Coaching college basketball is a tough enough job, but when you have third parties involved and incompetent athletic directors it becomes even tougher. Let me just say that I like and respect Eddie Sutton. I even hope he gets his last two wins so that he can reach 800 as a head coach.
However, what Debra Gore Mann, the athletic director at USF, has done is reprehensible. A Jesuit institution that preaches education and the core values of loyalty, honesty and integrity has sadly missed the mark in this situation. I realize that Jessie Evans was having a tough season and may have even had a losing one if he was allowed to finish it off, but to remove him at mid year is not holding true to your core values. Now, it has surfaced that Dana and David Pump, acted as intermiediaries to get the change pushed along. How much did they get paid? What is their connection to Gore-Mann? More importantly, why are they involved at all?
When an athletic director has to operate outside it’s own athletic department than you can bet that is the first sign of losing control. Bringing Sutton in at mid year is no different than what an NBA team would do. The difference is that one is a professional organization and another is an institution of higher learning.
Right now, I can’t tell which is which. Here’s hoping the Dons get two more wins and allow Coach Sutton to ride off into the sunset. Soon after that you can bet that the Pump Brothers will he hired to help Gore-Mann find another coach. Follow the money trail and you will find something that does not belong in college athletics.
