Trent Johnson bolts for LSU: What happened and what’s next for Stanford (updated with big name at bottom)
Has the Bay Area ever had a week like this on the college hoops scene?
Monty to Cal.
Trent J. to … somewhere other than Stanford.
My goodness.
I spent hours and hours and hours on the phone yesterday, talking to people who know Stanford, know Trent Johnson, know Bob Bowlsby (as much as anyone knows Bob Bowlsby), know Mike Montgomery and know west coast college basketball.
The reaction to Johnson’s departure was interesting: Even the folks who thought it might happen (myself included) were a bit surprised it actually did.
I supposed it was the swiftness. Johnson’s first contact with LSU was Sunday, I’ve been told, and by Wednesday morning, he was gone.
I covered as many of the basics as I could in this news story written with Darren Sabedra, and be sure to read Tim Kawakami’s column — but there is plenty in my head and my notebook that didn’t make the paper.
Here’s some of it:
* The diversity issue. This came up in almost every conversation I had.
Stanford has long prided itself on a commitment to diversity of its staff, faculty and student body.
Yet it had one of the most accomplished African American coaches in the country, a man whose ethics and integrity are above reproach — and the only black coach in the Sweet 16 — and it doesn’t appear to have done everything it could to keep Johnson.
“Where is President Hennessy in all this?” one of my Stanford sources asked.
Stanford has 35 intercollegiate sports, and by my count, there are now only two African American head coaches: track’s Edrick Floreal and wrestling’s Kerry McCoy.
Two out of 35 … Where is President Hennessy?
* The Bowlsby factor.
Did athletic director Bob Bowlsby create the conditions that forced Johnson to leave?
Of. Course. He. Did.
Anyone who has read the Hotline the past few weeks should realize that (original post on the topic can be found here.)
Does Bowlsby have his reasons for doing what he did?
Of. Course. He. Does.
He’s a very smart guy, he gamed this whole thing out, he knew Johnson, whose contract expires next spring, might leave.
I’d be surprised shocked if he doesn’t have a plan.
My guess is that one of two things happened:
1. Either Bowlsby did everything he could behind the scenes to get Johnson out ASAP, or
2. He played the leverage game, delaying the contract extension so that Johnson would have no viable options, at which point Bowlsby planned to come in with a low-ball offer.
And if Johnson left, so be it … Bowlsby could hire his own coach.
My guess is the aspect of the pending low-ball offer — I say pending because nothing firm was ever put on paper, according to sources — that worried Johnson the most was not the money; he’s not about the money, which is why he doesn’t have an agent.
It was the duration.
Think about it: It’s late April or early May when they finally sit down to hammer out the deal, there are no good jobs left, and Bowlsby says, “OK, Trent, I’ll give you two more years. Now, go win some games and sign some recruits!”
That would worry any coach.
* The John A. factor.
We’ll never know what role, if any, Stanford patriarch John Arrillaga played.
My sense of Arrillaga has always been this: If he sees trash on a field or walkway, there’s hell to pay, but he never gets involved in personnel decisions.
But as one extremely savvy Stanford source told me: “If Arrillaga was firmly in Trent’s corner, this would never have happened.”
That doesn’t mean Arrillaga, who played basketball at Stanford, was anti-Johnson. The better bet is that he was neutral — he left the decision to Bowlsby.
And if Bowlsby made the move without running it past Arrillaga (not likely but possible), well, Bowlsby has cajones the size of Connecticut (not likely but possible).
* The Montgomery factor.
Would former coach Mike Montgomery ditch Cal (he has not signed a contract) and return to The Farm?
I find it extremely hard to believe — basically impossible to believe — given the integrity Montgomery has shown over the decades.
But the same Stanford watchers who told me weeks ago that Johnson might leave think it’s possible.
And Montgomery’s statement, released yesterday by Cal, wasn’t exactly as speculation-squashing as it could have been:
(”I am the head basketball coach at the University of California. I am excited about the challenges that lie ahead and look forward to competing for a Pac-10 championship.”)
Maybe that means Montgomery is leaving the door open to return. But the much better bet is that Montgomery has zero intention of going back and, from that perspective, believes the statement was plenty strong enough.
* Johnson’s record.
One non-Stanford, non-Johnson source pointed this out during a discussion about Johnson’s performance in his four years at Stanford.
