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| Coast Guard Station Milwaukee |
George Karl has a stuffed-toy Tar Heel mascot on top
of his office closet, a chunk of Chapel Hill lodged in his heart and a North
Carolina escape clause in his contract.
None of that, however, means Karl will get his dream
job, one of the four most glamorous college coaching positions in the country,
the Dean Smith emeritus chair as caretaker of UNC basketball.
Word is that Roy Williams will be unable to reject
North Carolina a second time and that he will be introduced as the next coach
of the Tar Heels, an announcement that could be accelerated if Marquette beats
Kansas on Saturday at the Final Four. And that would be that for George Karl,
UNC Class of `73 and former Tar Heel all-American point guard.
Even if Williams permanently estranges himself from
the UNC family by again refusing Smith, who's to say Karl would be on the
serious end of North Carolina's short list? Karl has never coached college
basketball, has never had to grovel before a 17-year-old recruit and has never
dealt with the alumni politics that sometimes make college coaching
intolerable.
Hard times
More important, Karl has not exactly distinguished
himself the last two seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks, who could miss the
playoffs for the second consecutive year. If that happens, there would be
serious questions of whether Karl should return for the final year of his
contract, the magnitude of his $7 million deal notwithstanding.
Yet as a prominent member of the Chapel Hill Mafia,
Karl could be considered if UNC's Plan A fails. Most certainly ahead of him,
though, would be Philadelphia coach Larry Brown, another former Tar Heel who once
coached Kansas to a national championship and UCLA to the Final Four.
On Wednesday before the Bucks played Houston, Karl
said all the right things. Volunteering that he has not been contacted by North
Carolina, Karl stressed his responsibilities with the Bucks. And when asked to
characterize his interest in the UNC position, he said, "It's a difficult
thing for me, but my heart is in coaching playoff basketball again after
missing out last year."
Karl also said he would not campaign for the North Carolina
job this time, something he most assuredly did three years ago when it last
became available. But Herb Kohl stood in his way, denying Karl even the
opportunity to go home and interview. Subsequently, Karl insisted a UNC escape
clause be placed in the two-year, $14 million extension he negotiated in 2000
as the Bucks were unsuccessfully driving for the NBA Finals.
Work to do
Not that it will be necessary. "I wouldn't pursue
the job this time," Karl said. "I'm not going to let it become a
distraction. We've got (six) very good winnable games left. Anybody who knows
me knows I'm going to take that very seriously."
If Karl cannot follow his heart to Chapel Hill, he
most assuredly needs to finish what he began with the Bucks. Ripping up the
roster like the Park East freeway, his moves have yet to bear success.
For Glenn Robinson, he has gotten an overpriced Mr.
Christian in Tim Thomas on the good ship Karl. For Ray Allen he has received
what was supposed to be a defensive answer in Gary Payton, but the Bucks are
hemorrhaging points since the trade. And Anthony Mason has been a chemical
disaster on the scale of Chernobyl.
Still, Karl sees his drastically remade team and says,
"Now I have more hope than I think I've ever had in Milwaukee for where
this team can go."
The playoffs would be a good start. There can be no
other acceptable destination.
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