It is the best skipping stone in the country, but it has suddenly fallen into trouble.

For young college basketball coaches, there are few places better to stop than Oklahoma.

Last night, sixth-ranked Kentucky traveled south to take on border rival Tennessee. While it appeared to be a matchup of the Wildcats (5-0 in the SEC) versus the Volunteers (8-5 at home), last night’s action represented more.

Tubby Smith – who guided Kentucky to the national title in 1997 – took on Buzz Peterson, Michael Jordan’s former college roommate. The real connection: Both men, along with Nolan Richardson, Steve Robinson, Bill Self and others made coaching stops earlier in their successful careers in Tulsa, Okla.

‘It’s a great job,’ said J.D. Barnett, the head man from 1985-1991. ‘It’s a great city, school and a great place to be. Now they are in a better conference (Western Athletic Conference) than when I was there.’

Barnett, now the head basketball coach and athletic director at the University of Hawaii-Pacific, is one of several Tulsa basketball coaches to go on to bigger and better things after leaving the Golden Hurricane.

For nearly two decades the school has seen a constant change of coaches, which, according to Barnett, has affected recruiting and kept Tulsa from becoming a Gonzaga- or Southern Illinois-type program. That is to say, a successful mid-major.

‘The most important thing for a program is continuity,’ Barnett said. ‘Sure it affects recruiting – how are you going to sell a place if you aren’t going to be there in three years?’

Tulsa, which has seen a transformation from the Missouri Valley Conference to the WAC, has been to the NCAA Tournament more often than not over the past two decades. Tulsa advanced to the Sweet 16 twice under Smith, the Elite Eight under Self and has 10 other appearances.

‘I think it is pretty obvious why they don’t stick around,’ Barnett said. ‘There are higher, better positions that most coaches want to go after.’

The most recent coach, John Phillips, won’t be moving on to a better job. He quit on Christmas Day and left associate head coach Alvin ‘Pooh’ Williamson – a former Tulsa standout under Smith – to take over.

So where does the respected program that has produced as many quality coaches as players go from here? First, you must see the history of the program.

Beginning this pseudo coaching fraternity is Nolan Richardson. The man who won the national title in 1993 at Arkansas behind the deep, 3-point shooting of Scotty Thurman and the post presence of Corlis Williamson started his career in Tulsa. Long before the back-to-back championship game appearances and ugly fallout with the Razorbacks, Richardson ran things at Tulsa from 1980-1985. He posted a .763 winning percentage (119-37 overall record), won three Missouri Valley titles, had three trips to the NCAA Tournament and won an NIT Championship.

Barnett followed with six years at the helm, adding a pair of NCAA tournament bids before being fired in 1991. The man hired to replace him was a former high school player of Barnett’s who had assistant experience at Tulsa – Tubby Smith.

Smith – along with Shea Seals, the school’s all-time leading scorer – put the Hurricane back on the national radar. Smith lasted four years, and after trips deep into the tournament, he headed to Georgia and then to UK, where he would win a national title in his first season.

The revolving door sped up from there. Steve Robinson lasted only two seasons before postseason NCAA berths and a 49-17 record landed him the head gig at Florida State. Robinson is now an assistant at North Carolina.

Self won 74 games over the next three years and marched to the Elite Eight behind Eric Coley. Self and Tulsa narrowly missed a trip to the final four (UNC edged the Hurricane, 59-55) as they won a school-record 32 games in 1999-00, before Self took the coaching job at Illinois.

Peterson came next, and after a 26-win season, the Tar Heel graduate was off to the SEC.

While the revolving door that is the Tulsa men’s basketball coach has continued to turn, so have the questions. Why hasn’t the Golden Hurricane been able to solidify a coach? Mark Few has been at Gonzaga for over a decade and is in his sixth year at the head position.

Whether it is up-and-coming coaches demanding more money, problems with administration or the simple desire for upward mobility, the reason for the constant departures remains unknown.

Williamson, the interim head coach, refused comment, as did athletic director Judy MacLeod. Barnett did not.

‘It’s been a long time since I was there,’ said Barnett, who is 14 years and 4,000 miles removed. ‘Finances are a factor, but I don’t know who is really running the show. I don’t know what the real philosophical reasons are.’

Whatever those reasons may be, the bottom line is that Phillips quit last month, and the program is in limbo. Williamson has the interim tag right now and his 2-7 record in his first month on the job hasn’t helped his cause.

So who is next in Tulsa? Numerous reports have former Notre Dame and UNC coach Matt Doherty as the next man for the job. Not so fast, though. Things could really come full circle. In the last week, Richardson has told numerous media sources he is interested in the position.

‘Who knows what is next,’ Barnett said. ‘But looking at history, someone pretty good will probably end up there.’

Kevin Bookout has quietly gone about his business this season. This year, the 6-foot-8, 260-pound junior has helped Oklahoma to a 5-0 start in conference play, including a win in the Oklahoma-Oklahoma State ‘Bedlam Series.’ Last week, Bookout was the Big 12 Player of the Week, averaging 15 points, 10 boards and two steals, while shooting 52 percent from the floor. His Sooners won at Texas A&M and at home against Texas.

‘He does a great job of using his body and getting to the basket,’ said Colorado head coach Ricardo Patton. ‘He is as good as anybody in our league at doing that.’

‘You have to have similar values to the kids you recruit,’ Missouri head coach Quin Snyder on who to recruit.

Published on January 24, 2005 at 12:00 pm