Keating’s situation is unusual

Kevin McCarthy
 

Concluding what the present and future will be for Bay Area non-Pac-10 basketball coaches and programs, we come to newly-hired Kerry Keating and the Santa Clara Broncos. The replacement for Dick Davey, Keating obviously doesn't have a won-loss track record available for scrutiny. As an assistant at perennial Final Four contender UCLA, Keating would have consistently been in the running for a number of head coaching positions based solely on his status as a member of the Bruin braintrust. But he chose to enter the head coaching segment of his basketball coaching tenure at a West Coast Conference school with a program generally found in and around the .500 level. It remains curious that he accepted the Bronco position. Why?

Kerry Keating

Granted, the powers-that-be at Santa Clara have promised to beef up the financial and other resources for the men’s basketball program but nothing changes the fact that the Broncos reside in the third best league on the west coast--the Pac-10 obviously being on top, the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) owning the second spot and the Big West Conference coming in at #4.

This may strike some as a controversial declaration but ask the Bay Area player talent pool--the ones rated below bluechip status--you will hear just what was written above.

So it appears Keating could have enjoyed higher level opportunities down the line. His decision to leave Bruinland may have simply been a case of anxious to get started as a head coach while still in his mid-thirties.

As for the upcoming 2007-2008 season, here is what Keating is inheriting:

Keating, right, stands with athletic director Dan Coonan following a news conference

Center

• John Bryant, 6-10 305, a junior who scored 10.4 ppg. and rebounded at a 6.7 clip. Bryant also blocked 49 shots while shooting .528 in conference play.
• Josh Higgins, 7-0 275, a senior who has some scoring ability.
• Scott Thompson, a 7-0 215 highly regarded freshman out of Idaho who signed as a Bronco while Dick Davey was still the court master.

Big Forward

• Okechukwu Mbanugo, 6-9 210, a junior who looks to primarily be a benchwarmer.
• Andrew Zimmermann, 6-9 225. a raw freshman with promise.

Small Forward/Wing

• Mitch Henke, 6-7 220, a senior who should be a starter barring extremely impressive performances from others.
• Ben Dowdell, a 6-7 215 freshman from Australia, a youngster with good potential.
• Cedric Latimer, 6-5/215, a sophomore providing depth.

Shooting Guard

• Calvin Johnson, a 6-2 200, junior who should be the starter if he plays to his promise.
• Jonathan Gunderson, 6-4 210, a sophomore adding depth.
• Matt Hornbuckle, a 6-3 190 freshman coming off a supplemental year at an East Coast prep academy.
• Michael Santos, 6-5 180, a walk-on freshman.

Point Guard

• Brody Angley, a 5-11 195 senior and the starting point since his freshman season. He totaled 119 assists last season, with a superb assist-to-turnover ratio. However, he shot but .394 as the fourth or fifth scoring option on the team.
• Zac Tiedeman, 6-1 165, a sophomore junior college transfer who should see 10 minutes of action or so a game next season.

Keating should be able to compile a set starting five very early. Bryant, Henke, Johnson and Angley will surely comprise four-fifths of the unit. Who fills the remaining spot will be dependent on whether Keating wants to go big or small.

Also, here is the memory hole Keating is stepping into:

The Broncos went 21-10, 10-4 last season--not the typical record that results in a coaching change. This included beating PAC-10 member Stanford and conference rival Gonzaga. For what is was worth, the mark earned the departed Dick Davey the West Coast Conference Coach of the Year award in 2007.

Santa Clara shot .464 from the field and .364 from 3-point range. Santa Clara led the conference defensively, allowing just 63.1 points per game and holding opponents to .398 shooting.

Sean Denison (especially), Scott Dougherty and Danny Pariseau will be missed as this trio has completed their respective athletic eligibility. Newly-appointed coaches generally face the task of stopping the hemorrhaging and then rebuilding but this isn’t the case in Keating’s and Santa Clara’s situation for next season. Keating has inherited a fairly solid entity, one that currently needs more tweaking than any sort of a massive infusion and reconstruction.

One indisputable measurable is that Keating has amped up Santa Clara’s recruiting, having already secured four verbal committments for the upcoming November signing period. This is his initial attempt to date at securing talent to take the Broncos to the next level.

The commits are:

• Kevin Foster, a 6-2 190 shooting guard out of Texas, described as possessing superb shooting range but in need of better judgment. Foster plays at the same high school as did current Bronco guard Calvin Johnson.
• Troy Alexander, a 6-1 175 point guard also from Texas, described as possessing a pass-first mentality.
• Paul George, a 6-7 190 small forward/wing from southern California, noted for his shooting prowess and considered a darkhorse prospect.
• James Rahon, a 6-4 180 shooting guard also from California, who enjoyed a number of impressive scoring displays during summer ball.

Note that new SCU assistant coach Lamont Smith, formerly at St. Mary’s, is originally from Texas and another Bronco assistant, Sam Scholl, played and coached at San Diego.

Credit Keating for culling prospects prior to their ‘blowing up’ as befits George and possibly Rahon. Each of the four commits offers eventual starting potential but it’s anyone’s guess as to who will eventually earn such status.

What will be crucial to Santa Clara’s down-the-road prospects is to see if Keating can also bring in paint players as well as he appears to have done so with wing and backcourt prospects. Bryant has two seasons remaining and newcomer Thompson is rated as possessing starting potential down the road but another big man will be needed for grooming in a season or two.

Another little discussed element is the improved coaching at a number of the locations in the WCC. Gonzaga needs no highlighting but Rodney Tention has Loyola Marymount finally headed in the right direction, ex-Gonzaga assistant Bill Grier is expected to work wonders at San Diego as is Vance Walberg at Peppderdine. St. Mary’s Randy Bennett continues to keep the Gaels in the upper division. These conference factors will make Keating’s task of taking Santa Clara to new heights all the more difficult.

Keating has certainly inherited a far better situation than most new hires but, conversely, he also faces situations generally not typical for a new mentor. Having taken over from a Santa Clara institution, Dick Davey, plus arriving on the heels of a very successful season are both elements not associated with a coaching change.

Davey’s departure was hamhandedly mangled but none of the lingering residue surrounding that is tainting Keating. However, how does Keating improve on a 21-10 record, so as not to face questions in 2007-2008 regarding why a coaching change was necessary?

Finally, the 800-pound gorilla residing in The Leavey Center is Keating’s paramount task--taking Santa Clara to the next level, matching what WCC major domo Gonzaga has achieved in being recognized as a national power. That is the foremost reason a coaching change was made as Santa Clara President Paul Locatelli believed Davey wasn’t the correct person to lead the Broncos to the lofty level he desired.

However, most if not all college basketball analysts believe Gonzaga’s situation is an anonomaly, the exception, not the rule. But it is on that replication for which Keating will be judged a success or a failure.

Will he be Sisyphus or Hercules?

By the way, a September publishing date is planned for the book "Dick Davey: A Basketball Life Richly Led."