Sports
 

Speculation often far off the mark


Sports Commentary


Christian Schmidt
 

When you write for a paper --when you do anything really -- you make mistakes. Like saying winning is the only thing that should matter to Houston's next men's basketball coach.

Winning isn't all that matters. UH needs a coach who graduates players, who builds the program the right way, who won't violate NCAA rules, and who can talk to fans, media, alumni and administration with ease.

But winning is the key. If you run a great program that loses 20 games a year, that's not going to cut it. You need to run the right kind of program and have consistent winning seasons.

It's all important. So, given that, who should the new coach be?

The rumor mill has been at full throttle for the past three days. Former Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson, former Iowa State coach Larry Eustachy, UH women's basketball coach Joe Curl, former Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich and former NBA coach John Lucas have all been mentioned as candidates.

Some of these may be serious; some are clearly ludicrous. 

Lucas and Tomjanovich are great coaches, but neither has recent college experience, and thus no experience recruiting. And as Ray McCallum learned, poor recruiting makes for poor records.

Curl told both Athletics Director Dave Maggard and The Daily Cougar that he has no interest in the job, and let's face it; Curl has a good situation in women's basketball with a good team. He doesn't need the aggravation of trying to rebuild another program.

Richardson might be a long shot. He hasn't worked since an acrimonious split from Arkansas in 2002, but even so, he's one of the best coaches in college basketball and might want more money than UH is willing -- or able -- to spend.

Eustachy's a wild card. He left Iowa State after pictures of him drinking at a student party began circulating. Eustachy apologized and said he had a problem with alcohol. Eustachy is a good coach, but his character is a serious issue. On the plus side, he hasn't exactly been fending off job offers, so he might come at a bargain price.

The bottom line is that we don't know. Maggard has said he will not discuss candidates or a timetable for a new coach, so speculation about candidates is just that: speculation.

I don't care who the new coach is. He should be a good recruiter, a good coach and a good person. Maybe one of the above coaches is all that, and surely there are people out there who are.

But I'll say it again: Make him a winner.

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