He’s made his list and checked it twice, and now Dan
Guerrero is finally ready pick up the pace in his search for the
next UCLA men’s basketball coach.
But if the Bruins’ athletic director expects to complete
the interview process at the Final Four this weekend in New
Orleans, he might find the best candidate of all a little
preoccupied.
While other potential coaches are being schmoozed by the Big
“G” on Bourbon Street over hurricanes and jambalaya,
Marquette’s Tom Crean will be sober on the sidelines Saturday
afternoon at the Superdome when his Golden Eagles face off
against Kansas for a berth in the national championship game.
That postseason success alone ought to be more than enough to
make Guerrero take notice, but according to published reports it
hasn’t been.
Pittsburgh’s Ben Howland and Gonzaga’s Mark Few have
been championed by the press as Guerrero’s favorites, while
Crean has been treated like an afterthought ““ a backup plan
in case there’s a snag in the negotiations with other
candidates.
That is nothing less than baffling.
A coach with the credentials Crean possesses ought to be
insulted if Guerrero is not lurking outside the Marquette locker
room, wad of cash in hand, after his Golden Eagles upset tournament
favorite Kansas on Saturday.
This season has been a magical one for the Golden Eagles, who
have won 27 games under the guidance of their youthful head coach,
and have been a fixture in the top 15 since January. In the past
week alone Crean out-dueled Howland’s Panthers in the Midwest
regional semifinals before ousting tournament favorite Kentucky
last Saturday.
Not too shabby an audition for a dapper dairy farmer from
Wisconsin, dontcha know?
Critics will dub him a potential one-hit wonder, another
“Biz Markie” or “Chumbawumba,” but
Crean’s track record speaks for itself.
In his four seasons at Marquette, the 36-year-old has compiled
four winning records including a pair of 25-win seasons over the
last two years. He was named Conference U.S.A. Coach of the Year
last season as the Eagles won the regular season conference title
and finished at No. 12 in the final Associated Press poll.
Prior to that Crean served as an assistant at Michigan State,
coaching alongside both Tom Izzo and Kelvin Sampson.
Yes, he is young, and yes, he lacks West Coast ties, but Crean
meets every criterion Guerrero put forth after Steve Lavin was axed
two weeks ago.
“¢bull;Â Intangibles: Nobody plays harder or more
unselfishly than the Golden Eagles.
“¢bull;Â Integrity: Not even the Disney channel is this
squeaky clean.
“¢bull;Â Experience: Well, he’s been trained by some
of the best, and he’s been to one more Final Four than either
Howland or Few ““ or Lavin, for that matter.
And Crean has one more decided advantage over any of the other
candidates ““ he’s flourished in the shadow of a
legend.
The specter of renowned former Golden Eagle coach Al McGuire is
to Marquette what John Wooden is to UCLA, and Crean has embraced
the program’s history.
“I never looked at it like it’s an image to uphold
or a tradition to uphold or a ghost to get rid of,” Crean
told The Associated Press. Crean maintained a close relationship
with McGuire until he passed away in 2001.
That experience would serve him well if he became head coach at
UCLA.
But while Howland and Few wear out the carpet in their
respective offices pacing back and forth waiting for the inevitable
phone call from Dan Guerrero, Crean does not have the luxury of
pondering a move to the West Coast just yet.
If there is mutual interest between Guerrero and Crean ““
and there certainly should be ““ neither party will give any
indication until after the Final Four.
Nonetheless, while even the most UCLA-centric Bruin fan knows
that the NCAA tournament is more than an extended job interview for
Crean, it certainly has provided him the national stage he has
previously lacked. It’s as if Crean was standing outside the
Morgan Center with a bullhorn shouting, “Look at me Dan. Look
at me.”
Here’s hoping Guerrero does just that.
Eisenberg left for spring break, and UCLA had no basketball
coach. A dozen
margaritas later, UCLA still has no basketball coach.
Commiserate at jeisenberg@media.ucla.edu.