July 1, 2004
I wrote a column recently on a great trend in college basketball. A number of veteran head coaches have hired experienced second lieutenants who have previously ran programs on the Division I level.
A couple of examples can be found at some of the best programs in the country. Connecticut's Jim Calhoun made a wise decision when he brought in George Blaney. The former Seton Hall and Holy Cross coach had an impact in the Huskies' national championship run this past season. Also, Kentucky coach Tubby Smith has been happy with former Alabama coach David Hobbs serving on his bench.
Recently, a few other big-name programs added former head coaches to their respective staffs. Let's start with Missouri, where Quin Snyder has had a tough offseason. He had to find replacements for Lane Odom and Tony Harvey, who left the Tigers' program after allegations of wrongdoing shook the school.
Snyder added a pair of former head coaches to his bench. First came Melvin Watkins, who served as Texas A&M's head coach last season. He has 26 years of coaching experience on his resume, including eight seasons as a head coach (six at A&M, two at Charlotte, where he led his team to the NCAA tournament both years). Watkins knows the Big 12 well and should be a major asset to Snyder and the Tigers.
Missouri also added former Liberty head coach Jeff Meyer, who served last season as an assistant at Butler. In 16 years as head coach at Liberty, he registered a 259-206 mark and led the Flames to the 1994 Big South Conference Tournament Championship and a bid to the NCAA Tournament. He is that school's all-time winningest head coach and he brings a wealth of experience. Meyer also served on the staffs at Purdue, South Florida and Winthrop over the years.
Also in the Big 12, Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson bolstered his staff by hiring former Houston and Ball State head coach Ray McCallum. Jimmy Tubbs left the Sooners to become head coach at SMU, leaving the void filled by McCallum's hiring. McCallum served as a head coach for 11 seasons, and also gained experience as an assistant at Michigan and Wisconsin. Back in May, the Sooners hired another former head coach, ex-Texas-Pan American boss Bob Hoffman.
Indiana has had changes on its staff with John Treloar (went to LSU) and Ben McDonald (pursued other opportunities) leaving. So coach Mike Davis added former Utah interim head coach Kerry Rupp. I was very impressed with the job Rupp did with the Utes, and he should have a positive impact with the Hoosiers.
Dick Vitale coached the Detroit Pistons and the University of Detroit in the 1970s before broadcasting ESPN's first college basketball game in 1979 (he has been an ESPN analyst ever since). Send a question for Vitale for possible use on ESPNEWS.
