Carolina dreaming

Karl has more on his mind than Bucks' playoff run

MILWAUKEE -- He says he won’t pursue it, but the gleam in his eye is unmistakable.

Bucks coach George Karl has never hidden his love for his alma mater, the University of North Carolina. The Tar Heels coaching job, which opened Tuesday with the resignation of Matt Doherty, remains a flame that flickers inside him.

"I just want to see North Carolina get back to its glory years," he said Wednesday as he sat in his office before his team’s game with the Rockets. "If I can do anything to be part of that or help the school, I’ll do it."

Odd that Karl would be speaking wistfully of another job just minutes before one of his team’s biggest games of the season. The Bucks, after all, are currently locked in a tight battle with the Wizards for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East. One might think the only Tar Heel on his mind these days would be Michael Jordan.

But Karl never has been one to hold back his feelings. With his Bucks struggling -- their 106-99 win over Houston was just their fifth in 13 games -- he no doubt realizes his own future in Milwaukee could be in doubt. Few coaches survive the kind of disappointing seasons Karl's Bucks has experienced the past two years -- even those with one year and $7 million remaining on his contract.

So while Karl insists he is focusing on the Bucks' playoff stretch run, he wasn’t about to hide from the predictable Carolina questions. He knows he’s considered a longshot for the post he once described as his "dream job" (Kansas’ Roy Williams and Sixers coach Larry Brown have been mentioned as front-runners).

But he admits he talked to Dean Smith on the phone after he heard the news about Doherty. He admits he has an opt-out clause in his contract that would enable him to take the UNC job. He also admits he was disappointed three years ago when Bucks owner/Sen. Herb Kohl denied him a chance to interview for the UNC opening.

"It kind of shook me," Karl said. "Because I never thought [the job would be available]. I always thought it was more of a fantasy instead of reality ... When I couldn’t interview, there was a lot of confusion in my head."

If Karl was dazed then, one can only imagine his state of mind these days. The Bucks, despite Wednesday’s victory over a Houston team still reeling from the loss of head coach Rudy Tomjanovich to bladder cancer, are a team on the bubble.

The Great Gary Payton trade has not worked as hoped. While the Glove has been able to coexist with Sam Cassell, he apparently hasn’t been able to instill any defensive intensity in his teammates. The Bucks, with a hole in the middle the size of Lake Michigan, still give up points too easily.

Last week small forward Tim Thomas, the player expected to replace Glenn Robinson and a favorite of Karl, refused to re-enter a game in the fourth quarter. Though Thomas bounced back with a strong effort Wednesday -- including a ferocious rejection of Yao Ming that left the 7-foot-5 rookie center sprawled on his back and the Bradley Center crowd roaring -- his outburst had to be troubling to Karl. In a locker room already featuring the headstrong Payton, Cassell and Anthony Mason, the last thing Karl needed was another locker room critic.

Still, despite the problems, Karl remains optimistic. The Bucks have a much more favorable schedule than the Wizards the rest of the way. If they can hang on and make the playoffs, they have enough experienced veterans in Payton, Cassell, Mason and Toni Kukoc to be dangerous.

It’s not impossible to envision a hot-shooting Milwaukee club giving top-seeded Detroit, another team without a dominant offensive center in the middle, a difficult first-round battle.

"My determination is to get this team ready for a playoff run, and a good playoff run," Karl says. "I think we're in position to do that."

The way the past two seasons have gone for Karl, of course, it won’t happen. From last year’s historic collapse down the stretch to this summer’s World Championship debacle, it has been a case of Murphy’s Law. At this rate, who could blame Milwaukee fans for turning their attention to Marquette’s Final Four run and expecting the Bucks to find a way to blow it?

Given their up-and-down play of late, in fact, Milwaukee’s playoff hopes could well come down to the final game, April 16 against the Magic at Bradley Center.

If so, Magic coach Doc Rivers, the former Marquette star and Karl’s rival, could be the one to end Karl’s season -- and maybe his career in Milwaukee. It’s got to be a sobering thought for Karl. And maybe one more reason for him to dream of a soft landing in Chapel Hill.

Marty Burns covers pro basketball for SI.com. Click here to send Marty a question or comment.

 

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