Rice had it's basketball coach leave the school yesterday. Mike Rhoades is going back to where he came from.
VCU once had Mike as it's top assistant under the coach who eventually left to go to Texas. Neither VCU nor Texas were all that hot. Rhoades 3 years had him almost make it to .500.
His teams were 47-53. Twenty-three of the 47 this past season. So, unlike most Rice hoops coaches, he gets a better job. The Hooters haven't had a coach with a winning career on South Main since Don Suman. He left in 1959.
Tommy Suitts couldn't come close to pulling off a winning record, neither could Scott Thompson, Willis Wilson, or Ben Braun. Braun once told me we couldn't shoot pictures of Rice practicing. I told him we barely wanted to shoot the games.
Now the speculation starts. Forget it. Give the job to John Lucas. He isn't going to move and he certainly isn't interested in losing. Every kid in the greater Houston area already knows him. The high school coaches know him. I realize Rice has academic issues. If kids from Houston can play for Duke and Kentucky they can play for the Owls. Hire Calvin to be the free throw coach. Fans will show up just to see what he is wearing.
I don't know if Luke is interested but if Rice wants a coach who knows the game, the city, the state, and can talk to the young men of this generation, I like John's chances. Plus, the school saves moving expenses. Go Owls.