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Tribune | Star
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Tribune | Star
Tribune |
We never really thought it could happen, but it looks like Terry Holland
is very close to accepting an offer to coach Minnesota - at a cool 1,000,000
per year. While we're frankly not sure he's the ideal choice, we can
safely say this: Terry Holland will have nothing at all to do with sleazy
practices, whether in academics, or recruiting, or with boosters.
And
maybe our first impulse was wrong: Minnesota has had three straight coaches
screw it up and get canned over various scandals, and yes Holland will not be a
willing party to any of that. But part of the reason why they've struggled
with scandals is because a) there is a very clear ambition in place, and b)
Minnesota has some limitations not shared by some of the other Big 10
schools.
Sound familiar? Sounds vaguely like UVa to us(with less delusions of
grandeur of course).
We're guessing that the brutal weather and the smallish state population
makes it difficult to get good players in. The way to compensate for that
is the way Richmond, under Dick Tarrance, and UVa, under Terry Holland did it -
smart players executing very very well. If he actually takes the job, then
the very best of luck to him. It seems unnatural for Holland to be in
Minnesota, but the game needs ethical coaches, and he is that. Some reporters
are perilously close to suggesting that winning
by cheating is better than losing with Holland. But come on: the guy
had one really great player at UVa in Sampson. Other than that he had a lot of
guys like Andrew Kennedy, Othell Wilson, Tom Sheehey, and other
mediocrities.
One other note: how will Joel Pryzbilla take to Holland, who, after all,
produced a 3 time Player of the Year in Ralph "Stick" Sampson?