If Colorado men’s basketball coach Ricardo Patton wants to seek advice from colleagues on how to handle a lame-duck season, he will discover the list is short.
It’s rare for a Division I coach to enter the final year of a contract. Aware of the challenges faced by coaches trying to recruit without long-term security, athletic directors usually choose to end the uncertainty before it reaches that point.
In most cases, coaches in jeopardy either are fired with two or three years remaining on the contract or given a new deal.
CU athletic director Mike Bohn is taking a wait-and-see approach. Bohn said Patton’s future will be determined after he is evaluated during the upcoming season, the final one of a three-year contract worth $750,000 annually. Arkansas State coach Dickey Nutt, an old friend of Patton’s, said he should brace himself for some difficult times.
Nutt faced a similar situation during the 2004-05 season. He entered that year – his ninth at the school – with his contract about to expire. Nutt survived, earning a three-year extension after going 16-13 with a strong finish.
Nutt hopes he never has to face a lame-duck situation again.
“Everybody wants change, that’s the problem,” Nutt said. “The jokes get old. Your personality gets old.
“Ricardo has won at Colorado. The Big 12 is a tough conference, and he’s done a good job. But every year you make about 5 percent of the fans mad. After nine or 10 years, that adds up.”
Nutt served as an assistant at Arkansas State of the Sun Belt Conference in the early 1990s when Patton was an assistant at conference rival Arkansas-Little Rock. Nutt and Patton recently completed their 10th full seasons as head coaches. The toughest hurdles confronting Patton this season, Nutt said, will be along the recruiting trails.
Nutt wasn’t surprised to learn Patton has not landed any additional players for next season during the spring signing period. During his lame-duck season, Nutt was able to sign only one of his top 10 recruiting targets.
Blue-chippers are told one of their first questions to a recruiter should be about the contract situation of the head coach.
“If the player forgets to ask, the parents are going to ask,” Nutt said. “And if the parents forget, the (high school) coach is going to ask.
“If that (uncertainty) is too much for them, then you have to go to the next rock, the next guy. You’re probably going to lose the ones you really want.”
Bohn takes pride in having helped Patton sign a strong recruiting class last fall. Bohn met individually with the six recruits for at least 30 minutes. He said he believes Patton can recruit successfully this year without a contract extension.
“We talk to recruits about the great coaches we have, the support staff, the great institution we have, the positive climate on campus,” Bohn said. “We talk about who we are and how coming to Colorado will be a fun and enjoyable experience.”
Patton faces a different, more difficult situation during this recruiting season. He cannot guarantee that he will be the coach for even one year of a current high school junior’s eligibility. CU received an oral commitment last week from one of the state’s top seniors-to-be, 6-foot-5 swingman Stephen Franklin of Aurora Central. But Franklin said he might wait until the spring signing period (rather than sign in November) so he can see what happens with Patton’s contract.
“People say a kid signs with a university and not the coach,” Nutt said. “But let’s be honest. The kid picks a school because he wants to have a father-son relationship with that coach.”
Recruiting isn’t the only challenge facing a coach with an uncertain future. Anxiety and mental anguish can take their toll. Patton said he was proud he did not “coach scared” last season when Bohn did not approach him about an extension. The stress is sure to intensify during the upcoming season.
Patton, 47, became emotional in January when discussing how the uncertainty has affected family members who must deal with rumors and speculation on an almost daily basis. It comes as no surprise Patton plans to move his basketball-playing son Michael from Boulder High School to a prep school in another state for his senior year. Michael Patton, a 5-10 point guard, is ranked No. 16 among the state’s juniors by CoHoopsTracker.com.
Toledo coach Stan Joplin entered the 2005-06 season, his 10th, in the final year of a contract. He earned a three-year extension after the Rockets went 20-11. Joplin said he commiserated with Patton while both attended the Final Four.
“It’s really difficult to go through,” Joplin said of a lame- duck season. “It’s not fair on the coach. It’s not fair on his family. It’s not fair to the players. It puts everybody in a tough situation.
“I never talked to my team about the contract situation. I didn’t change what I was doing. I never took things personally. I just tried to do a good job. I always thought if we won, winning takes care of everything.”
At least publicly, Bohn has not indicated what Patton must do next season to save his job.
“Ricardo is a competitor, and I expect him to compete for an extension,” Bohn said.
Tom Davis discovered in 1998-99 that winning isn’t always enough.
Davis’ Iowa team went 20-10 and reached the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 that season, his 13th as coach of the Hawkeyes. But Davis had been told before the season that it would be his last.
“They tried to announce it as a ‘retirement,’ but I didn’t know that I was retiring,” said Davis, who can chuckle about it now.
“The tough part is having to answer the same questions (from fans and the media) each week. I just concentrated on the team and teaching on the court. The players responded. They were terrific.”
After working for a brief time in private business, Davis returned to coaching in 2003 at Drake.
“I feel for Ricardo, having to go through this,” Davis said. “But if it doesn’t work out, Ricardo is young enough. He’ll find other directions.
“If you’re not wanted, then you look to move. Sometimes it’s good to move.”
Tom Kensler can be reached at 303-820-5456 or tkensler@denverpost.com.
