by Dennis Freeland
his being Memphis,
the subject had to come up. Does the University of Memphis have to hire
an African-American head coach to replace Larry Finch?
Evidently athletic director R.C. Johnson and school president V. Lane Rawlins believe they do. After rejections from Tulsa's Steve Robinson and Colorado's Ricardo Patton, two young black coaches, the university has turned its attention to University of New Orleans head coach Tic Price, also an African American.
This may be penitence for having fired local hero Larry Finch, but it appears university officials have misread public sentiment. The outrage over Finch's firing is not racial. Finch always had as much, if not more, support from white fans as blacks. Even after it became apparent that Finch needed more fans in the stands to save his job, the black community didn't buy more tickets. And the crowd that ringed the arena floor hoping to shake Finch's hand before the Cincinnati game was predominantly white.
So who will the university appease by hiring a black coach to replace Finch? Absolutely no one. Listen to Leonard Draper, Finch's closest friend and confidant: "I think they just need to hire a qualified coach. This should not be a racial situation, this should be about equal opportunity."
Draper is upset with the way Finch was treated by the university. He says he will no longer support the school no matter who is hired as coach.
"I think that African-American people have a way of responding when there's the perception that one of their own has been mistreated," Draper says. "That's why I say they might as well bite the bullet and hire the best-qualified coach. They're not going to pacify the black community by hiring a black coach."
Memphis fans want a coach who can recruit good players, maintain the program's leadership position in Conference USA, and make regular trips to the NCAA tournament. Skin color is secondary to most Tiger fans.
Yes, some African Americans might cry "racism" if the new coach is white, especially if his experience is limited to one or two years, as was the case with both Robinson and Patton. It will be difficult for die-hard Finch supporters to accept an unproven young coach making twice as much money as Finch, but that's where we're headed.
Why isn't the school conducting a color-blind search? Because they're afraid of alienating the black community, afraid of an organized protest that might cripple recruiting in both basketball and football. The University of Memphis may pass on Kevin Stallins, Steve Alford, and Mack McCarthy. Thus the school has now come full circle: White coaches need not apply.
Regardless of whom they hire -- and we believe Price will have the job by week's end -- Job One at the U of M is to unify a deeply divided fan base. The new coach should understand that he is following a man who played an important role at the school and throughout the city over a period that spanned more than two decades.
Some will have a hard time accepting a new coach, black or white. The only cure for those hurt feelings is exciting, winning basketball. As Larry Finch himself demonstrated almost 25 years ago, winning cures all ills, even racial division.
THE
MEMPHIS RIVERKINGS RETURN to the Mid-South Coliseum Wednesday March 26th,
and Thursday the 27th as their opening round playoff series with the Macon
Whoopee continues. The series is tied 1-1 and has begun to resemble the
World Wrestling Federation, with the 'Kings accusing the Whoopee of tampering
with players' skates during games in Macon.
RiverKings general manager Jim Riggs has arranged for additional security and new dressing-room locks for the upcoming games with the Whoopee. A league investigation into the Macon affair indicated that someone tampered with the River-Kings' skates, but there was no way to prove who did it.
The RiverKings will attempt something no other professional hockey team has ever done in Memphis: win a playoff series. The hoopla may prove beneficial to the RiverKings. "The motivation for our players will be that if we win these two games, they don't have to go back to Macon," Riggs says.
Games start each night at 7 p.m. Tickets are $7, $9, and $12.