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Sidelines
Kalani Simpson
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Big programs aren’t riding the crazy coach carousel alone
THIS basketball-coach business is getting crazy, out there. Which makes it three times as crazy back here.
It's ridiculous. Look around. You've got schools that can't hire a coach. Can't get one to commit, see their first, second, third choices turn them down. And these are big schools, with tradition, and location, and armored trucks full of cash. These are schools with every advantage.
Who is Hawaii going to get?
There are schools that find themselves dumped, coaches jumping after a season, maybe two, leaping at the first chance at a "better" job someplace else. And these are schools in big conferences, where you can win. Schools that took chances on guys, gave them their first, last, best shots when no one else would. Coaches who take bigger, bigger paychecks to not leave, then jump anyway, first chance they get.
This is college basketball, April 2007. They're all Dennis Ericksons. It's a madhouse, out there. And thus, here, too.
You would need to be the ultimate wheeler dealer to conduct a coach search in this atmosphere.
Ahem.
Meanwhile, time ticks. No names. You'd have to think Herman Frazier knows something we don't. That is, if anyone is still thinking that.
If Arkansas is still scrambling, if Texas A&M has a sudden opening, if Kansas State just got the shaft, who is Herman Frazier going to get to stay here longer than 11 minutes?
Some assistant? An older guy who's been around? The guy from the Greek Olympic team?
Who is going to stay here, after a couple of good seasons, choosing increased cost of living and one in-state D-I prospect every couple of years and road trips from heck over a chance at getting off the rock? (And that's the upside. That's if the guy does well.)
Who isn't going to leave you feeling betrayed, bewildered, repeating this process two years from now?
No, now more than ever, this is a delicate process. Now, more than ever, it's important to find the right person for the job. The right fit.
I say the eminently qualified Bob Nash solves all your problems. But then, I'm not trying to establish a legacy or climb out of a hole.
Meanwhile, it's crazier than ever out there, and thus, crazier here. And the days pass and the clock ticks. No names. Just Frazier, having apparently done the detective work in Atlanta, mulling the possibilities while the heat mounts.
It's getting crazy, this basketball-coach business.
What must be going through Frazier's mind at this moment?
It's just my guess, but I'm guessing it's this: "I could have the U.S. senior director of International Games Preparation here tomorrow with a telephone call's notice."
Maybe that guy would have some advice.