He was 45-27 in Pac-10 games. But take away his record against UCLA, which has dominated the league during the stretch, and he was 42-21 (or 67 percent) against everyone else.
Just something to add to the stew.
* Johnson at LSU.
Trent Johnson … born in Berkeley, raised in Seattle, schooled in Boise, coach in Reno and the Bay Area … moving to the Deep South.
Seems like an odd fit. But my guess is that, given at least four years, Johnson does very well in Baton Rouge.
The Tigers (13-18) are in bad shape. But it’s still LSU, there are still a ton of players within a few hours of campus, and Johnson is still a good coach, terrific recruiter and extremely principled man.
I’d imagine he’ll do well, very well, walking into the homes of Louisiana high school stars who always wanted to play for the Tigers.
* Who will Bowlsby hire?
I have no idea, and I’d bet nobody knows but Bowlsby (unless of course he’s already talked to the man he wants, has the whole thing lined up but if handcuffed by the meaningless motions of a coaching search).
He certainly has plenty of basketball connections, having served on the selection committee years ago.
Until someone is introduced at a press conference in the Arrillaga Center — or until Montgomery makes a beyond-a-shadow-of-a-doubt statement — Stanford watchers will wonder about him as a possibility.
But short of that whammy …
Tom Crean might have been an option until he bolted Marquette for Indiana. He’s the brother-in-law of Cardinal football coach Jim Harbaugh (but way out of Stanford’s price range).
Drake’s Keno Davis, the national coach of the year and son of former Stanford coach Tom Davis? Tough to imagine, given that Bowlsby fired Tom Davis at Iowa.
Former Stanford player/assistant Eric Reveno? A perfect fit in many ways, except he hasn’t posted a winning record in two years at Portland (the Pilots were in terrible shape when he took over — it’s a major rebuilding job).
But if Reveno gets it turned around in Portland and Stanford needs a coach in three or four years, then he’s the even-money favorite.
One name mentioned by a Stanford source (who had not spoken to Bowlsby) was Brad Holland, the former UCLA star and San Diego coach — remember, Bowlsby plucked Harbaugh from USD.
Holland is a good coach who’s used to working with academic restrictions and has tons of west coast recruiting connections. He brought in all the players that took San Diego to the WCC title and first-round win over UConn.
But I’m not sure how easy a sell Holland would be for Bowlsby: Lose the Pac-10 coach of the year, bring in a man who (rightly or wrongly) was dismissed by USD last spring.
St. Mary’s Randy Bennett? Perhaps.
San Diego’s Bill Grier? Maybe.
Gonzaga’s Mark Few? If you’re Bowlsby, you have to make the call.
New Mexico’s Steve Alford? Bowlsby hired him at Iowa.
And there’s one name I heard this morning from a highly-plugged-in Pac-10 watcher, a name that seems outrageous and outlandish — and name that, if true, would shed new light on everything Bowlsby has done.
Bob Knight.
I’ll wait a second for the laughter to subside …
Now, I have no idea if Knight would be interested, if Stanford would be interested, if the shoe situation would be a problem (Knight’s an Adidas guy, Stanford wears Nike), if the admissions would be a problem or what relationship Knight has with Bowlsby (they were in the Big Ten together).
But there is one factor here that cannot be overlooked — it’s the only reason I’m even throwing out Knight-to-Stanford in speculative form:
Knight is good buddies with Arrillaga.
If that doesn’t make you pause for a nanosecond, it should.
Anyhow, that’s just me thinking out loud. I’m sure there are many names I’m overlooking and several names that wouldn’t be on anyone’s initial list except Bowlsby’s.
From everything I’ve heard the two articles I’ve read on the Mercury are light and day different than how the actual situation went down. From what I can tell no real facts were put into either article, simply speculation and opinion passed off as fact.
Why would Monty want back in at Stanford? I was under the impression that the reason he left last time(besides the money) was frustration with admission standards. Have those standards been eased?
Since when has Trent Johnson been an excellent recruiter? Snyder and Fazekas were 2 pretty good catches while he was at Nevada, but has he brought in anyone of note in his years at Stanford? Obviously, he can’t take any credit for the Lopezes.
