Published 2008-11-12T00:00:00Z”/>

Thomas Lawrence

Over the past few years, the departures of Lute Olson and Bobby Knight from Division I basketball have provided a sample of coaching swings that make the situation at Chico State seem not so tough after all.

Longtime men’s basketball head coach Puck Smith and women’s head coach Molly Goodenbour, head of the 2007-2008 California Collegiate Athletic Association champions, are both out the door.

Up-and-comers Brian Fogel, the head assistant under Goodenbour last season, and Greg Clink have taken over the women’s and men’s teams, respectively.

They are taking over different situations. The men’s team floundered in CCAA play under Smith last year, finishing last, and the women’s team took the regular season and conference titles, advancing to the NCAA West Regional tournament.

Both Smith’s and Goodenbour’s departures are routine to college basketball. Despite the worries that arise from a fresh men’s squad and a women’s squad depleted by the loss of senior players, one must keep a level head about the situation.

For example, before last season, University of Arizona head coach Olson decided to take the season off for personal reasons that were undisclosed to the public but widely rumored to be health problems.

Kevin O’Neill took over, a complete opposite to Olson in many ways with his focus on defense, and the team with the longest streak of reaching the NCAA tournament struggled to do just that.

And just a few weeks ago, out of the blue Olson officially retired from college basketball, leaving the University of Arizona head coaching job to inexperienced assistant Russ Pennell. It came out about a week later that Olson had suffered a stroke at some point in the past year and wasn’t quite himself.

A couple of states east, infamous disciplinarian Knight called it quits out of nowhere at Texas Tech in the middle of the season.

No chance for his athletic department to search for a long-term replacement or even suitable interim coach – absolutely inexcusable unless an illness like Olson’s ensues.

This nationally known drama should provide some tranquility to those who worry about the hardwood heroes at Chico State.

Sure, a new set of faces and a young, relatively inexperienced Clink may lead to another abysmal season for the Wildcats, but the defensive, tough-minded culture Clink is implementing will have pivotal long-term effects on the men’s program.

And Fogel is a deserving replacement for Goodenbour and has Division II coaching experience at UC Davis. Fogel already knows the returning players from last year’s squad and will soon be able to recruit his own batch of players.

The women’s team is predicted to repeat as CCAA champs and there isn’t a reason why it won’t be able to, come March.

Things might be unstable from time to time this year at Acker Gym, but don’t fret, the college basketball transitional phase going on at Chico State is nothing to lose sleep over.

Thomas Lawrence can be reached at<a href= “mailto:[email protected]”>[email protected]</a>