Toughest coaching job? South Florida

[RJWGoBulls]

Toughest coaching job? South Florida

**** Vitale

SPECIAL TO ESPN.COM

Oct. 29, 2004

I recently had the pleasure of spending a day with Rick Harmon, the fine writer from the Tampa Tribune. One of the topics we discussed over breakfast at my favorite place, The Broken Egg , was the toughest coaching job in Division I revenue-producing sports.

My gut feeling is that the toughest one is men's college basketball at the University of South Florida.

Basketball has not caught on at South Florida yet.  

I know that might come as a surprise to some, but think about this: Coach Robert McCullum has a tiresome task ahead of him.

Look at the competition he's already had to face, going 7-20 (1-15 in Conference USA) last season in his first year at the helm. And next season, he has to go to the Big East, with Connecticut, Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame on the slate along with Louisville, Cincinnati, Marquette and DePaul (these C-USA schools are also moving to the Big East).

McCullum has to deal with playing in an environment that, truth be told, is average at best. Basketball has not caught on at South Florida yet, and the program hasn't made the NCAA Tournament since 1992. That spells trouble for recruiting, which is so important in building a program.

For every blue-chip recruit you get the opportunity to try to sign, you hear the news from Connecticut and Syracuse that they latched on to a McDonald's All-America. McCullum is in a difficult situation, and you only hope that the athletic administration understands how tough his task is.

When you look across America and think about tough jobs, what about Vanderbilt's football coach, Bobby Johnson? Playing in the SEC, life for the Commodores is very difficult, competing against the likes of Florida, Tennessee, Georgia and South Carolina in your division, plus LSU, Auburn and Alabama lurking on the other side.

I only hope that the administrators who analyze and evaluate these coaches, as well as the fans who pass judgment on their abilities, take into consideration how difficult their tasks are. It isn't a level playing field, my friends. When coach McCullum walks into the house of a prospect, do you think he's looked at the same way or has the same shot as Jim Calhoun or Jim Boeheim?

Calhoun and Boeheim each have a championship ring (two for Calhoun at UConn). Selling the virtues of South Florida is not as easy as selling the exposure of Connecticut or Syracuse.

Some of us lose sight of that. Here's hoping that good things come McCullum's way. From all the reports I've received, he's a hard worker who is pouring his heart and soul into bringing some pride to the campus he represents. Stay tuned to see how it all plays out when South Florida moves to the Big East next season.

http://espn.go.com/dickvitale/vcolumn041029-South%20Florida.html

[Markeymark]

It can be done - FSU had great success under Pat Kennedy soon after they joined the ACC, and Calhoun built that program into a national champion. In both cases, better conference affiliation enabled the program to move to the forefront.

The problem USF has is lack of resources when compared to other schools competing in the same conference. I don't necessarily see location as a major issue, but it will always be a consideration. Tampa is no different than Tallahassee or Gainesville in that regard.

I think it's still a question as to whether USF hoops will be able to ride the coattails of football and enjoy the benefits of increased revenue, or whether it will be buried as a result of the school moving to the Big East with football.

[GarySJ]

Vitale's article sums up the reality facing anyone who coaches men's basketball at USF. We don't have the tradition or facilities, and we're joining a league where the 15th-place team will be oozing with both.

[Bull Matrix]

Great article by Vitale. USF can be a major story if they start playing well in the BIG EAST. I think it can be done because Miami had some success with Coach Hamilton in the BIG EAST. As a matter of fact, I really believe joing the BIG EAST will help USF more than what we had in the C-USA. The reason I say this is that more $$$$ will be coming in because of the BIG EAST hoops. There is no doubt that the TV money will be huge for USF and the BIG EAST. You see, USF will benefit for being a middle of the pack team in the BIG EAST because of the big conference tourny that will give us expose to recruits in the NORTHEAST.  A middle of a pack team in C-USA just does not get that same exposure as BIG EAST middle of the pack team.  I say the BIG EAST invite pretty much helped USF hoops because USF was not going anywhere in C-USA. BIG EAST will get about 7 or 8 bid to the tourny while the C-USA will be lucky to get 3 bids IMO. You do the math.

[Jim Johnson]

I had the fortune of starting my career at USF in 1990.  Basketball was the only thing going then... but things were going well.

I remember days when the SunDome was packed to the rafters.  Games against Miami, FSU, Florida, and Louisville all sold out.  Things were so great back then, that Denny Crum - Hall of Famer and former head coach of the UofL Cardinals called the Sun Dome "the worst place to play basketball in all of college basketball" - a reference to how rabid our fans can be.

There were games where the fans were cheering so loud that it ACTUALLY hurt.  Stomping on the wooden floors and yelling at the top of our lungs.  We didn't win every home game, but the fans gave us a chance in all of them.

It can happen again.  To be sure, there is competition with football... but the real factor is winning.  Win games, especially a couple big ones, and fans will start to come back.

Moreover, if we win more than we lose in the Big East - we can make the NIT and NCAA.  That will help.  It was hard to get more than 3 or 4 teams from C-USA into the NCAA - but the new Big East could get 7 or 8 every year.

USF won't win the Big East in 2005 -- but in five years, we could be very competitive.

[smazza]

i would pray being a middle of pack in big east and hope we are not the conference doormat

it is far easier building a winning traditon in basketball than football

crm will get it done

[bulls96go]

it will take mac three years to get to 500 in the big east not 5.

in 5 years i see us taking a run at top three in the BE.

[WoolyBully]

Cincinnati

Connecticut      

Georgetown      

Louisville

Notre Dame      

Pittsburgh      

Providence      

Rutgers      

Seton Hall      

St. John's

South Florida      

Syracuse      

Villanova      

West Virginia

In looking over the participants...I think it will take some time to get to middle-of-the-pack.  These aren't just average teams.  They're all very good.  I think five years to get to .500 is fair.

[The Sheriff]

Seth did it in one year at VaTech... why wait five years. We need to be impatient and expect results or pull the plug! My future alumni money needs to be spent winning, not rebuilding year in and year out. We wanted to be in the Big East... now it's time to put up!

[RHBullsFan]

Seth did it in one year at VaTech...

DID WHAT? Miss making the NIT like us?