Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 13, 1990 TAG: 9004130098
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Doug Doughty
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
In the process, one of the more respected programs in Division I basketball has turned into an object of ridicule.
It's still a good job. If Virginia ever gets around to selecting a new coach, he will have five returning starters, two promising signees, a good conference, patient alumni and, from all indications, a handsome salary.
He won't have the greatest of facilities, but apparently that hasn't been a factor with any of the four candidates who have removed their names from consideration. In fact, two of the prospects pulled out of the running after determining they would not be chosen.
There seems to be some question whether UVa athletic director Jim Copeland actually told Penn State coach Bruce Parkhill that he was not the man. However, it has been well-documented that Stanford coach Mike Montgomery pulled out after being told that Virginia would hire Rick Barnes.
Ah, Rick Barnes. The coach whose staff was recruiting players for Virginia - players who had committed to Providence - while he was still employed by Providence. "I could have told you [about Barnes] before he ever got involved with Virginia," a respected coach said. "He didn't belong there."
Apparently, it was Copeland's fascination and the fascination of some boosters with Barnes that made him the school's No. 1 choice before he ever stepped on campus. Copeland said last week that Xavier coach Pete Gillen was not No. 1 at the time of an interview March 26 at the Pittsburgh airport.
At least one of the reasons Gillen declined an invitation was his reluctance to become involved in a cattle call. It was stressed to him that, even if he accepted the invitation to visit Charlottesville on March 30, there was no guarantee he would get the job. Copeland still had to talk with Barnes and Montgomery.
Why Gillen wasn't at the top of the list is a mystery. Copeland, several sources say, thought Gillen was cocky before meeting him. Where he got that idea, nobody knows. Gillen is unfailingly self-effacing and, for a guy who has averaged 24 victories over the past five seasons, unusually humble.
It is said that Copeland changed his thinking about Gillen after meeting with him for four hours at the Pittsburgh airport. Where he made a mistake was not having the original meeting in Charlottesville. Gillen would have met Copeland in Charlottesville and who knows? Once he got on campus, he might have found UVa irresistible, Mount Copeland notwithstanding.
Mount Copeland is the name that has been given to the huge pile of dirt outside the entrance to University Hall, where construction is under way on a new football support building. Copeland is a former Virginia and Cleveland Browns offensive tackle and the basketball search has not changed impressions that football is his area of expertise.
Copeland hasn't been hung in effigy, but students painted over the Beta Bridge, a university landmark, with the message: Rehire Holland, Fire Copeland. R.I.P. Barnes, Montgomery, Parkhill, Gillen, Odom.
Dave Odom is the former Virginia assistant who was Holland's original choice as a successor. Copeland rejected that recommendation, saying he would need to conduct a search - boy, did he - after which Odom agreed to become the head coach at Wake Forest.
When it looked as if his staff would not be considered, Holland suggested Barnes, a recommendation he probably would like to forget now. But Virginia could have hired Odom or Jeff Jones and spared itself considerable aggravation, if not embarrassment.
The whole thing might have been averted if Copeland and Holland had a better relationship. The friction seems to date from Holland's 11th-hour talks with Virginia concerning the athletic director's job that went to Copeland in 1987.
Whatever the genesis of their problems, it is safe to say that if Holland's relationship with Copeland isn't the reason he's leaving Virginia, it is a major contributing factor.
Once Holland announced his resignation, Copeland's next mistake was in not forming a search committee. There are numerous arguments against a search committee, but in Copeland's case, he needed one for appearances' sake as much as anything.
If there had been a search committee, perhaps somebody would have raised a question about Barnes. Or, at least have suggested that Copeland have a contingency plan in case Barnes got away.
Virginia also could have used a strong president to keep an eye on Copeland. However, Robert O'Neil is on his way out and John Casteen does not take office until Aug. 1. Meanwhile, the Wahoo Valdez keeps running aground.
In hindsight, none of Copeland's moves - by itself - is appalling. Before it's all over, Virginia could get a fine coach. But until then, the college basketball world is howling.
by CNB