Friday, November 8, 1996
BASKETBALL:
Pac-10 coaches feel targeted after Harrick’s firingBy Hye
Kwon
Daily Bruin Staff
The Pacific 10 basketball coaches and members of the media
congregated at the annual Media Day on Thursday morning to discuss
the upcoming 1996-97 season. But clearly the buzz in the room was
the announcement of Jim Harrick’s firing.
"Until three in the morning (on Tuesday night) I had 63 phone
calls and not one of them was about the elections," Arizona State
head coach Bill Frieder said. "Even though the media seems to
thrive on this type of thing and sometimes competitors thrive on
it, I don’t. I feel badly for basketball and I feel bad for
Jim."
A common theme among the coaches was a feeling of vulnerability.
Many of them expressed feelings that the termination was the result
of Harrick being put under extreme, and somewhat unwarranted,
scrutiny from the media and school administration.
"I feel that … it’s very important to try to follow every rule
to the letter," Frieder said. "Because even if you follow every
rule to the letter, you’re going to get blindsided with enough
stuff. No one is immune."
Lute Olson, who has been at the helm at Arizona for the last 13
years, expressed feelings of concern for all coaches who are put
under powerful microscopes.
"It’s a scary time to be a coach," Olson said. "Other than being
so much win-and-loss oriented, you’re put under constant
scrutiny."
Olson suspects that there are reasons above and beyond the
recent, small recruiting violations cited as the cause for
Harrick’s dismissal.
"You think, ‘Is there going to be more to this story?’ because
there certainly seems like there’s going to be more …" he
said.
Having guided the Bruins to the conference title three of the
last five seasons, Harrick was a coach that his colleagues around
the Pac-10 strived to emulate. Especially for the younger coaches
who broke into the league after he did, Harrick was a source of
support.
"When I was a young coach coming into the league two years ago,
he was one of the veteran guys who always (offered) a warm hand,"
Washington State head coach Kevin Eastman said. "That was very
comforting for someone coming into a new setting."
Another young Pac-10 coach, Bob Bender of Washington, echoed
Eastman’s sentiment.
"Jim Harrick as a competitor was one of the people I owe a lot
to," Bender said. "He always had an encouraging word. For someone
trying to rebuild a program and going through the adversity of
losing seasons, that meant a lot to me."
One issue on which the coaches had divergent opinions was
whether Harrick’s absence will change the complexion of the Pac-10
race.
"Every change affects the conference race," Bender said. "Losing
the premier marquee guys affects the race and the coaching change
will effect the race."
Olson, on the other hand, sees the possibility of the Bruins
turning this situation into a positive one for the team.
"I wouldn’t be surprised if the veteran team at UCLA doesn’t
make the prime thing that they want to do is win (the Pac-10 title)
for Coach Harrick," Olson said. "I think that could be their
rallying cry."