Raveling Takes Job at USC, Says Some May Have to Go

There were all sorts of one-liners thrown out Thursday at USC, where it was officially announced that George Raveling will be the Trojans’ new basketball coach.

But behind the laughter there was a serious note, behind the jokes, an underlying theme that the fun is over.

Raveling, most recently of Iowa, has not been brought in to prop up a dying program. He has been given the go-ahead to kick it back to life. And that’s precisely what he intends to do.

So four freshmen are unhappy? Let them leave, is the essence of Raveling’s response.

So former Coach Stan Morrison’s assistants will be out of work? My obligation is to my own, is Raveling’s reply.

In short, be prepared for a new era at USC, and if a little housecleaning is needed before that era can get under way, so be it.

USC, after winning the co-championship in the Pacific 10 a year ago, suffered through a miserable 1985-86 season, finishing last in the Pac-10 with a 5-13 record and staggering to an 11-17 overall mark. In the wake of that debacle, and also because of mounting unrest among the players, Morrison was eased out on March 11, becoming an associate athletic director at the school.

Raveling, 48, was asked about the player problems, specifically about the four freshmen--Tom Lewis, Rich Grande, Bo Kimble and Hank Gathers--who had demanded a voice in the hiring of a new coach and who had threatened to transfer en masse to another school if they did not approve of the choice.

“I think that sometimes when you try to make people do things that are best for them, there’s a rebellion,” Raveling replied. “. . .You can’t let the Indians run the reservation. You’ve got to be strong, too. Sometimes you have to tell them they have to exit.”

Even though USC Athletic Director Mike McGee had said on March 11 that the players would have a chance to meet the candidates for the coaching position, Raveling said he had not met any of the players and therefore was not in a position to comment on the reasons for their dissatisfaction.

“First of all, we’re assuming that they’re unhappy,” he said. “Many things that appear in the news media are not fact. . . . It’s been suggested that they’re unhappy. But until they tell me that they’re unhappy, I don’t have a problem.

“I would suspect that they might be. I think any time a coach leaves, there’s going to be a degree of anxiety and uncertainty. I think the best way to resolve that is to sit down with them and talk about my philosophy of basketball, what our goals and aspirations for them would be and how we can best achieve those goals.

“I don’t think that we’ll have any problem once we have the opportunity to sit down and visit. If the comments I read in the paper are true, I would tend to conclude that these were words that were voiced by young people but motivated by somebody exterior to them, that perhaps maybe the real problem is not that the four players are unhappy but that someone exterior to them is unhappy.”

Asked to be more specific about who or what the exterior forces might be, Raveling would say only: “The types of things that have been expressed in the newspapers are usually suggested to young kids.”

He made it plain, however, that he does not believe it is a coach’s job to be popular.

“I don’t think any coach always gets along with his players. I don’t even get along with my son, but I love him.

“I think that any time you’re dealing with youth, there’s going to be disappointment because they haven’t matured. That’s the price one has to pay. I don’t put a high premium on happiness.

“What I’m more interested in is, can I put some substance in their lives? Can I motivate them to achieve at the highest level? Can I make them be the best possible person and athlete that they can be?

“What I think would be more important to me is that they respect me rather than that they like me. Sometimes, when they like you, they start to abuse you. There’s a certain abuse that comes with friendship.

“I just want them to respect me. I think the three most important things in a coach-player relationship are respect, trust and communication. Most problems I find can be resolved through communication.”

Because of the Easter break, none of the four players could be reached Thursday to comment on Raveling’s appointment as coach or to respond to his remarks. Lewis, who has acted as a spokesman for the freshmen, was in Phoenix, Grande was in Palm Springs and Kimble and Gathers were in Philadelphia.

Raveling, whose Washington State teams went 167-136 in his 11 years with the Cougars and whose Iowa squad went 54-38 in his three years in the Big Ten, was equally firm about his intention of bringing his Hawkeye assistants with him to USC if they choose to come.

“As far as the staff is concerned, I believe in loyalty, and my first obligation is toward the people who worked for me at the University of Iowa,” he said. “Certain things come into play--compatibility, continuity. . . . I don’t want to have to come to practice and coach 15 players and four new coaches. It’s going to be difficult enough to get this thing going without having to break in new coaches.

“So my first obligation is to those people who worked for me in Iowa. We worked together as a family. If they all want to come to Southern California and join in this quest, then I say so be it. I do believe very strongly that two of those assistant coaches, Ron Righter and Brian Hammel, will be candidates for the position at the University of Iowa.

“Obviously, I will talk with the assistant coaches that are here . . . but I don’t think anyone should be forced upon anyone.”

By the sound of things, no one will be forcing anything on Raveling during the next five years, the length of his still-to-be-signed contract.