Haden swings for the fences with risky hire

To get his point across, USC Athletic Director Pat Haden felt the need to say it twice.

“USC basketball should be relevant,” Haden said in his opening remarks Wednesday before he introduced new USC head basketball coach Andy Enfield.

“USC basketball should be relevant.”

Haden won’t find many who disagree with him. As he said during a Jan. 17 game against Oregon — shortly after he relieved Kevin O’Neill of his head coaching duties — USC has all the resources needed to build a perennial contender in the Pac-12. Location, facilities and private school funding are all assets USC has that many other schools covet. The only thing missing was someone to lead the charge.

Is Enfield that someone? That will be decided on the court in the near future. However, what Wednesday’s press conference did confirm was this: Haden is not afraid to take a chance.

In roughly two and a half years since becoming USC’s athletic director, Haden, until this week, had yet to make a major coaching hire. This is amazing considering the huge impact he has had on USC athletics since taking over.

Haden assumed the job under immense NCAA scrutiny while both the football and men’s basketball programs faced NCAA sanctions, and he has made incredible strides in cleaning up USC’s compliance image. He also has been much more visible on and around campus than predecessor Mike Garrett, frequently interacting with media and students and even going so far as to participate in a Feb. 24 “Harlem Shake” video amid the student section at a basketball game.

In his time at the helm of the school’s athletic program, though, he had yet to conduct his own coaching search. He inherited head football coach Lane Kiffin, as well as O’Neill, and after firing former head baseball coach Frank Cruz on Feb. 13, he merely removed current head coach Dan Hubbs’ interim title and made him the permanent head coach.

So what does Haden do in his first chance to really make his mark? He eschews more experienced, proven coaches with extensive resumes and career achievements in favor for Enfield: the wild card, the new kid on the block, one whose national name recognition dates as far back as three weeks and whose Division I head coaching experience spans only two years.

But remember, Haden said that USC basketball needed to be relevant, and by choosing Enfield over, say, former UCLA coach Ben Howland or current UTEP coach and former USC coach Tim Floyd, the Trojans instantly become just that.

For the past two weeks, Enfield’s former team, Florida Gulf Coast University, has been the talk of the college basketball world, even after it was eliminated in the Sweet 16 by Florida. Enfield needed just three days and two wins to turn a school in just its second year of Division I eligibility into a nationally trending topic. He is exactly what Haden was looking for, in more ways than one.

If Enfield can have a similar impact on the stagnant USC basketball program, then this decision will be a huge success. But even more than that is the fact that Haden has finally gotten a chance to take his shot.

This is by far the biggest decision he has had to make during his tenure at USC and, even though the decision took him longer than many had hoped, Haden refused to play it safe and instead went with his gut on a coach who, quite frankly, hasn’t accomplished much of anything yet in his young coaching career.

But these are the types of decisions that combat complacency and, as Haden assuredly hopes, irrelevancy. You can’t make a major leap as a program without taking a few risks, and Haden just pushed all of his chips to the center of the table on this one. This has been met with lots of excitement and some skepticism, both of which are justified.

Still, all USC fans should take comfort in knowing that the man pulling the strings behind their favorite teams isn’t afraid to buck conventional wisdom every once in a while if he thinks it’s the best decision for his program. Enfield sure is glad Haden isn’t, anyway.

“I want to thank you for believing in me, Pat,” Enfield said. “I’m going to show up every day in this office and make this a better place than it was the day before, and I look forward to it.”

What better way is there to reward Haden’s trust?

 

“Inside the 20s” runs Thursdays. To comment on this story, email Nick at [email protected] or visit dailytrojan.com.