Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 6, 1990 TAG: 9004060211
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
At a hastily called news conference, Barnes announced that he would remain Providence's coach and claimed he had not been offered the Virginia job despite numerous reports to the contrary.
Indeed, Stanford coach Mike Montgomery withdrew his name from consideration after learning Wednesday morning that Barnes was UVa's choice.
Barnes met with Virginia athletic director Jim Copeland on Tuesday, toured the facilities that night and left Charlottesville the next morning. He reportedly not only was offered the job, but gave his conditional acceptance.
Barnes met with Providence officials Wednesday night and Thursday, and he reportedly met with opposition in gaining a release from the final two years of his contract.
According to one report, Providence was seeking heavy compensation from either Virginia or Barnes, who does not have a buyout clause in his contract.
Barnes made no mention of that to the media, saying he reached his decision after looking at a picture of his son.
"There are going to be times when I have to tell him about commitment, loyalty and sacrifice," Barnes said at the news conference in Providence, R.I. "I felt that to say that with conviction, I just had to stay at Providence College."
Barnes became the fourth prospect to make a public withdrawal, following coaches Pete Gillen of Xavier, Bruce Parkhill of Penn State and Montgomery.
Gillen declined an invitation to visit the campus. Parkhill reportedly was contacted early in the process, but decided he could not wait for a decision from Copeland.
Montgomery said Thursday night that he would not be receptive to a second courtship.
"No, sir," Montgomery said. "We're staying at Stanford and this is where we're going to get it done."
So, Virginia's hapless search continues, almost 10 months after 16-year coach Terry Holland announced he would step down following the 1989-90 season to become the athletic director at Davidson, his alma mater.
"It's too bad," said Wally Walker, star of the lone Virginia team to win an ACC Tournament championship, in 1976. "I regret that the job, all of a sudden, has taken on a tarnished hue."
Copeland could not be reached for comment, but issued a statement through the school's sports information office.
"I did engage in serious discussions with Rick Barnes," Copeland said. "His sense of loyalty and ethics were among the things that made him attractive to me, and I believe he determined that he had a commitment to Providence College. I am continuing the process of finding a successor to Terry Holland."
UVa officials had hoped to hold a news conference this weekend, but the only function planned will be the official ground breaking Saturday for the school's new football-support building.
"Doesn't it strike you as sort of an Alphonse-and-Gaston act?" asked Dan Bonner, a television commentator who was the captain of Holland's first team in 1974-75.
"They sort of went into this with the image that Virginia was one of the plum jobs and wouldn't be difficult to fill. I wonder what [Copeland] thinks now? He's about run out of options."
Two of Holland's assistants, Jeff Jones and Craig Littlepage, were interviewed by Copeland during the season. Jones learned of developments with Barnes while in Richmond on Thursday night for an AAU tournament.
Jones said he had not heard from Copeland and would not feel comfortable discussing the situation publicly until he had. Holland reportedly was at a dinner party and could not be reached for comment.
Holland's original choice as a successor was former assistant Dave Odom, but Copeland refused to consider Odom without a search when Holland announced his retirement in June 1989, so Odom agreed to become the head coach at Wake Forest before the 1989-90 season. In the fall, Holland recommended that Copeland either promote from within or hire Barnes.
The fact that Barnes, 35, would visit Charlottesville was considered to be a promising sign for Virginia. Barnes, a Hickory, N.C., native, has had five jobs in six years and was worried about acquiring a bad reputation.
"Rick is not a guy with a tremendously tough shell," said a coach who knows Barnes. "Rick is not the type of guy who, if they busted their butts to make him feel guilty as hell, could walk away from it all."
Providence athletic director John Marinatto, once the Friars' basketball manager, trotted in Dave Gavitt, the Big East commissioner and a former Providence basketball coach, for the final push.
"Rick Barnes was an emotional wreck," said Providence Bulletin-Journal columnist Bill Reynolds, who attended the news conference. "He was right on the edge, and that's no fabrication. They got to him. They really got to him. He wanted the job."
There was no report on the emotional state of Copeland, who remained in Providence for the entire ordeal.
"I've got some real questions about how the search was conducted, by one man without the benefit of a search committee," Bonner said. "I think the success or failure of the new head coach could spell the rise or fall of Jim Copeland."
by CNB