Posted by West Phoenix Devil on May 02, 09 at 14:29:53:
I'm probably in the minority on this, but Michael Cooper to USC doesn't make nearly as much sense as USC would like you to believe. There are a few messages that come out of this hiring, though...
Cooper leaving the Sparks for a college job is a bad sign for the WNBA. Why would he leave? He has Candace Parker, and while I know she's getting ready to have a baby, she will be back. Parker can carry a team by herself, so as long as she's in uniform, the Sparks are a serious title contender. The slide in the economy is being felt by niche-leagues (Arena Football is the best example), and the WNBA may not be far behind the AFL in having to make some painful decisions. That would explain Cooper's decision to leave.
Now, is he the best choice for USC? I don't think so. There's no way Cooper came cheap, so if you're going to pay for a coach, why not pay for one who is already established at the Division 1 level? USC recruited very well under Mark Trakh, so it's not like SC is a disaster area.
To me, and I hope I'm wrong, it looks like another example of an AD who doesn't understand women's basketball making a hire because it looks good. Paul Westhead at Oregon, Michael Cooper at USC...what's next? Bill Laimbeer? Richie Adubato? John Shumate?
If Mike Garrett really cared about women's hoops, he would have walked into College Park, told Brenda Freese it was time to come back to the West, and sent a message to the rest of women's college basketball world that the West Coast is ready to be a national player again. Instead, he treated the job like a bus stop. Cooper will stick around until he convinces an NBA team to bring him on board, which should be about two years. On one level, it's great for the Devil Nation -- no threat from the Women of Troy. On another level, it's bad, because the rest of the country continues to snicker at the Pac Three and the slack seven.
I could be wrong, way wrong about all this, and I look forward to hearing from Sand, Huskie4Mercury, and Ladydevilfan. Debate helps pass the time til October.