current three-game win streak, Mississippi
State was quietly making nice strides, but only
winning seems to get you noticed. Getting noticed in
the talent-rich SEC is even more difficult for younger
players like the Bulldog’s Jamont Gordon
who is still
a relative unknown on the national scene.
The 6-foot-4 sophomore, who can play virtually
anywhere on the floor, leads the Bulldogs in scoring
(16.1), rebounds (7.6) and assists (4.6). His
athleticism alone separates him from many, but it’s
skill level and his feel for the game, which make him
special.
As a freshman Gordon struggled at times with turnovers
and that carried over to the beginning of this season.
But over the last eight games he has had better then a
2:1 assist to turnover ratio. The lead guard is not
his forte, as Gordon is more of a point forward. His
thick frame makes him difficult to guard at the
three-spot but virtually impossible to hold at the
four. And he is a powerful finisher. Shot fake, lower
the shoulder and by defenders to the basket.
More of scorer, Gordon still needs to work on his
perimeter shooting and continue develop his ball
handling ability if he wants to transition to the next
level. But he has two years and a good offensive
structure in which to do that. And he has matured in
his time at Mississippi State so you’d expect him to
improve as a player as well.
SELECTION SUNDAY DILEMMA
It was suppose to be a showcase for the Missouri
Valley Conference, but Bracket Busters didn’t produce
the results. Heading into the weekend there was a
prevailing thought that Southern Illinois was a cut
above the rest of the league. Anyone who saw their
performance at Hinkle should conclude that this team
can make an impressive run in March, but if George
Mason’s win at Wichita State last year was a key
factor in the Patriots inclusion in the NCAA
tournament, then how will home losses by Creighton,
Missouri State and Wichita State be viewed in 2007?
The result of the Creighton-Drexel contest may or may
not be a factor, in the days leading up to selection
Sunday. Both teams have two games remaining before the
start of their conference tournaments and it’s likely
that, not only are the next two games proverbial must
wins, but early-round exits in their respective
tournaments won’t help in trying to secure NCAA berths
for either team.
Right now most believe that Creighton is a lock for
the tournament and if Anthony Tolliver doesn’t pick
his fourth foul midway through the second half, it’s
probably a certainty. The Jays are alone in second
place in the Valley (12-4) and are 18-9 overall.
Drexel (20-7) is 11-5 in the CAA, but that is only
good enough for fourth place. But here is where it
gets a little interesting. In December Drexel won
three successive road games at Villanova, Syracuse and
Temple. While those wins are not of the ground-shaking
variety, Creighton has no such wins on its resume.
Creighton is going to get into the tournament, barring
any sort of collapse (like a three-game losing
streak), but should Drexel finish strong, but fail to
win the CAA tournament the selection committee could
have a dilemma.
Joe Dwyer is a editor-in-chief writer for collegeinsider.com.
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