[ UH ATHLETICS ]
No rush in search
for new UH coachCurrent and former assistants
are among the 70 applicants
vying to succeed Vince Goo
It could be two weeks or two months. No one knows for sure.
But the wheels are in motion for finding a successor for retiring Rainbow Wahine basketball coach Vince Goo with no firm deadline in place. Hawaii athletic director Herman Frazier made it clear that he didn't want to be cornered by a timeline. But inquiring minds want to know and those directly affected by the new coach are definitely curious.
"My teammates and all our support systems are anxious to know," said junior guard Milia Macfarlane, who is a member of the eight-person screening committee.
Seventy applications survived the initial screening process after the April 16 closing date, though a few more may have trickled in after the deadline. Not all candidates had to fill out an application, as some could have been nominated. The applications poured in from all across the country and the applicants range in experience from high school to Division I head and assistant coaches.
The minimum qualifications for hiring are a bachelor's degree, three years of coaching at the collegiate level and experience working in a multi-cultural environment.
Frazier received the list of potential candidates prior to leaving for Pennsylvania, where he is being honored at the Penn Relays.
"I'm happy with the response," Frazier said via a Hawaii spokesperson. "I'm wide open on this job. The reason we take our time is because we only have one scholarship."
Frazier said that his committee will meet this week to review the applications. Their responsibilities include poring over the applications and conducting phone or in-person interviews before recommending their top three choices to Frazier. The committee, comprised of a cross section of community members, student-athletes and administrators, have only met once so far since being named in March.
There will be much to consider in a brief amount of time, but some names will be easy to recognize.
Three former University of Hawaii assistant basketball coaches have sought to succeed Goo. Current Wahine associate coach Da Houl, former Portland State coach George Wolfe and Idaho State coach Jon Newlee are among the applicants.
Also inquiring about the job were former Ohio State coach Beth Burns, former UNLV coach Jim Bolla, Dallas Bolla, a coach for eight seasons at Long Beach State, and former Texas Christian coach Mike Peterson, who accepted a head-coaching position at Wake Forest.
Houl and Wolfe said they received a number of phone calls asking about the vacancy.
"There's no doubt there's a ton of applicants. Everybody that had any success as a coach has got to consider that," said Wolfe, Goo's assistant from 1987 to 1999. "A lot of coaches have been calling me here at home to ask about Hawaii."
It has been five years since Wolfe has had to sell Hawaii, but it seems like he could still give the pitch in his sleep.
"I don't feel like it's a job that's a steppingstone to go somewhere else. To me it's the ultimate job," said Wolfe, who was let go after five years as the head coach of Portland State, where he was 43-97 and second in all-time victories.
"I think Hawaii is really set up to be successful. Obviously the location is great. The school is excellent. Outstanding facilities. The program has an excellent reputation. You play a tough schedule every year. Hawaii can compete in every possible way with Pac-10 schools."
Take it from someone in the unique position of having bought the pitch and selling it now.
"I've done just about everything for 12 years," said Houl, Goo's assistant the past 12 seasons and a letterwinner from 1983 to 1987. "I've been in the position of making big decisions. He's given me tremendous responsibilities.
"I know I can bring a lot to the program. I've seen it from both ends as a player and an assistant coach. I don't think anybody else knows the program better than I do."
Except the architect who couldn't be convinced to stay for another season. Hawaii returns virtually a full squad, and Goo has said jokingly that he took most of the lumps in breaking in a new group. The Rainbow Wahine finished 8-20 this season but will return All-WAC first-teamer Jade Abele and Janevia Taylor, a member of the conference's All-Freshman Team.
Goo is known for his one-liners, but he is serious when discussing the program's future. He hasn't been consulted but may be asked for input once the field is whittled down to the top three candidates.
"I hope it's someone who is going to follow through with priorities that we have set," Goo said. "Someone who has proven they're going to follow through with what we've built."