As a Cal grad, all I can say is way to go Bowlsby, you have made the turmoil on the farm so much fun to watch. The news of the past week has been so enjoyable, especially since the turmoil doesn’t put the Bears on the short end of the stick.
If I am a stanfurd fan or grad, I would be calling for Bowlsby’s head. The move to not keep Johnson makes as much sense as when the 49ers fired Mariucci after he took a not so great team into the playoffs. Looking back, Mooch should have stayed, and Donohue should have been canned. Who knows what ego issues went on between Johnson and Bowlsby, but if I am the AD, I take WINNING over any personality issues they may have had.
On the downside, I was looking forward to the Cal stanfurd basketball games for the first time in years. The on and off court drama and blog fodder would have been great.
Gonzaga’s Few and California’s Montgomery…candidates…NO!
UC-Diego’s Holland, New Mexico’s Alford, SD State’s Grier, St. Mary’s Bennett…candidates…YES!
Very outside long shot…candidate…Portland State’s Bone!!
As an alum and a season ticket holder for several years, I find it really disappointing to see Trent Johnson leave, especially when it would have been so easy to keep him. Trent was a great fit at Stanford and I think he could have been better than Monty, but we’ll never know.
Bowlsby blew it. Big time.
I’m sorry, Chucker, but as a fellow alum and 4-time 6th man member, I’m just not seeing this as a big loss for Stanford basketball. I realize that I may not appreciate how fully ingrained Trent was in the Stanford community, but in terms of off-the-court recruiting and on-the-court results, I don’t think we’re losing a whole lot with Trent’s departure. As has been noted, he did not have to recruit the Lopez twins and has not brought any other top caliber players to the Farm in his 4 years there. Not to mention that no one really jumps off the page from next year’s class either. His results were similarly mediocre. Two first round exits sandwiched around an NIT appearance is nothing to brag about. And any coach worth his salt could’ve ridden two 7 foot NBA prospects to the Sweet 16 if not further.
Trent was and is a class act! Will miss him. He was a great addition to the Stanford coaching ranks. I know he was would like to have stayed on the Farm.
Coaching is a very challenging profession. However, Trent will persevere and bring success to LSU, his players, his family and to himself!
Good luck Trent!!
what big name coach is going to take a contract worth 500K a year?
I have to agree with Chucker. Until there is solid evidence to the contrary, by all accounts Bowlsby blew it.
Also, I hope Mike Montgomery does *not* renege on his commitment to Cal. One of the things that has made me proud to be a Stanford fan is the belief, misguided or not, that we were able to win — or lose — with integrity (and money): no rules violations, high academic standards. The adrenaline rush that would come from stealing Montgomery away from our archrival would quickly be followed by the remorseful realization that Stanford has become one of the unethical, win-at-all-costs schools that we have abhored with such righteous indignation in the past.
What about Santa Clara’s Kerry Keating? He is already local, and while they didn’t have the successful season that a St Marys or San Diego had, he also didn’t acquire the talent they have, and has injected instant energy and optimism @ Santa Clara, spent the last 4 years as UCLAs top assistant personally landing each recruit that put them in the last 3 final fours from Jordan Farmar to Aaron Afflalo, from Darrin Collison to even Kevin Love. I wd think Stanford wd want someone with experience recruiting student athletes to the BCS conference schools…Many of the names being dropped are coaches who just realized their 1st successful career season. It will take tremendous faith for Stanford to take a Bennett, Grier, or Davis….
With all that I have read, “Johnson has integrity beyond reproach”,… “not about money, he doesn’t have an agent”, “good coach, terrific recruiter, and extremely
principled”, all we LSU fans can say is..
“Shucks,….Thanks a lot!”
Jon:
I see Bill Grier’s name keeps coming up (Cal now Stanford)…and I can’t figure out why. I know he’s a good coach, has a great rep and pedigiree (Gonzaga) and seems polished, but he’s only been at USD for a year and went to the second round with Brad Holland’s kids.
On top of that, for a guy that didn’t want to come to Santa Clara b/c of the way the Dick Davey things was handled, his honor and ethics would be in question if he bolts the Toreros so soon.
Maybe that’s why you have him as a “Maybe”?? A little insight on this would be good.
