IT'S OUR GAME
By Kelvin Sampson, Oklahoma

This feature was written by Kelvin Sampson while he was the head coach at the University of Oklahoma.

On Dec. 16, various constituents of men's college basketball announced a formation of the College Basketball Partnership (CBP) designed to address the challenges and opportunities that face the sport.

Those on the panel include NCAA President Myles Brand, Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Boeheim, Dave Gavitt (chairman emeritus of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame), Jim Delany (Big Ten Conference commissioner), Bob Bowlsby (University of Iowa director of athletics) and yours truly just to name a few.

The purpose of forming this committee was simple -- College Basketball is our game and the burden lies with us to bring the game forward.

Over the past couple of seasons there have been a lot of steps taken to ensure a bright future for the game of college basketball. This is a long journey and the formation of the CBP is just one of many steps on a long journey.

There still remains a level of frustration, as it is impossible to address every single issue all at once. With anything there is a process and our working relationship with the NCAA has helped to modify this process. Is the CBP the end all? No, but it is part of the solution.

There is a misconception that our organization, the National Association of Basketball Coaches, created an ethics committee because there were problems among the ranks. This is completely false. The committee was formed to reinforce what 99% of the college coaches already have.

All too often, isolated circumstances seem to have a blanket effect. If someone in your neighborhood does something wrong it doesn’t mean that the entire community has ethical issues.

In the summer of 2003 our summit meeting received a lot of media attention. In the days and weeks the followed, there were countless on-air commentaries and editorials on the state of coaching in college basketball. It’s been over a year since that meeting took place, but there has not been much written or spoken about what has happened since.

But just because it isn’t discussed in the media doesn’t mean that coaches are not communicating and doing something about it.

Still, I can sense a level of frustration among many of my peers.

I have been on the NABC Board of Directors for ten years and there have been numerous occasions when I felt as though I was banging my head against a hollow wall. Trying to get resolution with issues is a process not without frustration. But nothing worth fighting for is ever easy.

Will we be able to solve every problem and correct every wrong? Some would say that is simply too ambitious, but -- as coaches -- we can certainly make a concerted effort to do everything possible. I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but I will take the necessary steps. And there are many steps we can take, outside the confines of our organization.

ESPN is represented on the CBP panel with, John Wildhack, senior vice-president, and college basketball analyst Len Elmore. In addition, CBS analysts Clark Kellogg and Billy Packer are also on board. And as coaches we don’t have any greater ally than CollegeInsider.com, which created AllCoachNetwork.com long before our Chicago summit meeting in 2003.

Some time ago I wrote that, “these are tumultuous times for coaches.” Nothing has changed since I penned that statement, but what has changed is a more far-reaching effort to make this game better. The NCAA has handed us a blank canvas and has given us the brushes and paint to create our own picture. Now it’s time for us to draw up the future.

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GENUINE CONCERN
By Lute Olson, Arizona

Sam Houston State head coach Bob Marlin made a lot of excellent points, in his recent 'Perspectives' feature. Perhaps the most important point that he made was the fact that coaches are genuinely concerned about the present and future state of our profession.

This past summer all coaches were essentially placed squarely under the microscope because of the actions of a few. It was that scrutiny that prompted a knee-jerk reaction from our organization, the National Association of Basketball Coaches, to call an emergency summit meeting.

It is unfortunate, but sometimes it takes negative actions to prompt positive discussion and such was the case this past summer.

While I firmly believe that the problems in the coaching profession pale in comparison to the business world and countless other walks of life, the fact that we would all meet as one to discuss our profession was a positive and necessary action.

Unfortunately, some have a preconceived notion that all of this is only being done because of a few dark clouds that appeared in the sky in the off-season. Some of those same mediums already drew their own conclusions as to what we would discuss, what we would do and what the ultimate result would be.

There are so many positives about our profession and so many examples, too many to count, of coaches that have done so much for their fellow coaches, their respective schools and their communities.

Take one negative incident that happened in the past six months and I will give you a hundred positives that never saw the light of day of television or print.

Case in point; in the days that followed October 15, much was made about the fact that Coach Bob Knight was not in attendance. That fact was bigger news than the actual substance of the meeting.

What isn't reported is that coach Knight's door has always been open to his fellow coaches. No one has greater respect for the game of college basketball and the coaching fraternity than coach Knight.

