Commentary:Not only undeserved, Wilson firing sadly mishandled
At long last, it's over. All the pain, agony and suffering that has been piling up over the past couple months - no more. And that whooshing sound you heard the other day? No, that's not the deflation of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign - that's the collective sigh released by Rice men's basketball fans the country over.At long last, the basketball season is finished.
The goose egg the team laid during its conference season will sit as arguably the most distinct mark of futility in Rice athletics, which is no small feat in itself - remember Ken Hatfield? Watching the team play was like pouring lime juice on a paper cut between your toes, and, just like the feet those toes were attached to, the team found itself walked on in almost every game.
Not all the games were blowouts - we only lost by three to SMU in the season finale - but time after time, game after game, whenever we got within striking distance, we folded like a lawn chair.
Every contest filled us with the false hope that the streak would, should, had to end. It's not like we were playing Conference USA champs Memphis, who could probably trash the post-Pau Grizzlies, all the time: None of the other C-USA teams even made it anywhere close to the Big Dance!
And just now, as I write, I learn that Willis Wilson won't be coming back for his 17th year.
Which is strange, considering the rest of this column was going to be calling for one more year for the winningest coach in Rice's history to redeem himself.
Athletic Director Chris Del Conte's reasoning was simple: "After much thought, I came to the conclusion that it was best for everyone that we move in a new direction."
A new direction? How about a fair direction?
It wasn't Wilson who caused the momentum-wrecking injuries to sophomore Chris Hagan, juniors Rodney Foster and Cory Pflieger and senior Paulius Packevicius, four of the five opening day starters. Without Pflieger and Foster, Rice's inability to spread the court was painfully evident, and after Hagan went down with a torn patella tendon no distinct floor general emerged.
Was it Wilson's fault that just as it seemed freshman Jasen Williams was emerging as a competent point guard, Rice's academic rigors got the best of him? Was it Wilson's fault that Pierre Beasley and Chance Talbert, who had just completed a backbreaking season of football, found themselves leaned on by the team in the middle of the season after injuries decimated the roster?
Moreover, was it Wilson's fault that a grand total of 16 students made their way to the decrepit, drafty Reliant Arena to watch our team play? Ok, 16 might be low-balling it, but not by much. After a rich tradition of the cozy Autry Court and fearing the Curtain, and given that any and all Rice students - save those omnipresent marketing interns - have a million better things to do on a Tuesday night than light-rail it to a game, was it any surprise that our "home" games were emptier than a wine cellar at an Italian wedding?
And as depressing as it might be to relive the horrors of our current 20-game losing streak, it's even more depressing to see a coach like Wilson hung out to dry. If there is one man who deserves credit for the current construction crescendo around Autry, it is Wilson. Harping on Autry's lackluster facilities since the mid-1990s, Wilson's dreams were finally realized in the last couple years, and as of last week he was only six months from seeing his vision put into action.
It is well-known that Wilson had befriended numerous donors, who looked past won-lost records to see a man leaving his heart on the court every night. Wouldn't it be a sweet sort of revenge if, now that Wilson has been so uncermoniously terminatred, a certain Bobby Tudor decided that his $7 million donation might be put to better use somewhere else?
It's not like the administration was backed into a corner here. The man is not Bob Knight - Wilson curses as often as Houston sees snow. In fact, Wilson could very well be the nicest guy in all of college hoops. After all, how many coaches would offer to buy a lowly college beat reporter a Rice hat to wear on press row?
You can't help but feel for him. After putting in over 20 years to the program, Wilson was given the shaft. Sure, three of the teams he helmed won less than 10 games in a season, but the man should have been given the chance to go out in front of the fans and savor at least a taste of the new Autry. College sports has enough politics as it is - I can't fault DelConte for wanting to bring in his own guy. But for the blood, sweat, and tears Wilson put into the program, his ending could not have been handled worse.
His run is, unfortunately, over.
Casey Michel is a Brown College sophomore and sports editor.
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