I admit this is a surprise. Like many people, I assumed Coach Wilson would get at least one season in the new arena. But that was not to be.
MK Bower rips the Owls for the move, and I certainly understand where he's coming from. This move was years in coming, and probably should have happened years ago. The fans have been unhappy with Wilson for a long time. His teams have had a very hard time winning big games - I don't think they ever won more than one game in a conference tournament - were terrible on the road, and often looked unprepared on the floor. Attendance has been way down, even in the good years. Had Chris Del Conte been the Athletic Director longer, Wilson likely would have been shown the door earlier.
Like a lot of posters on the Rice fan forum, I have genuinely mixed feelings about this. By all accounts, Coach Wilson was and is a fine person, a loyal Rice alumnus, and a squeaky-clean coach who graduated his players. I'm very sad to see him get fired, and I wish him, his family, and his assistant coaches nothing but the best in the future. But it's been time for a change for awhile. Del Conte had a difficult choice to make, and I respect him for making it. I look forward to seeing who he hires to lead the team in the Tudor era.
Posted by Charles Kuffner on March 15, 2008 to Other sports** I admit this is a surprise. Like many people, I assumed Coach Wilson would get at least one season in the new arena. **
Why?
Chris Del Conte had refused to give Wilson any sort of assurance about his job all season long, which was a pretty strong indicator he was toast.
After putting together competitive teams for years despite the recruiting disadvantages of playing in the Autry Toilet, Wilson (in my view) had earned one crappy year (especially given the unique circumstances of this year, when injuries and playing every game away from home effectively just killed his team), and a chance to recruit and play at least one year in the revamped arena.
Despite being undermanned this year, Rice played hard. They just didn't have enough healthy bodies to be competitive under the circumstances. But I think Wilson deserves some credit for the way they played, even though people who don't really follow local hoops closely probably won't give him any.
One good thing about it will be that all that earlier whining about Todd Graham and loyalty can now stop. Chris Del Conte really can't lecture anyone about loyalty after this lame move.
It's unlikely, but I'd love it if Tom Penders could find a way to add WW to his staff. He would be an asset.
Posted by: Kevin Whited on March 15, 2008 9:55 AMAs I said, this was a long time coming. There are a lot of people who thought he should have been fired for failing to make it to the NCAA tournament with the McKrieth/Harris/Gillesipie trio (and Morris Almond as a soph). Take the three seasons from 2002-2005 out, and frankly Wilson's record is highly mediocre. And this is far from his first crappy season.
I've watched many, many games at Autry over the years. It was extremely frustrating to see the team never live up to the promise it always seemed to have. At some point you have to wonder what else can be done about it.
I agree the team played hard this year. I agree he's been a good recruiter. I agree that Autry would hold most coaches back, though it's not like there aren't plenty of bad facilities and recruiting challenges out there - you think Mark Few had it easy at Gonzaga before they became a household name? The point is that at some point a coach has to produce results, and Wilson never did in 16 seasons. How much left was there to prove?
Finally, regarding loyalty: Wilson interviewed for many other jobs in recent years - it was practically a running joke on the fan forum how Andy Katz would mention him as a candidate for every opening that came along. It's to his credit that he chose to stay, but no one would have wished him ill had he taken one of those other jobs.
I wish Willis Wilson all the best. And I think this change was for the best.
Posted by: Charles Kuffner on March 15, 2008 1:59 PMWillis Wilson is not the problem. The problem is that Rice has no business trying to compete in big-time intercollegiate athletics. The university loses $10 million a year on football. It can't recruit top rate talent in basketball and football because of the academic standards. This is a losing battle. Rice is never going to be competitve in athletics.
Posted by: Paul Burka on March 16, 2008 10:59 PMForgot to mention that I'm a Rice graduate and former Rice Thresher sports editor.
Posted by: Paul Burka on March 16, 2008 11:01 PM