BayAreaHoopsFan…
The jury is still out at Keating. Yes, he was working with a slim squad that wasn’t his (only two scorers and multiple injuries), but hasn’t yet demonstrated coaching prowess. Broncos couldn’t close out close games or rise above potential. There is also some doubt as to the teaching/coaching abilities and maturity of the assistants he hired. Has a good recruiting reputation, but we won’t see the fruits of that for 2 years.
I may end up being sorry but I can’t argue with Bowlsby at this point, until I see what unfolds. Johnson: Here’s a guy who’s strong point is being a great guy, who gets himself kicked out of an NCAA game, and almost looses it for his team in the process. Had Stanford lost that game, he certainly would have been fired. Yes, that’s the way the world is, people.
So let’s forget about the good guy thing. He lost that cred within 30 seconds. Honesty is a great thing in basketball coaches; we may end up missing that; but let’s see what happens.
I don’t get the guy; he knew that he knew he didn’t have enough speed in the backcourt, and who does he bring in? a short, slow kid transfer from USF who can shoot threes if he’s open…Hell, Stanford had three kids who can do that already…and a hohum forward. That was insane.
His game decisions seem bizarre. His substitutions are just nuts. He lets the twins go without a touch for 5 minutes at a time. I got the feeling he was lost. Not in control. Didn’t know what to do. Just scowled all the time. Never saw the man smile. That’s just not right. Nobody is like that. Even Bob Knight smiles once in a while. You think it doesn’t matter? try working for a guy like that….try selling a guy like that…
I’m not saying he’s a jerk. I’m just saying he got up on the world stage two years in a row and embarrassed the school with his team and his behavior. You can do one or the other, but you sure can’t do both.
BroncoBilly
Points well taken, I wasnt necessarily stating that Keating is ready for Stanford, but was thinking if mentioning Grier and Bennett, why is Keating left out? As far as not being able to close out close games or rise above potential, their core wingmen (Gunderson, Latimer, Tiedeman and Cal Johnson) are division 2 players. I think the tight games against teams like Utah State, Nevada, St Marys, San Diego, St Marys, they shouldnt have even been in those games with this roster, but it was the size of Bryant, the heart of Angley, and preparation of Keating that even allowed them to compete. The last time I had a similar conversation with someone about a young unknown and the lack of maturity of his assistants was a decade ago and it was about Billy Donovan and Anthony Grant when Billy got the Florida job from Marshall. But I do agree that programs aren’t rebuilt overnight, Keating has the top class in the WCC coming in, I would expect them to come in 4th in the WCC again next season, perhaps with a 20-10 record though, and in year 3 they are an NCAA tourney team.
I dont think any of them are the Stanford coach, and think Stanford should be working to secure someone like Kevin O’Neill, or even PJ Carlesimo, inlikely that given the budget they can get a Lon Kruger.
Stanford is the last place one would expect to find racism but one begins to wonder how they could lose two high profile high achieving African American coaches within a decade. It may have been impossible to keep Tyrone from bolting to the most presigious job in the country, but it wouldn’t have taken much effort to keep Trent.
Can’t blame him for leaving, and nobody has mentioned the loss of the Lopez brothers which would have made his job much tougher next year.
Bobby Knight? Why not Jerry Tark while you’re at it? The feminists will be out marching the next day. Never happen.
PJ Carlesimo?
Whoa…you Stanfurd dudes are twisting in the wind and grasping at straws way worse then Cal was 1.5 weeks ago.
Stanfurd should just go out and get a good coach, it’s not like you can’t afford one…oh, right they’re all taken.
Larry Brown’s not taken.
I cannot completely doubt Wilner after he totally nailed this story, but Bobby Knight at Stanford seems about as likely as George W. Bush running for mayor of San Francisco.
Hey Stanford…Eddie Sutton is available. He’s like Bobby Knight without the charm.
Boraxo and Wilner got the race issue backwards. The fact that Johnson is black was (gladly) irrelevant to how Stanford treated him. They let his contract extension hang because he’s a mediocre coach. Period. You guys think Stanford should have tried to keep him longer because he’s black? Who is being racist here?
Honestly, Mike on this board looks like the only one here who actually watched Stanford hoops over the last five years with his eyes open. Below average X’s O’s, no major recruiting successes, questionable personnel calls, losing assistants left and right, inconsistent tournament and regular season performance, and academic probs with students (never happened at Stanford before Johnson!). Johnson talked a good game, was a nice and maybe even ‘honorable’ guy as all the Merc sycophants keep claiming, but he was a lousy coach for Stanford.
