Friday, March 30, 2001
Men's Final Four Notebook
High expectations result in little job security for coaches
By Michael Perry
The Cincinnati Enquirer
MINNEAPOLIS — A hot topic among basketball coaches at the Final Four is the instability of the profession, specifically the number of coaches being fired or forced to resign — sometimes despite winning records.
Jerry Green, whose contract was bought out by Tennessee for $1.1 million, has been the poster child for the issue. He led the Volunteers to four consecutive 20-victory seasons and four straight NCAA Tournament bids, yet he was ousted after Tennessee was considered as having underachieved this season. The Vols lost to Charlotte in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
“I was stunned,” Kansas coach Roy Williams said of Green's firing. “I think you could use the word "appalled.'”
At a National Association of Basketball Coaches news conference Thursday, Williams, Purdue's Gene Keady and Oklahoma's Kelvin Sampson talked about the higher standard for coaches these days.
For some schools, it's no longer enough to make the NCAA Tournament; teams are under pressure to advance to the Sweet 16 or the Final Four. Williams said he recently spoke with Stanford coach Mike Montgomery, who was taking heat for losing to Maryland in the West Regional final.
Gary Williams of Maryland was under fire until the Terps gained the first Final Four berth in school history.
What is contributing to the climate? Coaches point to:
• Corporate CEOs and vice presidents being hired as athletic directors and putting a greater emphasis on the financial side of college athletics. That makes coaches whose teams don't fill arenas and football stadiums more vulnerable. Boosters can be influential because of the need for donations.
• A myriad of TV and radio talk shows that have spawned constant analysis and dissec tion of programs. “Everybody's an expert now,” Keady said. “You're going to be evaluated, and you're going to be criticized.”
Fans. Media. Boosters. “It's like a snowball,” Williams said.
HOMECOMING: Arizona coach Lute Olson is right at home in Minneapolis. He played football, basketball and baseball at Augsburg College from 1953-56.
MEMORIES: University of Cincinnati fans can get nostalgic this weekend. The last time Minneapolis played host to a Final Four was 1992, when the Bearcats lost to Michigan and The Fab Five in the semifinals.
MEMORIES II: Former Kentucky guard Wayne Turner will play in tonight's game between the NABC college all-stars and the Harlem Globetrotters. Turner, who also played for the Cincinnati Stuff, is on the Globetrotters.
HONORS: Keady received the Verizon Reads with the NABC Literacy Champion Award on Thursday for his efforts to improve literacy in the West Lafayette, Ind., area. He received a $10,000 check to support literacy activities in his community.
CONTEST WINNERS: Penn State's Joe Crispin won the 3-point shootout and William Patterson's Horace Jenkins took the dunk title Thursday night in the Slam Dunk and 3-Point Championships.
Crispin won the 3-point competition by defeating Virginia's Keith Friel 22-20 in the final round.
“I didn't really feel that good, but I was able to hit the money ball,” Crispin said.
Jenkins used a 360-degree double-pump jam to advance to the final against Southern California's Jeff Trepagnier. In the final, the 6-foot-1 guard did a double-pump reverse.
The event will be televised at 1:30 p.m. Saturday on ESPN.
NCAA Tournament coverage at Cincinnati.com
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Men's Final Four Notebook
