Misfire

On a freezing Buffalo winter Wednesday, Reggie Witherspoon and I were stuck around back Alumni Arena. We were there to watch the University at Buffalo men's basketball team take on Kent State, and apparently, we were there a little too early.

I yanked on the door to no avail. "Locked?" he asked, sporting a tight winter hat. I held in a chuckle at the sight of the bald-headed Witherspoon in a skull cap. We chatted for a few moments - him being his normal, cordial self - before he said, "Come on, follow me."

He knew where to go when it seemed every door was locked. He had been UB's head coach for 14 years, after all. Witherspoon led me around the building to a hidden flight of stairs and took me inside the arena. "Enjoy the game," he said, heading toward his locker room.

I thought to myself: How many Division I coaches would take the time to guide a reporter through an arena - and one who had been very critical of his team in the past, at that - and strike up a lengthy, friendly conversation shortly before a huge conference rivalry game? Probably not many. But Witherspoon could never be categorized among the many.

First-year Athletic Director Danny White sent out a press release at 3:13 p.m. Friday stating Witherspoon had been relieved of his duties as men's basketball head coach. I could not be more dumbfounded.

I have to admit that I am a big Witherspoon proponent. But as much as I like him as a person, this move simply does not make sense from a basketball standpoint.

I have interviewed hundreds if not thousands of athletes and coaches, and I have no doubt he is the most genuine person I have encountered along the way. When I was a young reporter just getting started in the business, I never felt intimidated talking to Witherspoon. Whether it was a one-on-one chat the day after a big win or a major press conference immediately after a season-ending loss, Witherspoon was the same person, full of kindness, patience and competitive drive balanced by perspective.

"Coach 'Spoon was like a father figure to me," said Titus Robinson, a forward who graduated in 2012 and now plays professionally in Australia. "He wanted us to be more than just basketball players. He wanted us to grow into men while we were under him at UB. I really couldn't believe that he was released. Hard to think of Buffalo basketball without Coach 'Spoon."

I realize all the anecdotes and emotional arguments in the world are meaningless in this situation; college sports are a business, and good people get fired all the time. But Witherspoon was more than a good person. He was a great coach.

Before I get into defending Witherspoon, let's talk about White's other recent major contract decision: resigning head football coach Jeff Quinn in November. If you want my full thoughts on the situation, you can read my column "Solving the Quinn conundrum." Here's the short version: The Bulls have gone 9-27 in Quinn's three years, and White signed Quinn to an extension through 2017.

Some have defended the decision by saying White is being patient with UB's coaches and letting them prove themselves. I could have gotten on board with that, but now that Witherspoon is gone, that logic no longer works.

The only other major defense? White extended Quinn to attract recruits. Why would an athlete commit to a school in which the coach has an expiring contract? White needed to extend Quinn so recruits would come aboard. (Rivals.com ranked UB's next recruiting class, the first since the Quinn extension, as tied for last in Division I.) That argument works for basketball, too, though. Why will any of UB's recruits - including promising guard Shannon Evans - stay at UB? That logic also dissipates.

In this case, on the surface, it appears White extended Quinn because he likes him and fired Witherspoon because he doesn't like him. If you look at the coaches' records, the decisions certainly were not based on win percentage. That doesn't seem like a sage decision to me.

UB sports are traditionally known as a laughingstock. The Bulls' shining moments have been few and far between, and in the rare case of success - such as the football team's 2008-09 MAC Championship - it has never been consistent. It will come for a year, then the team will return to mediocrity or bottom-feeding.

Not men's basketball. Under Witherspoon's tutelage, the men's basketball team had four 20-win seasons (an impressive tally for any college squad) and made two MAC Championship games. Year in and year out, the Bulls have been among the best in the MAC.

It took Witherspoon a while to get going, of course. In his first four years, the Bulls went a putrid 24-85 (.220). It was no surprise back then, though. The Bulls were accustomed to coming in last place; losing was just a thing that didn't change at UB.

Nick Mendola covers Buffalo sports for several media outlets and he is a UB alumnus. Earlier today, he tweeted: "I think a lot of #UBBulls students don't appreciate how bad the program was when 'Spoon took over. Disaster is a harsh & unfortunate term."

Witherspoon stuck around and grinded it out. He brought in the players he wanted and implemented his system and continued to be the positive, gregarious person he has always been at UB.