Can’t wait for the next coach and a new period for Stanford hoops!!!! Go Card!!!
Mark– I don’t know X’s and O’s about basketball well enough (but plenty of people who do think that Johnson is a very good Coach– most recent example being Tim Floyd).
I did want to correct one thing that is dead wrong:
Johnson didn’t “lose assistants left and right.” That couldn’t be further from the truth. He worked really hard to get Eric Reveno a head coaching job– because Eric Reveno deserved a head coaching job (and that is the kind of guy Johnson is– very giving). Tony Fuller went to be closer to his family– and if you knew the full situation of that, I am certain you would understand why he wanted to be closer to his family (particularly his son!). I hardly think that is losing coaches left and right.
If you get excited about throwing out the pac 10 coach of the year, who you admitted may even be an honorable guy, I don’t know if I can get excited about supporting Stanford.
“I was under the impression that the reason he left last time(besides the money)”
Yeah the main reason any college coach would leave to go to the NBA is because of a pay increase…yeah aside from a bump in pay grade, there is NO difference coaching at the pro level huh?
Well Stanfurdites, unless Bob Bowlsby hires a big name and hits a HR, I think you guys are in for a rude surprise.
You guys want big wins pretty quickly (and better then Trent Johnson) but it looks like any offer will be on the low side of the scale for a big name.
Stanford has been very luck for the past 22 years. You’ve had two coaches with one as an assistant for the other. Both did very well at any place they coached, both had great ties to Stanfurd.
I could be very wrong but I don’t see an easy and/or quickly…not for what the likely offer will be.
But Milo!!!! In all fairness, when was the last time you DIDN’T look at events and predict doom and gloom for Stanford?
Milo predicting “a rude surprise” for Cardinal fans ranks right up there with “dog bites man” in the ranking of unsurprising headlines. It’s also usually followed with a second prediction of uninterrupted glory for your beloved bears. Score one for consistency in the face of facts - the 1980’s and 90’s didn’t in any way change your outlook.
I’m awaiting that second shocker of Pac 10 championships in the Bears future with barely bated breath. (Maybe that line should have been “bearly baited”!)
LC - okay, so let me ask you the question without doom and gloom. What big name coach will Stanford hire at the same rate as Trent Johnson who can do better then him at the farm? That’s the $64,000 question. At issue is if Bob Bowlsby has the answer.
some posters say Trent was not a good coach. Here’s one way to look at it:
coaches who had *four* teams in NCAA Sweet 16 over last five years:
none
coaches who had *three* teams in NCAA Sweet 16 over last five years:
Krzyzewski (Duke)
Barnes (UT)
Calipari (Memph)
Jay Wright (Vill)
Self (KU)
Williams (UNC)
Howland (UCLA)
coaches who had *two* teams in NCAA Sweet 16 over last five years:
Trent Johnson (UNR-Stanford)
Beilein (WVU)
Donovan (UFL)
Thompson, Jr (Georgetown)
Pearl (UW-Mil, Tenn)
Ryan (Wisc)
Calhoun (UConn)
Izzo (MichSt)
Pitino (Louisville)
Sutton (OkSt)
Miller (Xavier — assoc HC in 2004, HC 2008)
Romar (UW)
Matta (Xavier, OhioSt)
Weber (Ill)
Trent was already in rarefied air. He was willing to compete within the academic and salary constraints of Stanford. Bowlsby is OUT OF HIS MIND if he thinks he can get someone better for the same money.
One way or the other Bowlsby is either out of a job, or had better land someone on, or very close to, the list above. And guaranteed he’ll have to pay more, and for longer.
Joking aside in the major sports I’m not sold on the “big name” approach as it applies to Stanford. Stanford has better luck with the up-and-comers who grow into the job. A big name usually doesn’t adjust well to Stanford’s constraints - they expect adjustments to be made to THEM.
Montgomery and Johnson fit the up-and-comer mold as did Walsh one, Willingham and Harbaugh. Walsh Two and Tom Davis were big names and had mixed success. I’m not sure how to classify Teevens and Harris - They didn’t fit either profile but neither did they fit at Stanford.
