It's a damn good thing that I'm not an AD. I have come to the conclusion that I really suck at picking basketball coaches.
I was at work when the Tim Floyd hire was announced. I screamed out loudin delight. My coworkers came rushing to my desk to see what was wrong. I thought that a new and glorious era of UTEP Basketball, similar to what we experienced in the 80s, was eminent. I couldn't have been more wrong.
After Floyd's failure, I was on board with Terry. I loved his history as a recruiter, thought that his Fresno State teams showed improvement, and appreciated the fact that he was able to lead them to an NCAA Tournament birth. For 1.5 seasons I thought that I had been correct, despite the struggles we knew he would experience his first year, then the wheels came off in Hawaii during his sophomore campaign. He did prove that he could recruit, but his coaching left much to be desired. He would have been fired as coach if he hadn't lucked into the opportunity that Chris Beard provided him.
I had two favorites during the search for our current coach: Tang and Golding. It looks like I was miraculously right about Tang. I liked him after watching Baylor's defense when they won the title. Gonzaga's offense was one of the best I had ever seen, yet they were completely flummoxed by Baylor's suffocating defense. I wanted that defense here at UTEP. But I also liked Golding. I loved how he had built his ACU team from nothing into a conference champion, two time NCAA Tournament team, and Tournament game winner, something we haven't done since '92. I was excited when he was hired and pumped after his introductory press conference. The season is still young, so he has ample opportunity to change my mind, but from where I stand now it looks like I was wrong again, just as I was with Floyd and Terry.
Good thing that I'm not an AD. You guys would be coming after me with pitchforks and torches. If I had a clone he'd join you.
I was at work when the Tim Floyd hire was announced. I screamed out loudin delight. My coworkers came rushing to my desk to see what was wrong. I thought that a new and glorious era of UTEP Basketball, similar to what we experienced in the 80s, was eminent. I couldn't have been more wrong.
After Floyd's failure, I was on board with Terry. I loved his history as a recruiter, thought that his Fresno State teams showed improvement, and appreciated the fact that he was able to lead them to an NCAA Tournament birth. For 1.5 seasons I thought that I had been correct, despite the struggles we knew he would experience his first year, then the wheels came off in Hawaii during his sophomore campaign. He did prove that he could recruit, but his coaching left much to be desired. He would have been fired as coach if he hadn't lucked into the opportunity that Chris Beard provided him.
I had two favorites during the search for our current coach: Tang and Golding. It looks like I was miraculously right about Tang. I liked him after watching Baylor's defense when they won the title. Gonzaga's offense was one of the best I had ever seen, yet they were completely flummoxed by Baylor's suffocating defense. I wanted that defense here at UTEP. But I also liked Golding. I loved how he had built his ACU team from nothing into a conference champion, two time NCAA Tournament team, and Tournament game winner, something we haven't done since '92. I was excited when he was hired and pumped after his introductory press conference. The season is still young, so he has ample opportunity to change my mind, but from where I stand now it looks like I was wrong again, just as I was with Floyd and Terry.
Good thing that I'm not an AD. You guys would be coming after me with pitchforks and torches. If I had a clone he'd join you.
