Wisconsin situation is a question of write

Sporting News, The, May 8, 1995 by Gene Wojciechowski

The six-page, handwritten letter arrived shortly after Wisconsin hired Dick Bennett as its new coach. Fan mail it wasn't.

"My name is Jeff Van Gundy and I'm an assistant coach with the New York Knicks," began the letter. "My brother Stan was just fired as the head coach at the University of Wisconsin. I read with dismay your recent piece on Stan and Dick Bennett in the April 10th issue of The Sporting News. It contained untruths, half-truths and did not give your readership the entire story."

Jeff was steamed because I suggested that his brother, a former Wisconsin assistant who replaced Stu Jackson after the 1993-94 season, "might have lost control" a Badgers team that finished 13-14 overall and 7-11 (ninth place) in the Big Ten Conference.

Nor was Jeff too pleased that I went easy on Wisconsin Athletic Director Pat Richter, who cut Stan loose after one year of a five-year contract. And Jeff could have done without the observation that no Badger (including Stan) distinguished himself in a season when Wisconsin was picked by the league coaches to finish anywhere between third and sixth, with the consensus being No. 4 or No. 5.

"I would expect a letter of apology to Stan and a retelling of the whole story in The Sporting News" wrote Jeff, "but I'm not holding out much hope."

A letter of apology? Maybe in a parallel universe. As for a retelling, fair enough.

Jeffs arguments:

* Richter "used" Stan.

Without Van Gundy, the Badgers wouldn't have signed forward Sam Okey, perhaps Wisconsin's best-ever high school player. Once Okey committed last fall, Richter could later fire Van Gundy "and still have (Okey)," argues Jeff.

Response. If Richter gave Van Gundy a five-year deal just to sign one player, it is an expensive recruiting strategy - Van Gundy net as much as $320,000 if he doesn't take another job during the remaining four years of his contract.

"It's ridiculous," Richter says of the charge, "and it's an excuse and it's not the way we operate. We would never make that kind of tradeoff."

As for Okey, he could have transferred, but decided to stay put at the urging of Van Gundy. A year from now, who knows? * Richter fired Van Gundy because "big-money" boosters and alumni wouldn't donate money for a proposed $75-million basketball arena unless Bennett was hired.

Response: Yes, there were rumors that some big-money Badgers supporters wanted Bennett in and Van Gundy out. Some newsflash. But nobody has proved Richter acted out of greed. Until then, Jeff s charge means zilch.

"All I can say is that ifs absolutely untrue," Richter says. "Had that big money talked, (Van Gundy) wouldn't have been hired in the first place."

* Van Gundy never "lost control" of the team.

Response: Jeff was right, I was wrong. With the exception of the season-ending blowout by Michigan State, the Badgers played hard every game.

* The Badgers played a tougher non-league road schedule, including games at Eastern Michigan, Stanford and Marquette.

Response: Admirable, but not unprecedented.

* Given the Badgers' unimpressive basketball history (one NCAA Tournament appearance since 1947), this season's 7-11 conference record wasn't so awful.

Response: Maybe so, but it also isn't anything you want to boldface on your resume.

* Van Gundy was the victim of unrealistic expectations.

Response: The bottom line is this: Nobody, including Van Gundy and Richter, figured on a 13-14 season. The Badgers simply didn't play well together and for this, Van Gundy has to take some responsibility.

"We never told him he had to win X number of games or a championship," Richter says. "Our feeling was that we may not have been (a championship team), but we weren't a less-than-.500 team, either. There wasn't the improvement, the building from week to week."

* Van Gundy deserved better than a pink slip after just one season.

So much for loyalty and margin for error. Despite getting canned by Richter, Van Gundy helped persuade Okey and two other recruits to honor their commitments. Too bad Wisconsin didn't honor its commitment to Van Gundy.

Response: Richter made a business decision, pure and simple. He could have stuck with Van Gundy and risked losing, the momentum the program had gained in recent years. Or he could press the button to the trap door.

Truth is, Van Gundy didn't get fired because of boosters, Okey or non-conference road schedules. He got fired because Richter was willing to press that button. Nothing more, nothing less.