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Richard Stevens: Out with McKay, in with the new

By Richard Stevens
Friday, January 26, 2007

Let the search for a Lobos future begin.

Let Paul Krebs' fingers start walking through the Yellow Pages shortly after his fancy shoes make the stroll over to The Pit to give Ritchie McKay the bad news.

And the boot.

The question no longer is whether Krebs should fire the Rudy Davalos mistake named Ritchie McKay. The question is, who will Krebs get to replace McKay?

At this point of a miserable season, Krebs probably has no choice but to pull the plug on a McKay program that a community of Lobos are walking out on.

Poor Ritchie Rich. It was bad from the beginning because too many Lobos fans never understood why Davalos made such a poor, seemingly uninformed hire - and then gave his mistake a three-year extension.

Now, that group of disillusioned fans is growing because the message from this program is exactly what so many Lobos fans thought from the beginning.

McKay is not a good basketball coach.

And this really isn't an X's and O's thing. Basketball is a pretty simple game.

McKay can probably draw an X and an O on a chalkboard much like he once sketched out the continental U.S., drew a line down the middle and told J.R. Giddens he was the best player West of the Mississippi.

So wrong.

McKay's problem is either his evaluation of talent or his ability to land solid Division I talent.

Or both.

McKay opened the season calling this his most talented UNM team yet.

So wrong.

McKay said the key to the 2006-07 season probably was chemistry.

So right.

But this Lobos team has about as much chemistry as McKay and Giddens.

And it's time that Krebs made some phone calls. Here's a few hoop guys Krebs might want to give a ring:

Rick Majerus. The former Utah Ute fat man is too good a coach to be sitting behind a desk making lame comments about other coaches. And Majerus loves New Mexican food. Red or green, Rick?

Reggie Theus. Theus would have to build again from the bottom, but how long can you live in Las Cruces? And wouldn't Herb Pope look better in Lobos colors?

Michael Cooper. OK, Coop needs to get a degree. But wouldn't it be cool to see this former Lobos and Lakers legend go to classes with his players? Coop could sit next to Giddens. Make that a requirement.

Bobby Cremins. The former Georgia Tech coach has cleaned up his act at the College of Charlston. It's time Bobby came West.

Steve Lavin. The former UCLA coach isn't the best X's and O's guy in the world, but Steve knows how to recruit.

Larry Eustachy. It's too humid at Southern Miss. And the parties at UNM are boring. Larry probably would be a good boy here.

Mike Montgomery. The ex-Stanford coach was fired in August by the Warriors. He would love being the only show in town. Krebs needs to talk to Montgomery soon - before Montgomery becomes a Colorado Buff.

Jeff Bzdelik. Who really wants to coach at a service academy? Come to UNM and let your hair grow long, Jeff. Just change the offense.

John Whisenant. Hey, this ex-Lobo won a WNBA title at Sacramento and was an also-ran for the Kings' job. He once almost had Moses Malone in a Lobos jersey.

Mark Fox. Sure, he has a sweet deal at Nevada, but isn't it time to get out of the Western Athletic Conference?

Jim Larranaga. If you can take George Mason to the Final Four, you can beat BYU in The Pit.

Don Flanagan. Naw, Flanagan's problem with the men would be the same problem he has with the women. If you want to be top shelf, you have to get on a plane and go recruit.

We have given Krebs a push in the right direction. The next step is up to him. It probably should be in the direction of Ritchie McKay's office.