SIAP, I was recently reading about the incredible recruiting success of former Pitt star Clyde Vaughan as an assistant coach under Jim Calhoun at UConn and under Seth Greenberg. He was even picked by some writers as a likely successor to Calhoun due to his recruiting and his tenacity as a coach.
Clyde's D1 coaching career ended with him resigning after getting caught soliciting a prostitute in Hartford. He has not gotten another D1 job, Kevin Ollie eventually got the UConn job and made history.. Both Calhoun and Greenberg spoke highly of him even after the incident, and reportedly Dixon was called on Clyde's behalf to lobby for him to get a job on the Pitt staff. The Pitt administration at the time (Jeff Long was the AD), was said to have overruled Dixon who wanted him at Pitt.
My question is, "Why not now?" A former star, who made a mistake many years ago, gets a 2nd chance as the lowest level assistant coach at the school he brought to prominence in the 1980s. He recruits top players to Pitt while showing that people can get a second chance and take advantage of it. The sports news is full of stories where mistakes by prominent HCs (almost always white), are essentially ignored because they have shown they can coach and win. I like the idea that an assistant coach who's shown he can coach and recruit, gets another chance to show it by the school he did so much for when they needed it.
Pitt certainly could use an ace recruiter who loves Pitt and would likely stay loyal.
Clyde's D1 coaching career ended with him resigning after getting caught soliciting a prostitute in Hartford. He has not gotten another D1 job, Kevin Ollie eventually got the UConn job and made history.. Both Calhoun and Greenberg spoke highly of him even after the incident, and reportedly Dixon was called on Clyde's behalf to lobby for him to get a job on the Pitt staff. The Pitt administration at the time (Jeff Long was the AD), was said to have overruled Dixon who wanted him at Pitt.
My question is, "Why not now?" A former star, who made a mistake many years ago, gets a 2nd chance as the lowest level assistant coach at the school he brought to prominence in the 1980s. He recruits top players to Pitt while showing that people can get a second chance and take advantage of it. The sports news is full of stories where mistakes by prominent HCs (almost always white), are essentially ignored because they have shown they can coach and win. I like the idea that an assistant coach who's shown he can coach and recruit, gets another chance to show it by the school he did so much for when they needed it.
Pitt certainly could use an ace recruiter who loves Pitt and would likely stay loyal.
