USD men's basketball coach Bill Grier might have had a chance for a big paycheck by leaving for the open job at Oregon State, but chose not to. He chose wisely.
There are just some places where you're not going to be able to win consistently, and Oregon State is one of them. Athletics is not the top priority in Corvallis, nor should it be. The men's basketball program, to my recollection, has not fielded much in the way of winners since the days of Lonnie Shelton -- father of SDSU's Tim -- back in the 1970s or 1980s.
Even if you were to bring in some good players, the Beavers reside in the Pac-10, where they would have to do battle with behemoths in UCLA, Arizona and Stanford. Oregon is usually pretty good. Plus, Washington State is on an upswing right now. If the Cougars weren't there, Washington, Arizona State or even Cal would. No way is Oregon State going to compete against them for a couple of years at least.
Instead, Grier will stay in San Diego and compete against Gonzaga and Saint Mary's, a far more manageable proposition. The Zags were over-rated this year. The Gaels were pretty good but not great. Depending on how long he stays, he could really make something out of the Toreros and become a big fish in San Diego's pretty large pond. Imagine Grier and the Aztecs' Steve Fisher both putting their teams into NCAA Tournament. This town would go nuts.
However, despite Grier's current good intentions and wise consideration, I don't think he's here for the long term. There is a Pac-10 school close to his roots that will offer him that big paycheck after another season or two. Oregon. The Ducks have been pretty good in recent years. Fans seem to think they should be great. Every so often, I read or hear someone suggest that Ernie Kent is a lousy coach. I don't know that myself first-hand. Could be true, or not. If enough people are down on Kent, and Oregon-native Grier is performing miracles in Alcala Park, then there will be some temptation.
So Grier is being a good guy in staying ... and being smart ... and maybe most of all being patient.
---
The theory that SDSU athletic director Jeff Schemmel might leave for Kansas State, where he had roots, just bit the dust. K-State had one of it's vice-presidents take on the AD responsibilities.
That not only keeps Schemmel here, but takes away my notion that it might be a good time to move Fisher upstairs to succeed him.
I still worry about the next Aztecs basketball season. So much promise, but so little reason to believe that expectations will be fulfilled.
---
Can the hysterical debate over Padres closer Trevor Hoffman be over? Please?
Look, the guy blew one game. Yeah, it comes after his blown saves at the end of last year, but he's also held the lead at the end of two wins so far in 2008. No question, his status needs monitoring from manager Bud Black. He's north of 40 years old and his stuff isn't what it was. But it's not time to relegate the future Hall of Famer to mop-up duty.
No comments:
Post a Comment