Conference tournaments are over and some teams are in and some are not. When you’re not it could mean a “pink slip.” Regular seasons don’t matter anymore, only whether you made post season play.
Jobs that openned on Sunday were TCU, Toledo and Centenary. Stan Joplin had been at Toledo for 12 years. He had a winning record and won the regular season title a couple of times, but never advanced to the NCAA tournament. That spelled doom for him.
At TCU, Neil Doughety went six seasons without a winning season. That was a pretty easy decision. What is surprising is that he got six years.
Both jobs will have the usual suspects. High major assistants and coaches looking to move to a greener pasture. Look for Barry Hinson to be a candidate at TCU. Greg Kampe, a former Toledo assistant, will be in the hunt for the Rockets job if he wants to be.
Another rising star is Pat Flannery of Bucknell (2 NCAA tournament wins) and Ron Hunter. Speaking of Hunter, his team got snubed by the NCAA, NIT and CBI with a 26-7 record. That doesn’t speak well for the Summit League or commisioner Tom Doupal. Quite frankly, it is a travesty that they are not playing in the post-season.
Stay tuned, more openings to come….
