Danny White took over as athletic director last May with an agenda. Rumors about possible changes to the athletic department began to generate immediately, prior to White learning the environment of the university he was about to enter.
Coming from a family line of people involved in collegiate athletics - his father is the AD at Duke -, White decided to extend familial ties from Durham to Buffalo. Following the abrupt dismissal of long-time basketball coach Reggie Witherspoon, White hired a replacement who emerged out of the athletic program his father now runs.
New men's basketball coach Bobby Hurley will bring name recognition to the program and the experience of having played for Mike Krzyzewski - where he won two back-to-back national championships in 1991 and '92. Though Hurley was an accomplished player, he has never before held a head coaching position, so his capacity to win as one is unproven.
Many have expressed the conjecture that because he is such a familiar figure in the basketball community, he will be better equipped to recruit greater talent. The equation then is simple: More talent results in more wins. Many have also made the link that because Hurley has in the past been surrounded by and embedded in an atmosphere of winning, he will be able to take what he has learned from that experience and apply it to his new role at UB.
Meanwhile, the men's basketball team is yet again in the process of rebuilding.
When Witherspoon took over in 1999, it was during the most tumultuous period in the history of the program. Under his predecessor, Tim Cohane, there were recruiting violations that resulted in the Bulls being placed on two years probation. After taking over as the interim head coach, Witherspoon held the position for the next 14 years and is widely credited for restoring character and integrity and establishing a family-like program.
It didn't go without success, either.
Witherspoon had seven winning seasons - four consisting of 20 wins or more. He led the team to four postseason berths: the NIT in 2005 and College Basketball Invitational in 2009, '11 and '12. He is tied for second with Arthur Powell for most career victories in the school with 198 and he earned the respect of other coaches in the Mid-American Conference.
He was able to rebuild the program and did so with the bricks of proper values - including commitment to academics and personal attention to players. His energy reverberated throughout all of Western New York and he became a pillar of the community.
When push came to shove, White slammed the door in his face. He made it clear this decision was to come regardless of the outcome of the season and he declined to comment to the media, aside from one quick interview with The Buffalo News.
As an institution, a university is supposed to conduct itself in a manner congruent with the values it aims to impart. The deed itself is one thing. There are understandable reasons a new AD would feel it was time to try a new coach. But the process is another.
First, Witherspoon should have been allowed to finish out his contract and should not have been deprived of his last year with Javon McCrea - which also included the return of all but one impact player.
Second, there should have been more transparency from White about this decision and he should have given Witherspoon the courtesy of being honest and upfront with him. As Witherspoon has reported, the two had a conversation in September about "the stability and accomplishments of the program." Yet, White later told him that he decided in December he would make a coaching change at the end of the season.
That is not the way a manager should treat a sandwich artist at Subway, let alone the way an AD should treat a coach who has developed a fruitful relationship and emotional attachment to not just a university but an entire region.
Hurley will be inheriting a team that Witherspoon assembled and groomed, one that many feel capable of capturing the MAC title next year. If he does so, he will receive credit for a team that Witherspoon put together.
Best-case scenario, Hurley does great - he might still be gone in no time. This will be one step up the ladder for him to earn the head-coaching job at a school in a more competitive market, such as Duke. White replacing Witherspoon with someone whose possible success comes at the price of transience will not achieve an enduring successful program.
Witherspoon was able to do so in more ways than one.
White came to UB making it clear he was a basketball guy. He played for Notre Dame and assistant coached Ohio to a MAC Championship. While everyone at the university would like to see us claim a championship, that is not the only kind of success we want to see.
What White needs to start articulating to the community is how he defines success.
Email: editorial@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Courtesy of UB Athletics
