Miklasz On Alden.

Tiger Bytes: Mike Alden can't blow it ... again

2 hours ago
BERNIE MIKLASZ
bjmiklasz@post-dispatch.com26


At the time I write this, it's all conditional ...

But if the reports are true and if Frank Haith becomes the new basketball coach at Tulsa, Mizzou will set off on yet another frightening adventure in search for a new hoops coach. And the heat, the pressure, will be on director of athletics Mike Alden like never before.

Alden won't be able to duckwalk and double-talk this time. He won't be able to hide behind some feckless, politically correct search committee. Alden can't meekly dish this off to an outside firm that screens candidates and recommends a choice for the job.

This is on Alden.

All of it.

The Missouri basketball program has deteriorated under Alden's watch. Alden is directly responsible for the decline. Alden was the boss who ran off the legendary Norm Stewart and hired (in order) Quin Snyder, Mike Anderson, and Haith.

Pardon my generalizations, but ...

Tiger fans initially were fired up about Snyder but didn't take long to lose that loving feeling.

The fans respected Anderson personally but never warmed up to CMA's preferred style of ball.

The fans didn't like the hiring of the relatively unknown Haith from the beginning, but began to have a change of heart when he did such a terrific job with Anderson's players in his first season. But this rising wave of goodwill crashed – abruptly – when No. 2 seed Mizzou was embarrassed and upset by No. 15 seed Norfolk State in the 2012 NCAA Tournament.

Looking back on it, that defeat was the beginning of a long, and frustrating descent for Haith, who could never recover from the lost opportunity. And then when Coach Haith turned MU into Transfer U, the unrest intensified.

The chaos under all three coaches turned off fans. As the attendance gradually dropped, empty seats became more prevalent and unsightly at Mizzou Arena. As MU moved closer to mediocrity and irrelevance, a once proud, lively and passionate basketball culture settled into regrettable but understandable ambivalence.

As of now, this is a big part of Alden's legacy. If we are to credit Alden (rightfully) for having the foresight to hire Gary Pinkel and thereby launch the revival of Mizzou football, then he's also responsible for MU's fallen prestige in college basketball.

It was Alden who made the seminal hire that raised one important down-and-out football program up, and it was Alden that made three hires that caused extensive damage to a consistently successful basketball program.

If Haith as expected flees to Tulsa to avoid his seemingly inevitable firing at MU, this could be a net plus for Mizzou. First of all, if Haith goes he'll be doing Alden a huge favor for obvious reasons. And then it's on Alden to take advantage of it.

(Sidebar: even if the Haith/Tulsa dalliance falls through, how can Alden bring Haith back? Answer: Alden can't. So Haith will likely be leaving, one way or another.)

Anyway... Mizzou can use a Haith departure as an impetus for change. But this can can happen only if Alden makes an inspiring hire that can reinvigorate fan interest and give the program a strong leader that installs an unbending set of core principles.

If Alden strikes out again, then he should fire himself before his superiors can do it first. If Alden swings and misses again, Mizzou will plunge deeper into that blurry pool of programs that simply don't matter. And from a business standpoint MU will suffer from more severed connections with fed-up fans.

I don't know who wants the MU job. I'm not making any lists. (Go ahead, make your Matt Painter jokes. It's OK with me.) I don't know who Mizzou will target or how much they're willing to pay. I don't know how appealing this job is anymore. I mean, how attractive is this gig if Haith is jumping to Tulsa? And to think that the chance to become the MU coach once attracted the interest of John Calipari and Bill Self.

Two suggestions to the MU administration and its most ardent and affluent boosters/donors:

1. Give Alden what he needs financially to make an impact hire. If you aren't willing to step up – which was the case when John Belein was available at the time of the Anderson hiring – then just move to the side, be quiet and don't dare complain about what happens next. If you put Alden in a position of having to settle for a coach that excites no one, then you'll get exactly what you deserve. Again.

2. Make sure to supervise Alden very closely. Ride shotgun with him. Whatever you do, don't let this man go out on his own, unchecked. Alden requires oversight. And I'm not talking about appointing some ineffectual, ceremonial “committee” to provide PR cover. No, the people in charge in Columbia had better be a half-step behind Alden during the entire process, keeping him within sight, just so they can determine exactly what he's up to _ and then intervene if necessary. You can't let Alden screw this up again. He's already had three strikes. How many does he get, anyway?

Thanks for reading...

-Bernie