Kevin O’Neill: Every University Has Questions About It
June 23, 2009 – 9:30 am by Tas Melas
When I listen to Kevin O’Neill speak, all I can think of is Jeff Van Gundy. They are carbon copies of each other: hard nosed, don’t like nonsense, not the handsomest of men, and they sound exactly the same. So, when people suggest the Toronto Raptors hire Jeff Van Gundy as their head coach, I say, ‘We already had him here.’ O’Neill’s one-year stint as Raptors’ head coach was rather uneventful other that his hissy fit he threw in a hotel room – he broke a lamp out of frustration over his team’s lackadaisical play. Understandable, Kevin. Understandable. I feel his coaching style might be a little better suited for college ball, and after years on NBA benches as an assistant, he’s going back to his calling as the head coach of USC. O’Neill joined KLAC to discuss if the ongoing legal investigation at the school figured in to his decision, the mistakes he made in his career, and whether or not his NBA experience aids in the recruiting process.
Can you summarize your coaching career?
“I left Tennessee after three years – leaving Tennessee was a mistake, I put in all the heavy lifting and had a ton of good players there. When I got to the NBA, they don’t give you the choices there. You don’t decide well, I’m leaving or going or staying, and what I really wanted to do was get in to a long term situation for my family and I, and couldn’t have asked for a better situation than USC. It came about surprising and quickly, but I’m glad it came about.”
How much did the ongoing legal situation factor in to your move?
“That didn’t factor in to my decision at all because you know, we’re the same institution, there’s no different buildings here, there’s no different facilities, there’s no different expectations, there’s no different anything. I’m not even gonna worry about any ongoing investigation, I’m just gonna move forward with the program and do the best job I can… My response to a recruit would be, any university has questions about them, I can tell you that right now, any university does. If you get aside from any question about any ongoing investigation, we’ve got one of the best places to go to school and play basketball in the whole country. So, to me, I’m very hopeful that it won’t affect our recruiting in any way.”
How will the fact you coached in the NBA help with your recruiting?
“Even some of the guys who have no chance of getting in the NBA wanna go to the NBA. If you went to any major college in the country, and had somebody go in and poll the guys about their chance of going to the NBA, at least 10 out of 12 would say they did. So, the NBA is important to these guys and it’s a great opportunity for them to make a great living, but the NBA helps you recruit, you can sell that a little bit, but when it gets right down to it, it’s the institution that keeps guys there.”
Listen to Kevin O’Neill on KLAC
Tags: Basketball, College Basketball, Kevin O'Neill, Tim Floyd, USC
