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Will he or won't he?
Alford would break his word by leaving for Bloomington
Posted: Tuesday March 20, 2001 5:15 PM
If Steve Alford takes the Indiana job, it will demonstrate beyond a doubt that he has no integrity.
Don't take my word for it, take Alford's. After Bob Knight was fired in September, Alford called a press conference at Iowa and said: "I told [Iowa AD Bob] Bowlsby 18 months ago that I would not entertain any thoughts of coaching at another Big Ten school, so for me to do that would question my integrity. Obviously, Indiana is within the Big Ten. I'm honoring my word to Mr. Bowlsby, and I would hope the people of Indiana can understand that."
If at that time Alford had reminded us that one can never say never and simply deflected such queries until the end of the season, he would have caught some heat but I think people would have understood. But that's not what he did. "It's not just a commitment now, it's a commitment nine months from now," Alford said, adding: "This is the last time I'm going to talk about it. I'm not going to talk about something that's not going to happen."
Shall we assume that Alford has his own definition of the word is? Because there he was at a press conference last Wednesday, on the one hand acting all high-and-mighty that a reporter had the temerity to ask him about IU, and on the other parsing his words carefully by saying, "I am not going to entertain questions about Indiana." It hardly needs pointing out just what he didn't say.
I'm not yet convinced that Indiana is dead set on hiring Alford, but this much is clear: If the Hoosiers can't get Alford, they'll stay with Davis. There are no other candidates on the radar screen. For the time being, Alford is, according to sources, keeping a low profile while his father, Sam, who is also his top assistant at Iowa, manages the delicate dialogue.
If Alford stays at Iowa, he'll look like an honorable hero. If he goes to Indiana, he'll look like just another smarmy college coach whose word is dirt. Stay tuned.
SWEET 16/COACHING CAROUSEL HOOP THOUGHTS ...
Two things on Temple. First, there's a misconception about the matchup zone that needs clearing up. The Owls' defense is not like most zones, which afford teams a lot of clear looks from 3-point range. The way Temple plays its zone, the defenders actually contest those shots. Just ask Florida, a great shooting team that went 8-for-29 on 3-pointers in its loss on Sunday. The way to beat Temple's zone is to attack it and then beat the Owls on the boards. That's bad news for Penn State.
Second, why is it taking so long to put John Chaney in the Basketball Hall of Fame?
Kansas is a much different team with Drew Gooden healthy and effective. I still like Illinois in that game, though, especially if Brian Cook gets more shots than Frank Williams or Cory Bradford, as was the case against Charlotte.
Grant Wahl was right on the money when he wrote on this site that Brad Soderberg fell victim to the mad rush for big-name hires. Michigan State wanted to do the same thing a few years back when Jud Heathcote was heading toward retirement. It was only at Heathcote's insistence -- he actually secured a written agreement -- that the school replaced him with an unknown, untested assistant named Tom Izzo. Seems to me that's worked out pretty well.
Can you imagine what an amazing story it would be if Lute Olson took his team to the Final Four in the same season in which he lost his wife to cancer?
Watching footage of Rick Pitino sauntering around Louisville's campus, surrounded by cameras, I was reminded of the old parable about the emperor with no clothes. How much does Pitino love to generate speculation as to what his plans are? Well, on the day four years ago when he left Kentucky for the Boston Celtics, Pitino called a press conference at UK to announce his intentions. At that point, no one was sure what he was going to do. To feed the frenzy, Pitino instructed the school's sports information department to print up a two-sided press release. On one side was a statement announcing that he would be staying at Kentucky. The other side said he'd be going to Boston.
USC put on a gritty performance in getting by Boston College, but can someone tell me whatever happened to Brian Scalabrine?
What Gonzaga has managed to do by making three straight Sweet 16s is nothing short of amazing, but I'm here to tell you there's absolutely no way the Zags will beat Michigan State on Friday. The Spartans' biggest weakness is ball pressure, but their halfcourt defense is tailor made to shut down a team like Gonzaga. Charlie Bell locks up Dan Dickau, Andre Hutson locks up Casey Calvary, and that's all she wrote.
I'll give you two words to explain why I feel UCLA is a dangerous opponent for Duke: Earl Watson. As evidenced by his 16-point, nine-rebound performance against Utah State, The Earl will do whatever it takes to help his team win.
Bravo to UMass AD Bob Marcum, who released three recruits from their letters-of-intent after Bruiser Flint resigned. Unfortunately, not every administrator has that kind of conscience, which is why so many of us favor a rule that automatically would allow signees to get out of their letters in the event of a coaching change.
If Pat Knight wants to condemn Mike Davis for not staying in closer contact with Pat's dad, shouldn't he at least point out that Davis tried to call Bob last fall but the General never returned his calls? I commend Pat for being loyal to his father, but he would do well to let it drop.
Sports Illustrated staff writer Seth Davis covers college basketball for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com. Hoop Thoughts will appear each week throughout the college basketball season.
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