The Douglass debate just won’t go away

As this basketball season continues there seems to be one issue

that won’t go away, and probably never will until UC Irvine

basketball coach Pat Douglass does, indeed, go away.

The kind of success that the Anteaters’ coach has enjoyed over the

years, whether in the anonymity of Bakersfield or the Division I

circles of the Big West Conference, automatically does that.

Most college fans have two fears about their coach: (1) How soon

can we dump this dolt, who has dared to lose, badly and often? (2)

What can we do to make our miracle worker want to stay?

With Steve Lavin enduring his final season as the UCLA hoops

wizard, the major buzz around Southern California is who will rescue

the Bruins? There are plenty of outstanding coaches around the

nation, including Pat Douglass, whose most recent boss was first-year

UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero.

So what we’re looking for here are some answers. Right?

Sorry, I don’t have any.

No question, Pat Douglass is a pretty sharp fellow with a sound

staff, even though longtime assistant Len Stevens flew the coop

recently. Is that a clue?

Douglass is not doing it with mirrors, but with sound

fundamentals, the right combinations and a dynamic on-court presence.

And Guerrero is well-versed on the merits of Douglass.

Among the aforementioned fundamentals: You don’t talk about

skipping town when you’re still embroiled in a championship race.

Pat Douglass has no intention of commenting about UCLA’s

predicament.

He’s not in the business of speculating and frankly his

concentration is focused on this week’s road tests at the University

of the Pacific Thursday night and Northridge on Saturday.

So if someone were to simply ask if it was a certainty that he’d

be at UCI when September rolls around, what would you expect him to

say?

Probably something like “Call me when the season is over.”

So what would Douglass get should it all come to pass?

More money? For sure. More headaches? For sure.

Douglass may have an occasional nightmare with the vision of the

C.I.A. (Completely Insane Anteaters) running amok across his lawn

with hatchets in their hands and screaming something like “What’s in

your wallet?”

But that scenario pales when one considers the reality of the

constant crusade of the baby bears at UCLA, where they can’t

understand why UCLA isn’t No. 1 at all times, why aren’t all their

victories by 100-0 margins and when will the next 88-game winning

streak begin?

One can only imagine their present state of mind.

So, will Pat Douglass indeed leave green acres, where everyone

loves him, if Guerrero beckons?

Maybe. The money alone is like winning a lotto. And despite the

grandeur of the Bren, it’s no Pauley.

But will Guerrero wag his finger? Only one person can answer that,

and Dan Guerrero isn’t talking. At least not until Lavin has been

given the boot, surely in March.

There’s also the specter of someone else around the country who

needs a quality coach. So if it isn’t UCLA, then the concern turns to

the next trauma and we can all go through this again.

In the meantime, hey, enjoy what you’ve got. Nothing lasts

forever.