Shareef Abdur-Rahim Flirting with Cal is Just as Good as Patrick Ewing and Georgetown
By Jason McIntyre
The college basketball coaching carousel is in full swing, and it’s getting increasingly crazy by the day. Forget all the Steve Alford-to-Indiana stuff for a moment, hold off on Gregg Marshall picking whatever job he wants, and consider this:
The Cal Bears are rumored to be interested in Shareef Abdur-Rahim. Yes, the same guy who was a great player at Cal in 1995-1996, left after one year, and had a nice NBA career. Also, the extent of his coaching career: A few years as an assistant with the Sacramento Kings. Currently, Abdur-Rahim is the “associate vice president of basketball operations of the NBA.”
It’s quite a leap to college basketball head coach. Oh, and then there’s this:
Talk of it being Abdur-Rahim. Would be slippery slope: 1) Cal broke NCAA rules recruiting him and 2) his brother is NBA agent
— Jon Wilner (@wilnerhotline) March 24, 2017
Cal is running a distance 3rd to Arizona, Oregon and UCLA in the Pac-12, and then the next tier of teams in the last decade has to include Utah and USC ahead of Cal, too. So whats the harm in trying to land a big name coach here?
I feel the same way about Doug Gottlieb and Oklahoma State. You’re not in the upper echelon program in a tough conference. Why not try something outside-the-box at head coach? I know the Warriors did it with Mark Jackson and Steve Kerr, and it worked, but might it work in college if you’re picking an inexperienced coach who is passionate about the school he once played for?
Patrick Ewing could revive Georgetown. Gottlieb at Oklahoma State. Abdur-Rahim at Cal. Why wouldn’t anyone be for trying this?