As coaches we all understand that we will always have an on-going perception battle and we can never satisfy everyone. But we can satisfy and be accountable to the most important people -- our administrations, our basketball families and one another.

And that starts with the highest profile people in our profession.

Those of fortunate enough to be where we are have a duty and responsibility to those who aspire to reach the highest level.

If I can help a fellow coach in any way I want to do that and I can speak for Mike Krzyzewski and others when I say that we do have a responsibility to share what we have learned and perhaps what we might do differently, given the opportunity.

Neither I nor Coach Krzyzewski, Coach Knight or Coach Marlin has all the answers, but perhaps we have something that we can offer to others.

Coach Marlin made an excellent point when stating that it was great to have an opportunity to sit down with some of his piers and discuss the current state of events. The only way to learn and share ideas is to communicate and that is exactly what was accomplished in Chicago.

I would like to see such a meeting held every year, but I would like to see a better time frame and a longer period of time in which to share our thoughts and ideas.

Virtually every coach in America attends the 'Big Time Tournament,' in Las Vegas so why not plan a yearly NABC meeting in conjunction with that function. And let's make it more than a three-hour gathering.

It is impossible to really accomplish all that we want to accomplish in such a short period of time. I second Coach Marlin's recommendation that it be a two or three day summit, devoted solely to our profession, without the distractions which are the Final Four.

And rather than hold coaching clinics, let's hold discussion forums where coaches can sit and talk with fellow coaches about basketball-related topics other than x's and o's.

Lastly, one of Coach Marlin's closing statements suggested a stronger voice for our organization, which is something that I support.

I would like to see the NABC hire C.M. Newton.

It is important to get more retired coaches involved in the daily workings of our organization and I can think of no one better than C.M. who is very highly thought of among college coaches, athletic directors, school presidents, conference commissioners and the NCAA.

In addition to his long coaching career, C.M. has served two stints on the NABC board of directors so he is very familiar with the inner workings of our organization. For seven years he chaired the NCAA rules committee and he has served as chairman and President of USA Basketball.

C.M. has earned the respect and admiration of everyone associated with college athletics and would be the ideal choice to lead our great profession into the future.

I want to encourage all of my fellow coaches to use 'Perspectives' to express their thoughts on both the present and future of our profession. At the suggestion of Rice head coach Willis Wilson, CollegeInsider.com has provided us with a forum devoted solely to the sharing of our thoughts and ideas in regards to the issues that we face as coaches.

And thoughts and ideas are only valuable if communicated to others.
 

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MOVING FORWARD
By Bob Marlin, Sam Houston State

First let me begin by stating that I believe this new CollegeInsider.com feature will help to create a lot of dialogue between coaches, in regards to the many issues that face our great profession. In addition, I believe it will help clarify one thing to both fans and media alike and that is that coaches do care and genuinely want to correct our mistakes.

There is a perception that the Oct. 15 meeting in Chicago was self-serving and a lot of lip service with no real definitive plan in mind. Nothing can be further from the truth. As the cliché' says, "Rome wasn't built in a day." In our case, we are still on the road to Rome, but the important thing is that we are on the right path.

Overall I found the meeting to be very positive. If there was one negative I would say it would have been the timing. However, the timing of the initial meeting was dictated by events beyond the control of the National Association of Basketball Coaches. In the future, and I do think it is important to have future meetings every year, I believe a better time frame will be established.

Many coaches stood up and expressed their opinions on what we are doing and what we need to do in order to make our profession better. It was not a case of perception. What was said was not meant to appease anyone, but rather a sincere and conscious effort to take the proper steps to make the coaching profession better.

Nobody is denying that mistakes and errors have not been made. The facts have been well documented, but what hasn't been spoken about as often, outside the coaching circle, is that we are concerned and we are committed to making things better.

CollegeInsider.com's "Perspectives" is one step in long journey down the right path.

At the meeting in Chicago, and previous such meetings at the Final Four, the floor is not open to any one coach for a long period of time. There are over 300 voices in the meeting so coaches don't often get an opportunity to expand on all of their points. But within the context of "Perspectives" we now have an opportunity to express our thoughts and concerns, without time constraints and without interruption.

The concept of this feature was first brought up during a conversation I had with, Rice head coach and NABC board member, Willis Wilson. Willis and I shared a lot of different ideas on the aftermath of the Chicago summit meeting and what we need to do moving forward. Willis suggested a forum for discussion and immediately thought CollegeInsider.com would be a perfect setting for such a feature.

