Funny how one move begets another.
On June 30, University of North Carolina men’s basketball coach Bill Guthridge announced he was stepping down after three years as head coach and 33 years with the Tar Heel program.
It is doubtful that the move caused much stir in Eugene.
Then on July 6, University of Kansas men’s basketball coach Roy Williams ended week long speculation that he would coach at North Carolina by announcing that he will stay at Kansas, where he has led the Jayhawks to 12 straight winning seasons.
Again, the city of Eugene hardly said a word.
Five days later, however, a final move would be made that would eventually get this town talking.
On July 11, North Carolina named former Tar Heel player Matt Doherty as its coach.
Doherty left behind a team at the University of Notre Dame that went 22-15 last year and reached the championship game of the National Invitational Tournament.
Notre Dame athletic director Kevin White wanted to act fast on hiring a replacement and tried to pursue one of the best college coaches in the game today.
So he went after our coach, Oregon men’s basketball coach Ernie Kent.
This time, when the news about Kent went public on July 12, Eugene was abuzzing.
Take, for example, a few select quotes from Oregon message boards on the Internet last Wednesday night.
“How could he leave us?”
“That trader! He said this was his dream job.”
“He’s probably after the fame and money.”
Well guess what folks? You thought wrong.
Kent proved his love and loyalty for his alma mater by turning down the opportunity of more national exposure and a higher salary to stay in Eugene.
“I look at this as a tremendous honor for our program and the University of Oregon to attract attention from a school of this magnitude,” Kent said.
Kent made it clear that Notre Dame contacted him, and said that when Notre Dame calls you have to listen.
But when will it be seen as an “honor” to be attracted by Oregon?
The reason Kent is here in the first place was the decision by former Oregon coach Jerry Green to bolt out of town in 1997 to take over the program at Tennessee. Green used the school as a steppingstone to bigger and better things.
When will Oregon stop being a steppingstone and finally be a destination?
Perhaps that time is approaching in the next five to 10 years. If Kent were to commit to Oregon and continue coaching and recruiting at the pace that he has, odds are his name would become synonymous with Duck hoops a la the way Williams is to Kansas.
But as he alluded to on Friday, Kent will continue to listen to other offers from “big-time” schools when they come calling.
That’s too bad, because with Kent’s help the Oregon basketball program could very well be considered “big-time” in the next few years.
So coach, when that phone rings and there’s some athletic director from another school on the other end wishing to speak to you, do what your heart tells you to do:
Hang up.