Two years ago, the Saint Louis University women's basketball team went to the National Invitational Tournament, in the middle one of their best seasons ever. They went into the postseason on an emotional high, as they felt that they had something to build on, especially with some seniors returning and a nice little recruiting class coming in. It was the beginning of what looked to be a nice little program. But greatness was never realized, and at the end of this past season, in which the Billikens went 5-25, coach Jill Pizzotti was bought out of her contract. Pizzotti amassed a career 114-169 record at SLU, the second most wins of any SLU women's basketball coach ever. Most fans would have agreed that it was time to move on, and it was not much of a shock when Athletic Director Cheryl Levick announced Pizzoti's departure. I have mentioned all of this to lead to another point, which is this: Levick needs to find a way to continue revamping and improving SLU's athletic department by finding some way to make a change in coaching with the baseball team.
To give a little background, 2005 marks the 17th year that the baseball team has been coached by Bob Hughes. Hughes is a local product, who played some minor league ball with the Cardinals and Dodgers before ascending through the coaching ranks and finally coming to SLU in 1985, after coaching quite successfully at Southwestern Illinois College for a number of years. His life has revolved around playing and coaching baseball, which permeates his coaching style: He is very much old-school in his mindset of instilling speed, conditioning and defense into his teams. But it never seemed to catch on.
If I might be allowed to draw a comparison to another SLU coach, I will: That is Brad Soderberg, the coach of the men's basketball team. While no one will argue with the fact that Soderberg does not have a knack for recruiting and that he seems to have the team on the right track for future success, the biggest knock against him seems to be that he recruits players who fit into an up-tempo, run-the-floor type of system, but he likes to slow things down, play a lot of defense and use up a lot of clock. In a sense, most critics would say that his system doesn't fit his players.
And with Hughes, the same can be said. Anyone who has ever watched a Billiken baseball game can see for themselves that the teams have always had talent. Sure, it isn't on the same level as Rice or Miami, but there are some quality players there, as there have been for my four years here and probably in preceding years, but, when it's time to take the field, for one reason or another we always find ways to lose. I can't say what the reason for that is, but I can attest to its truth, just from talking to players on the team and from seeing for myself.
I remember one time, two years ago, when I was a lowly assistant editor charged with covering the baseball team and a series against a conference foe whom I have long since forgotten. It was after the game, one of about 32 losses that year, that I went over to talk to coach and get his reaction to how the team played.
Making my way over to behind the dugout I suddenly noticed that the entire team was being kept out on the field to do windsprints, and all the while coach Hughes was yelling for them to push harder and dig deeper. While I have never been opposed to a little hard work and discipline, I can say that I felt embarrassed for the squad as they were being forced to run after a loss, in front of an opposing team and a smattering of fans. It reminded me of grade school basketball practices and running suicides after a particularly ugly practice, only there wasn't anyone around to watch back then.
I have been fortunate enough to interview a lot of great coaches in my time here: from Bobby Huggins to Rick Pitino, and from Lute Olson to even a guy like Dan Donigan, who I can say belongs up on that list of great coaches. But I will say this: None of them were as intimidating as coach Hughes was that day. I don't remember exactly what happened next, but I probably could have been seen slinking away from the dugout and lying in wait for the players to finally be released from their penal labor.
But my testimony alone is not enough to drive this decision for an exit, albeit a graceful one, for coach Hughes from the SLU coaching scene. His numbers speak to that.
As I said before, coach Pizzotti amassed a lifetime 114-169 record, a career winning percentage of .431. She was fired. Coach Hughes, in his 16 years, hasn't even come close to that. In fact, his one winning season came almost 10 years ago, and that was just a 25-24 season back in 1996. After amassing a 300-529-1 record over the past decade and a half, his career-winning percentage breaks down to just .362. That's a batting average, not a winning percentage.
Tyrone Willingham was fired from Notre Dame after a 6-5 season, and after going 21-13 in three years there. I am never going to be one to thoroughly compare Notre Dame football to Saint Louis baseball, but my point is simply that if winning isn't even enough to keep a job, then how in the world can a coach of a team that is a perennial loser, and the doormat of the conference, have any job security?
I will say this on Hughes' behalf, though: I am sure that his team's graduation rate is far superior to that of most any team in the conference and in the country. But after 19 years and only one winning season, perhaps it would be best for all parties involved to part ways. Heck, this year they've won just as many games as they have had postponed.
Levick came here with many tasks on her plate, among them to rejuvenate a struggling athletic department and to oversee the completion of the on-campus arena. As far as the latter is concerned, she is doing a fantastic job helping to fund-raise and getting the ball rolling. And as far as rejuvenating the department is concerned, she has made the tough calls like replacing coaches of struggling programs, notably field hockey and basketball, revitalizing the volleyball program after Marilyn Nolen retired by bringing in the master recruiter, Anne Kordes, and helping to steer SLU successfully into a new conference, the Atlantic 10, in the coming fall.
She was left with a struggling department after Doug Woolard left for the University of South Florida last spring, but she has done a successful job of turning negatives into positives. The baseball team is one more area that needs addressing.
She already made a touch decision by letting go Jill Pizzotti, and she has an even tougher one to make by letting go Bob Hughes, but perhaps it's time.
