DATE: Thursday, March 20, 1997              TAG: 9703200420

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: TOM ROBINSON

                                            LENGTH:  123 lines

CAN COACHING PHILOSOPHY BRIDGE THE GENDER GAP?

Telling them was the worst part. Tom Palombo had just gotten the chance he's wished for, to coach men's college basketball. The trouble was, he was already a women's basketball coach. At the same college.

Palombo, a Virginia Beach native, had a great team at Defiance College in Ohio, one that advanced to the final eight of the NCAA's Division III women's tournament the last two seasons.

He had all but two players returning next year. He and the Lady Jackets performed before crowds averaging 1,200, the best in Division III this season. The Defiance men, meanwhile, won seven games and averaged about 1,000 fewer fans.

So, of course, telling his women Tuesday that he was moving across the gym, that he had accepted the Defiance men's job, was heartbreaking.

But what could he do? Palombo, who played basketball at Virginia Wesleyan, got into women's basketball only because he was dying to coach anybody and Wesleyan offered him its job in 1991, on an interim basis, at midseason.

At the time, he pursuing his master's degree at Old Dominion and working part-time as a Virginian-Pilot sports writer.

But coaching men, not writing about them, was his long-term goal, even as he went to Defiance three years ago to build a nationally ranked program that has lost two games in two seasons and that has energized a campus of 900 and the town of Defiance (pop. 18,000).

Yet, when Palombo, 30, called about men's jobs elsewhere in Division III, his level of choice, it was rare that anyone called back. Maybe his women's success didn't carry any weight, or maybe some sorts of stereotypes were at work.

Whatever, when Defiance men's coach Marv Hohenberger quit after 32 seasons and he was asked to take over, Palombo knew his chance was at hand. He said he thought twice, but in the end, with his options limited, he knew he had to make the switch.

``There were a lot of upset people,'' Palombo said of the team meeting at which he broke the news. ``It was hard on me to explain to them that coaching men was my goal, that they shouldn't feel second-rate or like they were my second choice, because that's not the case.

``I think it would be great to stay and try to win a national championship, because they're capable of doing it. But I'd be afraid that five years from now, what I really want to be doing is coaching men's basketball and I wouldn't get the opportunity. I figured this was the best opportunity I'm ever going to get.''

For sure, it is a unique situation. Nobody knows how many other women-to-men transplants there have been, but it's safe to say not many.

William ``Speedy'' Morris coached the La Salle University women for two seasons in the mid-'80s before taking over the La Salle men, and the La Salle people think Morris is the only Division I coach to do it.

Also, Fred Carter was the women's coach at Mount St. Mary's, and a few years later was coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, though not without first serving as a Sixers assistant.

But sound basketball is basketball, and Palombo wants to make it clear that he can teach it equally well to males and females.

More than that, he is sure he can boost fan interest in the men, as he did with Defiance's women, with the pressing, fast-paced style he favors.

Probably, though, it'll take some extra convincing of Ohio skeptics, particularly if Palombo's Yellow Jackets start poorly next season.

``People might look at it that way - `Oh, he can only coach women' - but I'm comfortable enough with my ability as a coach to get the job done,'' Palombo said.

``I thought about all that before I made my decision. And I believe I can do it.''

Telling them was the worst part. Tom Palombo had just gotten the chance he's wished for, to coach men's college basketball. The trouble was, he was already a women's basketball coach. At the same college.

Palombo, a Virginia Beach native, had a great team at Defiance College in Ohio, one that advanced to the final eight of the NCAA's Division III women's tournament the last two seasons.

He had all but two players returning next year. He and the Lady Jackets performed before crowds averaging 1,200, the best in Division III this season. The Defiance men, meanwhile, won seven games and averaged about 1,000 fewer fans.

So, of course, telling his women Tuesday that he was moving across the gym, that he had accepted the Defiance men's job, was heartbreaking.

But what could he do? Palombo, who played basketball at Virginia Wesleyan, got into women's basketball only because he was dying to coach anybody and Wesleyan offered him its job in 1991, on an interim basis, at midseason.

At the time, he pursuing his master's degree at Old Dominion and working part-time as a Virginian-Pilot sports writer.

But coaching men, not writing about them, was his long-term goal, even as he went to Defiance three years ago to build a nationally ranked program that has lost two games in two seasons and that has energized a campus of 900 and the town of Defiance (pop. 18,000).

Yet, when Palombo, 30, called about men's jobs elsewhere in Division III, his level of choice, it was rare that anyone called back. Maybe his women's success didn't carry any weight, or maybe some sorts of stereotypes were at work.

Whatever, when Defiance men's coach Marv Hohenberger quit after 32 seasons and he was asked to take over, Palombo knew his chance was at hand. He said he thought twice, but in the end, with his options limited, he knew he had to make the switch.

``There were a lot of upset people,'' Palombo said of the team meeting at which he broke the news. ``It was hard on me to explain to them that coaching men was my goal, that they shouldn't feel second-rate or like they were my second choice, because that's not the case.

``I think it would be great to stay and try to win a national championship, because they're capable of doing it. But I'd be afraid that five years from now, what I really want to be doing is coaching men's basketball and I wouldn't get the opportunity. I figured this was the best opportunity I'm ever going to get.''

For sure, it is a unique situation. Nobody knows how many other women-to-men transplants there have been, but it's safe to say not many.

William ``Speedy'' Morris coached the La Salle University women for two seasons in the mid-'80s before taking over the La Salle men, and the La Salle people think Morris is the only Division I coach to do it.

Also, Fred Carter was the women's coach at Mount St. Mary's,

and a few years later was coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, though not without first serving as a Sixers assistant.

But sound basketball is basketball, and Palombo wants to make it clear that he can teach it equally well to males and females.

Probably, though, it'll take some extra convincing of Ohio skeptics, particularly if Palombo's Yellow Jackets start poorly next season.

``People might look at it that way - `Oh, he can only coach women' - but I'm comfortable enough with my ability as a coach to get the job done,'' Palombo said. ``I thought about all that before I made my decision. And I believe I can do it.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo

Palombo

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