Closer to your home - how big of a name was Tedford? I actually saw him play at FSU and had followed his career but most other hadn’t prior to his coming to Cal.
So big names aren’t the normal pattern down here but that doesn’t mean it’s not Bowlsby’s style. There’s more than a few fans who are a bit puzzled (putting it mildly) by how he’s handling this but most are willing to give him some time.
I suspect we’ll know more soon. When it comes to Knight - well, I’m already on record for thinking I’d put my tix through a shredder before watching Knight coach at Stanford.
My brief take on all this:
1) Trent Johnson - a decent coach but he had large shoes to fill. Mike Montgomery had made Stanford a national basketball power instead of a perennial Pac-10 also-ran and, overall, the program had diminished after his departure. With the exception of the Lopezes, who apparently decided on Stanford when they were young boys, he has not lured the big names to the program like Montgomery had. It will take a big time coach to rebuild the program’s stature. With the Lopez twins gone, the program goes backwards next year.
2) Montgomery is better off with Cal, he would have been expected to duplicate his earlier success at Stanford - a tall order
3) Two names I’d toss in - Matt Painter of Purdue and Scott Drew of Baylor. Also Tony Bennett, but I don’t like going in conference. Grier and Davis are good candidates but I don’t think first year coaches should leave their programs, it’s unfair to the players to put them through multiple coaching changes. Bob Knight’s personality is inconsistent with the Stanford tradition.
I think an up-and-comer is the way to go. I think that’s how most schools with perspective on things goes about it, i.e., not a Big Ten or SEC school and not ND, UCLA or USC…or ACC and Big East in hoops.
Frankly, I was shocked to see Monty hired by Cal. Any other big name wouldn’t have worked. Monty fits Cal despite the rivalry and because of it. Monty has 3-4 years to make it work at Cal…then he retires if it hasn’t or keeps rolling a few more if things are good.
I would have been happy with one of the Bennetts, Fox or Grier. If you get a young guy who sticks around for 12 years, you’re way better off on average, if they can keep things respectable.
All that said, the expectations at Staford are now greater for hoops…so I guess that’s where the real inquiry comes, how that’s addressed.
The fact that Trent did not line up any real big men over the past two years to step in after the Brook and Robin era makes me wonder whether Trent was planning to leave all along. It was mentioned before that Trent did not recruit the Twins; the Twins would’ve came to Stanford regardless of the coach. And let’s not forget the embarrasing loss to Louisville last year, the early exit his first year and disappointing losses in overtime this year. What did Trent really do to deserve a mid-season extension. And Stanford didn’t exactly overachieve in the Tournament. They were a 3 seed, which meant a probably Sweet 16 appearance.
Instead of blaming Bowlsby, we should blame Trent. Bowlsby said he was planning to meet with Trent soon after the season ended. But Trent left for San Antonio and Bowlsby to the Women’s Final 4. Why didn’t Trent give Bowlsby a chance to sit down and talk it through. These contracts take time and there is always some give and take from both sides. Geez, wouldn’t we all love to have multi-year contracts. Most of us shmucks are at-will employees.
Jon,
One other question for you: how many African American or Hispanic columnists are there at the SJ Mercury News? By my count there are 0 out of 6 and 0 out of 6, respectively. What percentage of sports writers at the Mercury are black and hispanic?
It’s also not becoming for a white guy like yourself to preach diversity in your situation. I’ll take you seriously when you practice diversity yourself by giving up your job to a qualified African American. Until then, you’re just being a hypocrite.
I am what you would call a Trent-homer. I sweat for him on the hardwoods of Boise HS, and have followed his rise in the coaching ranks with great interest. As a Stanford grad, I was thrilled when he came to Stanford under Montgomery, and after Nevada, when he returned to the Farm. I ought to be sad that he’s gone, but am not. His head coaching lacked creativity and exuberance. Inspite of the sweet 16 tag this year the best teams the Cardinal beat are wazzu and Marquette. This team underperformed! Something foul is in the air at Maples when Robin Lopez and Trent bolt at the soonest possible moment. Here’s to a new era in Stanford Men’s Basketball, and oh lordy, may it not include Bob Knight.
What was that famous Bob Knight quote — “If rape is inevitable, you might as well enjoy it”?!
Bob Knight belongs somewhere in a Red state. He’s as red-a** as they come.
