By JEFF D'ALESSIO
Florida Today

Reason No. 764 why college coaches should stay on campus: New Orleans Hornets show Tim Floyd, so successful at Iowa State and the University of New Orleans, where he went 243-130 and took six teams to the NCAA Tournament, was fired Friday after a one-year stint with the NBA's Hornets.

Assuming no one else decides to pick him up, Phil Jackson's former successor in Chicago leaves the pro game with a 93-235 record and 39.6 winning percentage - Wooden-like stats when compared to Orlando's Johnny Davis (42-111, .275), but hardly enough to keep his job.

"The classic college coach," says Sam Smith, who covered Floyd's Bulls teams for the Chicago Tribune. "An unprepared bully who doesn't work very hard and isn't very smart."

Let this be a lesson to Billy Donovan, Tubby Smith and any other college hotshot looking to make the jump.

"College coaches have absolute control of their programs, their assistants, everything that happens during the game," says CBS Sportsline executive editor and NBA expert Mike Kahn. "That's why I found it ludicrous that (Cincinnati's) Bob Huggins kept getting his name bounced around for a few years. His abrasive personality wouldn't last two minutes with NBA players."

Floyd isn't the first flop to come out of the college game. Our starting five, which doesn't include Rick Pitino (102-146 with the Boston Celtics):

1. P.J. Carlesimo: Ex-Seton Hall coach made more news for what happened in practice (Latrell Sprewell choked him) than anything he did in the Golden State Warriors' coaching box (46-113 record).

2. Leonard Hamilton: Hand-picked by Michael Jordan, the ex-University of Miami head man went 19-63 in 2000-01 before turning in his resignation. Now at Florida State.

3. Jerry Tarkanian: Quit at UNLV in 1992 and landed with the San Antonio Spurs, where he went 9-11 and was fired after just 20 games. Now enjoying retirement after a stint at Fresno State.

4. Lon Kruger: Left Illinois for the Atlanta Hawks, where he went 69-122 in just more than two seasons. Has resurfaced at UNLV.

5. John Calipari: A hero at Massachusetts, a zero with the New Jersey Nets (72-112 in 2 1/2 seasons). Ace recruiter is back in college at Memphis.

NEWS FLASH: Three seniors picked to go among top six picks in NBADraft.net mock draft.

That's three high school seniors - Dwight Howard of Atlanta; Shawn Livingston of Peoria, Ill.; and Josh Smith of Smyrna, Ga.

The highest-rated college senior - Jameer Nelson of St. Joseph's - is projected to go No. 13.

NBA executives aren't thrilled about it, but without a draft age limit, "there's no way to deny them access to employment," Memphis Grizzlies GM Jerry West says.

"It doesn't seem to bother the Players Association, it doesn't seem to bother the fans," West says. "But it's not the most ideal way, that's for sure."