Willis and I both knew that the creative people at CollegeInsider.com would take our concept and spin it into an insightful on-going feature. Already they have set up for the likes of Willis, Kelvin Sampson, Seth Greenberg and others to follow my lead and keep this dialogue rolling.

And as was pointed out by my friend at CollegeInsider.com, this idea spawned because Willis and I were sharing thoughts and ideas and it's that type of communication, between coaches, that helps us to move a few steps further down that proverbial path.

NABC President, Kelvin Sampson likes to say that, "everyone has an opinion, but I want to hear solutions." It's a point well put by Kelvin and that can only happen when coaches communicate with one another.

In Chicago I had a chance to sit down and talk with Joe Cravens (Weber State), Mick Durham (Montana State) and Ray Giacoletti (Eastern Washington). All three coaches are good friends of mine, but they are friends that I don't always have an opportunity to sit down and talk with.

We spent a lot of time discussing how some of the issues facing our profession effect coaches in the Big Sky, as well as my conference, the Southland. We talked at length about ideas and possible solutions and if you looked in any direction you would have found a table of coaches doing exactly the same thing.

It has been suggested by a few that we continue to follow up this meeting with a similar summit each year at the Final Four. The idea of a yearly discussion is good, but not at the Final Four.

The Final Four comes just a few short weeks (for some less) after the season has ended. The recruiting trail looms on the horizon so coaches are somewhat preoccupied with their respective schools. Holding the meeting in early August or early September would be a much better solution.

It has been my observation that every coach in America thoroughly enjoys talking basketball just prior to the start of the season. Therefore, a late summer summit would be a perfect setting. There wouldn't be any distractions of recruiting and there would not be the frenzied atmosphere that is the Final Four.

Each year there are countless meetings, clinics and gatherings of some sort at the Final Four. There is simply too much happening in such a short period of time. Setting aside a weekend in late summer would eliminate all such distractions.

Bringing over 300 Division I coaches together for one purpose and one purpose only would better serve all of us.

One of the things that I believe is so impressive about Sam Houston State is the fact that we have a 1-to-21 faculty to student ratio. It's a proven fact that such settings are more conducive to learning and the sharing of ideas. Our meeting in Chicago took on the look of your prototypical lecture hall class setting, with one speaker and two or three hundred listening.

Breaking down into smaller groups, over the course of two or three days, would be so much more effective. Like myself, there were a lot of coaches that wanted to express an opinion in Chicago, but it was virtually impossible.

There is a perception that coaches like me and others, who coach at mid-major institutions, don't really have a true voice in the NABC. I don't totally agree with that line of thinking, but I do believe that many of us have a lot we would like to share and a lot we would like to learn from some of our peers.

The best way to do that is to create the proper setting.

Each August, many of us journey to Los Angeles, for the "Double Pump Brothers Coaches Retreat." It began years ago with about a dozen coaches and this past year over 800 people were in attendance. Coaches have an opportunity to speak with their piers in a basketball-dedicated environment.

The weekend retreat includes golf, clinics, a banquet and a lot of people breaking down into discussion groups. In my opinion, we should take a page from the "Pump Brothers" and institute our own yearly gathering.

The most important thing here is to make our great game better. And whether it's your relationship with a friend or your job in corporate America, the only way you can solve your problems is to sit down and discuss them.

Without dialogue, not only do problems not go away, they in turn get worse.

In my opinion I think our organization needs a stronger voice at the top, which was something that was briefly brought up at the meeting in Chicago. In the aftermath that point was discussed by many of my piers and, along with a list of other issues, should be further talked about in the future.

I am sure that other coaches have a different opinion on the NABC leadership and those opinions also need to be heard. For years we have discussed thoughts in one-on-one situations. Now these discussions need to make their way to the group setting and eventually topics for discussion in the "lecture hall" setting.

Do I believe that there are some issues that we need to address as coaches? Absolutely, but I also strongly believe that our profession is in a much better state than many people perceive.

Willis Wilson will be following my lead with some thoughts of his own, in the coming weeks. I hope that more coaches take time to express their thoughts through CollegeInsider.com's "Perspectives" and I look forward to discussing the contents of this segment, in the future, with my fellow coaches.