Even in the best possible situations, elite college basketball teams have struggled -- often disastrously so -- after losing their head coach to a medical leave.
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| Rick Pitino's absence, however brief, could point to bad things down the road for Louisville.(Getty Images) |
The No. 4 Cardinals will have to make do, though, with Rick Pitino's announcement Monday that he will miss an indefinite number of games while seeking treatment for what he called "excruciating pain" in his lower left side.
Pitino turned over the Cardinals (15-1) to assistant Kevin Willard. At 28, Willard is believed to be the youngest acting coach in Division I, and his promotion comes six days after he pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol.
Willard will try to keep Louisville among the nation's elite, something more veteran assistants have not been able to do in similar situations:
- Two years ago, Syracuse was 8-0 and No. 9 in the country when Jim Boeheim left to undergo prostate surgery. Under longtime assistant Bernie Fine, the Orangemen beat Hofstra before losing blowouts to unranked Georgia Tech and N.C. State, the latter at home. Nine days early, Boeheim returned to lead Syracuse past South Florida, but the damage was done; Syracuse lost 13 of its final 28 games and failed to reach the NCAA Tournament.
- In 1994-95, Duke was 9-3 and ranked No. 11 in the country when Mike Krzyzewski underwent season-ending back surgery. Under 12-year Krzyzewski aide Pete Gaudet, Duke went 4-15 and suffered its only NCAA Tournament miss of the past 20 years. Gaudet was inappropriately saddled with the 4-15 record, and the episode's strain caused he and Coach K to part ways. Today, Gaudet is an Ohio State women's assistant.
- Last season Connecticut was 13-4 when Jim Calhoun underwent prostate surgery. In the first game under veteran assistant George Blaney, the Huskies lost 95-74 to sub-.500 Virginia Tech. Blaney led the team to a 3-2 mark, all in the Big East, and the Huskies went 4-1 in league play after Calhoun's return.
Willard obviously doesn't have the experience of Fine, Gaudet or Blaney, though he has spent seven seasons with Pitino -- which makes him the most experienced assistant on staff. Former NBA star Reggie Theus is in his first year, while Vince Taylor is in his sixth season overall and third with Pitino.
Willard's debut is Wednesday against visiting Houston, apparently without his best two players. At the press conference Monday night, Pitino indicated starting guards Francisco Garcia (ankle) and Taquan Dean (groin), who were hobbled Sunday against Tennessee, won't be available.
The schedule doesn't get any easier. In fact, a home game with Houston is the easiest-looking game on the rest of Louisville's schedule.
That said, Louisville fans may want to heed the ominous words of former South Florida coach Seth Greenberg in December 2001, before his team played the reeling Orangemen.
"They lost their leader, and nothing against Bernie ... but it's different," Greenberg told the St. Pete Times. "The hammer's gone."
