Yesterday, Dana Altman broke up with me (and Creighton).
Today, he called and said he wanted to get back together according to FOXSports.com in a story that just broke. I guess the difference between relationship analogies and college coaching is that former lovers never do this so forgive me if I'm not quite sure how to respond.
I had actually become excited about finding a new coach. As much as I respected Altman, the chance that Creighton might experience a little bump from some new blood was enough for me to allow for the growing pains that were sure to follow.
But the fact that Altman is back doesn't necessarily mean that that won't be the case. It would be foolish to assume that he would just come back as if nothing ever happened. On a day that saw the opening of the baseball season and Florida win their second straight national title, this Altman story held its own. Creighton (via Altman) was a national story.
And they are again today. Make no mistake, Dana dogged the Hawgs. Returning to CU after doing the whole press conference/break it to the players bit, won't be easy and it's going to bring some heightened expectations. Will 20 wins and a tournament berth still be good enough in Omaha? Probably.
But by returning after the whole rigmarole yesterday there's an implied vote of confidence in the program from the man who built it. Throw in the proven track record and the likelihood that Altman will be there for a loooooong time (i.e. the rest of his career, whether he likes it or not) and, just like yesterday, we have a pivotal moment in the history of CU hoops.
Is that good or bad? Will Creighton grow or wilt? Nobody knows, but I'm expecting a renewed vigor on behalf of Altman.
His pride is on the line.
4 comments:
Glad to have you back Dana, sidenote I did not realize reading a lot of stories how good In "ROD" we trust actually was. Over 2,000 points in his career at Creighton to be the all time leading scorer. "That boy was good"!!!! Good work on the post and it is nice to have a mild CU bias behind it.
Mild? It's pretty blatant. Damn near blinding.
God knows there will be plenty of heat coming from the Hawgs camp.
I would guess Dana grew up watching NU basketball in Lincoln during the Joe Cipriano days. He will still have a shot at his dream - 45 minutes southwest of Omaha.
Dana will NEVER coach at Nebraska!! If he turns down other big time jobs why would he take a bottom tier Big XII team? Dana is a Jay and will stay a Jay!
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