From 2003-13, the team went 173-140 (.553). There were down years, to be sure. The Bulls had losing records three times in that stretch - one of those times being this year (14-20).

The two other losing years came from 2006-08. Then-Athletic Director Warde Manuel (now AD at UConn) knew what he was doing, though. He knew patience, as they say, is a virtue. He knew hastily getting rid of Witherspoon - a man who built the program - would be ill-advised.

So he kept the coach around. The next year after that two-year stretch (2009), the Bulls went 21-12, finished tied for first in the MAC and made it to the conference championship game.

College basketball will always be a game of year-to-year fluctuations. We're seeing it firsthand this year: Even reigning champion Kentucky is struggling mightily. You might say, "That's because the Wildcats lost almost all of their top players!" To that I reply that the same situation unfolded at UB.

Robinson, Mitchell Watt, Dave Barnett, Zach Filzen and Jarod Oldham (gone almost the entirety of the season with a wrist injury) were not on the court this year. That meant Witherspoon had to deal with losing five of his top players. That meant he had to coach a ridiculously inexperienced team - complete with a true freshman starting point guard and a No. 2 scorer who had not played college basketball in two years and had never played real minutes - and he still took the Bulls to the brink of the MAC semifinals.

I think that says something. As it was in 2008-09, the Bulls had to go through that down time - which everyone, even Kentucky, endures - to gain experience and prepare for a great year. Fans believed that was supposed to be next season. The 2013-14 season has been the one everyone has been waiting for since Javon McCrea arrived on campus.

For three years, Witherspoon has poured himself into making McCrea "the guy" - and if you saw McCrea's jumper as a freshman, you know how much work it has taken. Now it's McCrea's time to shine as his senior year approaches, and if you look at the MAC landscape, the Bulls' roster looks as prime as any to make a title run.

The Bulls were never expected to compete this year. They lost five huge contributors (including the 2011-12 MAC Player of the Year, Watt) while other top squads (Akron and Ohio) returned virtually everybody. But next year, well, that was going to be the year. Good luck doing that with a new coach and entirely new system.

Now UB's program is in disarray. Nobody around UB Athletics seems pleased with this decision, and the impression I have gotten is that nobody saw it coming. They were blindsided, and White is not going to explain himself - he refuses to do any interviews or comment beyond his press release.

Does White really think the Bulls have a better shot at a championship next season with a new coach? And does he really think it's worth paying the buy-out on the three years remaining on Witherspoon's contract (amount has not yet been released) because arguably the most iconic coach in school history is that much of a liability?

Witherspoon, and likely his experienced staff, will not be back. I am not sure the players will stick around either. Who is to fault that freshman point guard, Jarryn Skeete, if he decides he'd rather run the offense wherever Witherspoon ends up? Who is to fault McCrea if he decides to take his immense talent and NBA potential to a major conference?

Let's remember why McCrea chose UB over big-time schools like Georgetown in the first place, anyway: Witherspoon. McCrea and his mother, Shannon Nash, loved Witherspoon. They trusted him, and for that reason, McCrea became the biggest recruit in UB history.

Even Witherspoon's first recruiting class was legendary: Turner Battle, Jason Bird, Mark Bortz and Daniel Gilbert. For years, UB has trusted Witherspoon, and for years, it has resulted in the only consistently successful major program at the school. Apparently, that is not enough.

If you're going to fire a Buffalo legend - a man who grew up in the area, was a ball boy at UB and coached at Sweet Home and ECC before UB - you had better at least give him a chance to prove himself. Give him a fair shake. If he does poorly next year, then it might be time to let him go, but he did a solid coaching job even this year to salvage what little he had to work with.

In 2005, Witherspoon told The Spectrum: "I'm a Western New York guy. My wife graduated from here, and my brother graduated from here, my father in law, my brother in law. My roots are really here. But my grandpa said, 'Don't ever say what you'll never do,' so I won't say that I'll never leave. But I would first like to lift this program to a Top 25 level instead of just leaving and going somewhere else where it's already been done."

The University at Buffalo athletic department has come to this decision a little too early. Danny White has left a school legend out in the cold.

Witherspoon knows his way around, so he'll find direction. I'm not sure UB will do the same.

Email: aaron.mansfield@ubspectrum.com