Tuesday, March 30, 2004
Yes, but for how long?
Via the AP, "Nevada's coach stays."Nevada basketball coach Trent Johnson agreed Tuesday to a new five-year contract worth $450,000 a year to stay at the school. Johnson, in his fifth year at Nevada, joined athletic director Chris Ault and university president John Lilley in announcing his plans to remain with the school he led to only its third NCAA Tournament appearance and first berth in the round of 16. The Wolf Pack have improved each year since Johnson arrived with records of 9-20, 10-18, 17-13 and 18-14 before registering this year's school-record 25 wins.
Good for Trent. He's an accomplished coach and deserved the raise.
Johnson, 47, a former assistant at Stanford, told reporters last week he was upset by talk that he might capitalize on the team's strong showing and leave the northern Nevada school for a larger university. "I don't want to be known as a hot commodity. I want to be known as a coach who helped be a part of building a special program," Johnson said last week.
Wow. These are the kind of comments that earn a tremendous amount of respect if the coach follows through -- or an equivalent amount of scorn if he later flees for greener pastures. Careful, now.
