Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 7, 1990 TAG: 9003071891
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Bill Brill
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
In a few weeks, perhaps less than that, Jim Copeland will end what has been, for the most part, a one-man search for Terry Holland's successor.
Copeland, the UVa athletic director, has been straight forward about the whole thing. Since Holland announced nearly nine months ago he was leaving to return to Davidson as its athletic director, Copeland has been the man who will make the decision.
He has gone about it the right way. Copeland understands that his reputation is on the line. If the coach fails, he will have failed.
There are a lot of eager coaches out there who want to come to Charlottesville. Even more than Copeland anticipated, and he knew that UVa's membership in the Atlantic Coast Conference made this an opportunity that few would refuse.
For starters, ACC jobs simply don't come open very often, and almost never unless the coach has been asked to leave because of improprieties. Four schools, including UVa, had the same coach for the decade of the '80s. Bobby Cremins has been at Georgia Tech for nine years.
Maryland and Wake Forest have new coaches, but Lefty Driesell was at College Park for 17 years and would have remained until retirement. Only Carl Tacy, who stayed at Wake Forest for 13 seasons, left voluntarily.
So UVa fans realistically expect their next coach to stay a long time. And, because this simply is the way it is, a lot of people want Copeland to hire somebody who will be an even better coach than Holland.
That is unfair. Holland has been the best coach UVa ever had. It's not even close. His overall record in Charlottesville is 323-172. In the ACC, it's 111-103. More important, in NCAA Tournament and NIT play, Holland is a sparkling 22-11. He has taken two teams to the Final Four and one to the final eight, and in 1980, he won the NIT.
However, because Holland's lone ACC title was in 1976, when the Cavaliers were seeded seventh, and because he never won a league or national championship with Ralph Sampson, there always is the presumption he could have won more.
The collective attitude among UVa fans about Terry Holland would go something like this: Gentleman; ran a clean program; terrific bench coach; didn't recruit well, especially among in-state blue-chippers.
Guilty as charged.
There is one school of thought that says the new UVa coach should be up-tempo, maybe like a Rick Pitino. Persons of that belief feel methodical, defense-oriented play has hurt in recruiting.
There is another element, which theorizes that Holland himself is too dull, too straight-laced, to be a successful recruiter. That group simply doesn't know the man. It may be accurate that Holland has been too candid with some recruits, refusing to make promises about playing time that others might at least imply.
Regardless, if Holland has not succeeded in any way - this does not mean he has failed - it is that he hasn't recruited as many touted superstars as some other schools in the area. It is, he concedes, his greatest frustration.
Holland discusses the issue straight-forwardly. "What we're facing in Duke, North Carolina and Georgetown are three very powerful programs," he said. All have recruited star players from the Old Dominion.
"Even if it's just tradition, they have enough pulling power [in recruiting]," he said.
They are very different. Georgetown's John Thompson is a forceable figure. With somebody like Alonzo Mourning, he's almost impossible to beat, and certainly not by UVa.
Dean Smith not only has his own reputation and that of his school's program, but also the Dean Dome. That is a formidable challenge.
If there is one person the typical UVa fan would like to see in Charlottesville, it's the next Mike Krzyzewski. The assumption is that while Duke has obvious assets, Krzyzewski pretty much built the program on his own, and while so doing, whipped UVa 16 straight times, often with athletes from the state of Virginia.
What is realistic at Virginia?
Holland talks about the support that UVa basketball has received. The seats are sold in University Hall, but they often are not filled. He talks about the blue-collar backing that Clemson and Penn State football have, comparing it to the very affluent, white-collar mentality in U-Hall.
He is told that UVa basketball is not seen as a happening, as it might be elsewhere, and he does not disagree.
While Virginia - the university - has changed noticeably in recent years, there is still the image problem. Holland said he believes many inner-city blacks feel estranged from the school, a situation that doesn't exist in rural areas. If Cornel Parker, from Norfolk, plays at Virginia next season, he will represent a recruiting break-through.
Holland has been vocal about the lack of financial support for the basketball program, notably as it concerns facilities.
U-Hall not only is the smallest arena within the ACC, but Holland says it is run down. "The place is dirty," he said. "You've got to have facilities that are nice. I'm not saying that we should build [a new arena], but we did not do the little things we should have done."
Holland talks about Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium, 50 years old but refurbished within the past two seasons. "Duke has turned a negative into a positive," he said.
Copeland concedes something must be done cosmetically at U-Hall. A new arena has been authorized for UVa, but no timetable has been set to begin the fund-raising campaign. Copeland is telling all coaching contacts not to consider a new building as a possible reason for interest in this job.
So where does UVa stand?
It is losing its best coach. But it is possible that a replacement, with a different style, could bring a greater sense of excitement to Virginia basketball.
Ultimately, however, the coach will have to win. They love Pitino in Kentucky now, but in the near future, 14-14 won't be good enough. That always is the way, no matter how imposing the competition.
Since Holland is so respected as a floor coach, since his legacy has been to win most often as an underdog, even his greatest critic can't expect the new man to be better at Xs and Os.
Therefore, the fan emphasis has dwelled on up-tempo play and recruiting.
Duke found Krzyzewski when nobody knew who he was. That's what the UVa faithful expect out of Copeland, who has had plenty of time to scour the field.
Considering the quality of man that UVa is losing, Copeland needed that search period. A lot of coaches out there want UVa. But which of them is Mr. Right?
by CNB