Now that the investigation into the investigation at Mizzou is complete, it’s time for the leadership to get it in gear and be leaders. From Elson Floyd to Mike Alden, they have jobs to do. Do them. Too many people have decided to get involved with the decision of who hires the next coach at Missouri and that has made this issue already muddy.
The Mike Alden vs. Jon Sunvold-Norm Stewart faction is almost comical at this point. The names of some of the so-called front runners are people that the Mizzou crowd used to make fun of. Now Bob Huggins, the former coach at Cincinnati, is in the running? You are kidding me, right? Rick Majeras, the guy who has a hard time making up his mind on where and when he wants to coach is being mentioned as a front runner?
Pardon me if the laughter distracts you.
The backward thinking within this state on what it takes to be a good college basketball coach continues to baffle me. I may have missed those NCAA championship banners that hang from the new arena in Columbia. Perhaps all those great NBA players that the program has turned out over the last few years escaped my memory. And of course the people who don’t work for the university who now think it is on them to select the new coach have such a great report here in St. Louis because of all the great players they had in Columbia over the years.
Yep, it’s me. I have lost my mind.
Not so fast on this one. Mizzou needs to get it right this time when it comes to hiring a coach. They do not need a bunch of self-serving separatists who now have a voice in the media to tell you what they want you to know. They will be the same ones telling you it will be great for you when they get their coach in.
Flavor in the tournament?
Is it my imagination or did I see a lot of coaches of color on the sidelines during the NCAA tournament? Including the play in game, there were 14 head coaches in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Some of them even walked away with some impressive wins like John Thompson III in Georgetown’s win over second-seeded Ohio State. Black coaches in college basketball have enjoyed far greater success than they have in football with John Thompson and Nolan Richardson winning the national championship. My question is, with as many players that are black that play football, what haven’t more coaches been afforded the same opportunity? Normally it is three, maybe four years and you are done, in most cases never to be heard from again.
While I think the NCAA has taken steps to address the mascot issue, the more pressing need is for them to make sure there is a more level playing field concerning African-American coaches in football. Fourteen out of 65 coaches is a good start.
Thanks, coach
With the success of Vashon and Incarnate Word from the previous week, the winning continues in St. Louis with the Lions of Cardinal Ritter as they captured another championship. This one is special because they have a special coach in Marvin Neals. Coach Neals is not only the only man in the state of Missouri to win state championships at two different schools in two different classes, but he has a keen sense of what talent is supposed to be about. If not for coach Neals, I am not sure where I would be today.
As a youngster, I had aspirations of one day playing in the NBA. My dad, who thought the world of coach Neals, thought if I were going to play someday in the NBA that I should perhaps attend coach Neals’ summer basketball camp. Great idea, Dad. Off I went to pursue my dream. After the first day of Coach Neals’ camp, my dad inquired about my progress. Coach Neals replied, “Has he ever thought about playing football?”
Not that I was going to be the next Jim Brown but anything was better than me Thanks, coach, and congratulations on being a very good coach and an even greater man. You got me off that basketball kick just in time, before I hurt someone or got hurt myself.
