By Bill Koch
Enquirer staff writer

Oscar Robertson. View a photo gallery of Robertson

Oscar Robertson, who agreed Tuesday to serve as the interim head coach at the University of Cincinnati, says he believes the adversity the program has endured this summer can actually make it stronger if the right path is taken.

"Depending on what side of the situation you're on, sure it can hurt the program," Robertson said. "Or it can make it stronger. The key to winning in the college ranks is to be able to recruit great kids, the four-year kid. I don't think Cincinnati has done a great job in the past of getting four-year players to come to the university."

Robertson, 65, will serve as the interim head coach at his alma mater until Bob Huggins returns Aug. 27 from his university-mandated suspension for drunken driving, filling the void left by the departure of Dan Peters, who accepted a job Monday night as associate head coach at Ohio State.

Robertson is expected to meet with UC players for the first time Monday afternoon.

The Hall of Fame player known as "The Big O" during his playing days said he never gave much thought to coaching when he ended his playing career in 1974 with the NBA Milwaukee Bucks.

"When I came out of basketball, African-Americans were not afforded the opportunity to coach anything at all," Robertson said.

Robertson is considered by many basketball experts as one of the top five players of all time. But he has also carved out a successful business career as the president of ORCHEM, a Fairfield-based company that sells chemicals used in industrial cleaning.

He has no intention of turning this interim task into a coaching career.

"I'm looking forward to it, but not in the sense that it's something I've wanted to do all my life," he said. "I'm looking forward to it because it needs to be done."

UC athletic director Bob Goin said he hopes that Robertson will be able to impart some life wisdom, as well as basketball knowledge, to the UC players until Huggins returns.

The UC players would be smart to soak up all they can.

Robertson, who graduated from UC in 1960, played in an era when players were expected to go to class, a time when earning a degree was every bit as much of a goal as winning games or earning a shot at the NBA.

He doesn't understand why it should be different now.

"This is not rocket science," he said.

Robertson's message is simple: When you sign up to play college basketball, you go to class, do your work, get your degree and do your best on the basketball floor.

"I think the players need some help," he said. "I think they need to be play finishers. They need to play with some flair. You need guys to do different things, to work together. They've got to have some guys who can make plays and finish plays.

"I'll just go out and talk to them about certain things. When you get to a certain point in life, you talk through situations. No one plays the same as anyone else. No one has the same ability level. If you do these things, it'll help you."

Robertson, still the school's career scoring and rebounding leader, knows many of the Bearcat players from his periodic visits to practice.

His No. 12 is one of three UC numbers that are retired - the other two are Kenyon Martin's No. 4 and Jack Twyman's No. 27 - and there's a statue of Robertson in the plaza outside the Bearcats' Fifth Third Arena home.

"Any basketball player who comes to the University of Cincinnati should know who Oscar Robertson is," Robertson said. "If he doesn't, he shouldn't be on the team." He said players should also know about Twyman and Martin.

"If they don't know, they should ask somebody," he said.

"Some of the guys seem to be too shy. They're young men. Oscar Robertson is an all-pro, Hall of Fame, University of Cincinnati player, but they should not be shy about talking to me."

E-mail bkoch@enquirer.com

UC tries to move forward, B5