Total blunder by bowlsby, trent should have been resigned and im pissed.
Actually I’d pay to see “Captain Comeback” and “The General” both at Stanfurd in a small room at a alum function with just a little too much to drink. You guys could sell out the stadium!
StanFUrd’s athletic program is crashing and burning. Soon Cal will own the FUrds in basketball, just like Cal has dominated them in football, except for this year’s fluke.
Alvin … at a time when an African American is the current favorite for the White House, I hope we are getting to the point where we can evaluate each person’s performance without looking at race as a factor.
Patrick Coony - nicely put.
Trent played out his hand and took the job at LSU, good for him. You know how these things work, if you feel wanted then you work things out. If not, then the writings on the wall, no matter what the AD says.
The more I learn about Stanford, the more it appears they want to keep it a conservative “white” institution. They value grades but do they place a value on color as well?
Mstat, do you think Trent Johnson had a race transplant after Stanford hired him? Don’t be a jackass. If Stanford only wanted white coaches, Johnson wouldn’t have been hired in the first place. Neither would Denny Green, who Stanford pulled off the coaching scrap heap after he failed so badly at Northwestern, or Tyrone Willingham, who had never even been a coordinator before Stanford made him a head coach.
Stanfurd is Stanfurd but they get cred for their hires. That unforunately might change with Bowlsby and the passing of Bill Walsh.
Patrick Coony…”hire Tony Bennett” and Milo…”hire one of the Bennetts”…what planet have you two been on for the last month?
Tony Bennett doesn’t want anything to do with Kansas (if it comes open) he doesn’t want anything to do with Oklahoma State and he didn’t want anything to do with LSU or Marquette and said NOOOOOO…to U. of California (he didn’t believe in going within the conference) and he turned down the University of Indiana (for $2.5 M a year).
He certainly has NOOOOOOOOO…interest in Stanford…as in NONE!
I told all of you this months ago…when will you believe…maybe, when he takes apart Jon Wilner’s Pac-10 2008-09 Predictions and his National Top 25 Predictions.
Tony loves small college town Pullman, Washington State University, working with great character young men that are less than McDonald All-American premadonnas, making great money with constant support from fans, alumni, his AD and University President (who also just turned down the University of North Carolina to become their President).
Enjoy your search Cardinal…it looks like it isn’t going to be pretty…when you start looking for a “politically correct” hire you are going to overlook a lot of excellent potential with upward success and a great future.
“just like Cal has dominated them in football”
Are you forgetting, I dunno, the 20th century?
TommyCoug - don’t get your panties in a bunch. Bennett will leave, it’s just a matter of when. My guess is he wants the U Wisc-Mad job, his Dad’s old job and is waiting out Ryan.
Milo - Agreed and it is clear that he is very happy in Pullman. The coaching philosophies of Bennett and Bo Ryan are very similar - both terrific coaches.
Milo and P. Cooney…you hope and pray he leaves…great thinking…it will be later rather than sooner…sorry you “boys” and the Pac-10!
Stanford has looked lost on offense for most of the past four years. They haven’t been able to make successful in game adjustments, our final game this year was just one example (When Texas decided to take away B. Lopez with the triple team we had no cutters to the basket and no offensive boards playing 4 on 2.) Trent seems to get solid success from riding his stars and I think he will be better off at LSU. Stanford needs a coach who can get the players to play as a team since our ability to get the star recruits will always be a little limited by academic standards. Hopefully we can get a coach that get the whole to play above the sum of the parts (we’ll need it next year.)
The Harbaugh hire has earned our current AD a decade’s grace period as far as I’m concerned (as long as he does whatever it takes to keep the man.) I loved Willingham but he knocked Stanford fans for our lack of support when he left for ND. Harbaugh recognized that weakness and did more in one year to get the fans involved than any coach over the past 20! The reports of the team greeting after the USC game says it all. Plus with the attention to detail that coaching staff showed last year our football team will compete in every game as long as they are there.
I hope we find a B-ball coach in the same mold.
I’m surprised that no one considered the early departure of the Lopez brothers as a factor in Trent Johnson’s decision to leave. I have it on good authority that the Lopez brothers were not happy with his coaching, that he put too much of a burden on them to score and didn’t develop outside shooters. They realized they could get better coaching by leaving for the pros now.