OStateIllustrated.com - Just how good a job is it?

April 3, 2008

Justin Wilmeth
OStateIllustrated.com Editor

Sit a spell, children, it's story time.

There's been a certain buzz lately about a job. It's a position that just opened. It's a position that those "in the know" believe is a good job, but not a great job. It's a post those people say that only two have seen success at. It's a job that, they say, won't attract the high-level candidates. Basically, these people feel like the job is really tough, that no one would want it and, if someone fills it, they will have a huge mountain to climb to be successful.

What job is it?

No, I'm not talking about replacing Mike Rowe on "Dirty Jobs." The job in question here is the head coaching job of the Oklahoma State basketball program.

If your only source for information within the borders of the Sooner state is television, newspaper or radio, you are probably running around with your head cut off worried about the future of OSU hoops. After all, when you've just cut ties with a family largely responsible for the resurgence of the program, which was directly tied to the first guy who originally made it the program it is, I could understand the reason for concern.

But there's a lot more to this situation than that. And those standard media outlets are underestimating things. More on that in a bit.

Allow me to take an aside for a moment. As many of you know, I went to OSU. That's where I cut my teeth learning about journalism and covering the Cowboys for The Daily O'Collegian. I've had the privilege of writing for OStateIllustrated.com for the past three years. Even with my OSU background, I've always treated this position seriously and approached it with the most neutrality as humanly possible. Sometimes I write stuff people like because it's positive. Other times, not-so-positive stuff is posted and I hear negative comments. But that's the way it goes in this field. I'm not writing to win friends and influence people. I do it because I genuinely love the field and want to bring OSU fans the best coverage possible. At the end of the day, I think I do a fair job presenting things in an even-handed manner.

Why mention all that? Because most of the "established" media members in Oklahoma have ties to another school in this state. Which is totally fine, by the way. That was their choice. Many of them do a good job covering sports in this state in an even-handed way. Bob Barry, Jr. is one of those. So is Berry Tramel. Unfortunately, there are others who aren't as neutral. And they all have a pulpit to opine about the OSU basketball coaching search. And they're all taking advantage of that stage.

OK, back on topic. With that as a background, many of the people I've heard in the media establishment are telling their viewers/listeners/readers that OSU isn't a top-level job, which is true. But they're also spreading something which is un-true, and that is that the job isn't super-great, either, only fair. Or solid. Or pretty good. But nothing more.

And why is that? I don't know. It could be their own personal biases coming through. It could be their honest take on things. Whatever the reasoning, it seems kind of goofy to me.

The fact is, after the super-huge, mass-traditional schools named Indiana, Duke, North Carolina, UCLA, Kansas and Kentucky, OSU is arguably one of the top basketball schools in the nation in overall tradition. Those other schools are top-level, A jobs. They're the ultimate destination for just about any coach in the game. As for OSU? They're on that next level. I call it the B+ level. They're amongst a group of schools with very solid tradition, just not on the level above. Let me elaborate.

First, a few facts about the OSU basketball program:

? 2 national championships
? 6 Final Fours
? 22 NCAA Tournament appearances

Those are some pretty gaudy numbers, right? In the college basketball landscape, they're some of the best.

Those two national titles? Only five schools have more (UCLA - 11, Kentucky - 7, Indiana - 5, North Carolina - 4, Duke - 3). But where's Kansas? Tied with OSU. Yup, all those Rock Chalks and only two titles to show for it.

How about those Final Fours? Only eight schools have more than the Pokes.

Those tourney appearances? OSU ranks in the top 20 in that category. (By the way, there are over 300 Div. I schools now.)

That's an impressive program legacy, no matter how you cut it.

On top of that, the program has respect amongst the national media. ESPN.com recently ran a story about OSU being named the 15th most-valuable program by Forbes Magazine. A few years ago, CBS Sportsline named Gallagher-Iba Arena the top collegiate arena in the country.

Yet supposed sports "experts" believe OSU isn't a top 20 job. Is it an elite job? No, but it's not the pauper program some would suggest. It's a very solid, near-elite school overall. Have there been some dry spans? Absolutely. But every program sees its share of ups and downs.

That gets us back to the issue at hand: What kind of coach will consider OSU? A wide array, I can assure you. Really good, established coaches will. Great coaches will. Young up-and-coming coaches will lust after the chance. Mike Holder will get plenty of bites. All you have to do is factor in the tradition of the program's history, the ability to go far in the tournament, a stunning facility known as one of the best, if not the best, and an athletic department which will support the program as well as any in the nation.

The point I'm getting at is this: Don't believe what the media moguls in this state are telling you. Bear in mind that at this point last year, many of those same voices were sure that the John Calipari era was set to begin in Norman.

OSU might not attract coaches that have won a national title yet, but ones with Final Fours on their resume are definitely possibilities. Those media types might think they have it all figured out, but judging from what has been put out there so far, most have proven they're not close to the situation at hand.

This should be an interesting search and seeing the kind of success that Holder has had in past endeavors makes me think that any name out there is a possibility. Others can choose to think whatever seems acceptable to them. Very soon, we'll all know what transpires.

Justin Wilmeth is the editor of OSI. He can be reached via e-mail at justin@ostate.com.

FEATURED PRODUCT