Say it ain’t so, Nolan
An Associated Press story on SI.com reported Tuesday that Nolan Richardson is talking to Arkansas State about its head basketball coaching position.
“I have visited with them, and I will have some more visitations with the (athletic director) and the chancellor,” Richardson said. “I will have some more dialogue with them here in the next day or so.”
ASU athletics director Dean Lee was an associate AD at Arkansas during part of Richardson’s 19-year tenure as head coach and the two are more than just acquaintances.
well, if he can take ASU to a Final Four, he deserves any accolades that might go his way. Plus, he won’t enjoy Jonesboro as much as Fayetteville….guaranteed!
For his talents as a game coach, Nolan would bring a lot of “baggage” to J’boro as well. If I were part of the powers that be at ASU, I would construct clauses in his contract, limiting his ability to sue the school for any contrived “discrimination.” Being that he’s in his sixties, he doesn’t pose much of a threat to recruiting. As dwp puts it, PEL will build his player base at the UA. Richardson can have the kids that don’t want to graduate.
If Nolan wants to take up the challenge of ASU, I wish him well. He has chosen to make Arkansas his home, and I respect that.
What is ASU’s mascot now? Weren’t they one of the schools that the NCAA forced to change because their mascot was discriminatory against Native Americans? (Seminoles excluded, of course!) And now, Nolan (who I’ve met and really like as a person and a coach) may coach the Indians after starting his career coaching undersized hispanic kids in El Paso (where I lived for 4 yrs), building his fame in the heart of the South, and being fired based on alleged discrimination by the UA.
Oh, the irony! I love it.
I would be concerned about this for the UA though. Nolan and Pel both run similar style of teams and would be competing for the same players in the state. Yes, UA has all the advantages and ASU isn’t even close to the same league, but never underestimate the power of a coach’s reputation.
Nolan at ASU is a very intriguing plot for the state as far as recruiting and media coverage. ASU would definitely start getting some national attention as well. Nolan never recruited ranked athletes by the recruiting services anyway. He went out and looked for his own players that needed to be athletic. Most of the ‘94 group flew under the recruiting radar by most services, with exception of Corliss.
I think Nolan is a great coach. I think deep down he’s a genuinely good person. But, ASU is the perfect job for Nolan now. It would be a place that he could have the continual “chip on the shoulder” and take on “us vs. world” mentality. It will start by him passive- agressively preaching “us vs. the whole state of Arkansas”. It’s the “perfect storm” for him, if you will. He will recruit Memphis players that UMem doesn’t want and coach the daylights out of them.
….interesting, no doubt.
[…] 9). Here’s a profile of Corliss Williamson (Via Expats). Nolan Richardson is talking to Arkansas St. about their Head Coaching position. Some former hogs (including Clint Stoerner) might have their […]