Lavin, Kowalczyk Head Coaching Carousel
Coaching turnover in the collegiate ranks is nothing new, be it basketball or football. So far this year there have been 31 schools who have wound up in need of new head coaches, and 14 of them have been filled already.
Some are coaches switching teams, some are brand new, but two stick out as interesting above the rest.
Ted Kowalczyk saved a mess of a program at Wisconsin-Green Bay and finished in the top four of the Horizon League in every season but his first over eight seasons as their head coach.
Kowalczyk said that he wanted a new challenge, and that he felt he had peaked at UWGB in terms of what he could do with the available resources. He'll certainly get to test his skills at a challenge with better resources, as he heads to a program that is 22-72 over the last three years.
Steve Lavin is another intriguing hire. As coach at UCLA in the late 1990's Lavin compiled a 145-78 record over seven seasons. He was successful on the court, but received various criticisms as lacking in discipline, both as coach and recruiter.
He's been hired by St. Johns, a team that has long been known for not capitalizing on their location in the heart of New York's recruiting hotbed. Lavin has already stated that he feels he can take the team to the tournament, not unrealistic given a senior-laden squad who could have been a lot better with some consistent play.
Of course, coaching is about multiple good seasons, so we'll see if Lavin has learned enough in his time on television to be more than just a, dare we say, Red Flash in the pan?
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