vcboy2000 Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 TU women's coach won't return for next season Charlene Thomas-Swinson was relieved of her duties after six seasons with TU and a 72-103 overall record. JAMES GIBBARD/Tulsa World file By ERIC BAILEY World Sports Writer Published: 3/10/2011 2:30 AM Last Modified: 3/10/2011 6:25 AM Related story: TU women fall to East Carolina. EL PASO, Texas - Charlene Thomas-Swinson will not return as the University of Tulsa's women's basketball coach, the school announced shortly after the team's season ended on Wednesday with a 71-62 loss to East Carolina in the Conference USA Tournament. Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/TU/article.aspx?subjectid=94&articleid=20110310_94_B1_CUTLIN704518 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcboy2000 Posted March 10, 2011 Author Share Posted March 10, 2011 This was inevitable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueBlue82 Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 This was inevitable. TU - Do NOT pull a Bill Self, please... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golfdad Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 TU - Do NOT pull a Bill Self, please... IF you are thinking they would try to get Jerry, they might, but even though money may be better, I think with having a very realistic chance to have his best team yet next season, I think he is smarter than that. Not to mention, it sounds like they are building on recent success with recruiting, so I think it would take more than they will offer for that TU women's job for Jerry to leave. Coaches are considering all options and know it is not always greener on the other side. Look at Gillespie.... walked on water at A&M, only to be treading water for his life at Kentucky. He jumped out of a cushy lifeboat into the water with the sharks. For every Self story.... there are at least 3 Gillespie stories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcboy2000 Posted March 11, 2011 Author Share Posted March 11, 2011 IF you are thinking they would try to get Jerry, they might, but even though money may be better, I think with having a very realistic chance to have his best team yet next season, I think he is smarter than that. Not to mention, it sounds like they are building on recent success with recruiting, so I think it would take more than they will offer for that TU women's job for Jerry to leave. Coaches are considering all options and know it is not always greener on the other side. Look at Gillespie.... walked on water at A&M, only to be treading water for his life at Kentucky. He jumped out of a cushy lifeboat into the water with the sharks. For every Self story.... there are at least 3 Gillespie stories. Jerry is getting a very good salary at ORU. I would imagine that he is making more now than Thomas-Swenson was making at TU. With them really trimming the fat in their athletic department, I couldn't imagine them offering much more. Wouldn't be worth it. If he does leave, I wish him well. I was thinking that they may go after our top assistant, Mitsi Cussen. Her husband was the women's soccer head coach at ORU before leaving to take the same job at TU. She's been with Coach Fink since he got here, and would be a natural fit because of her regional ties and experience. I hope they have someone else on their radar, but I wouldn't be surprised if they asked to interview her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golfdad Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 That sounds much more realistic to me also, VC. I could be totally wrong, but Jerry strikes me as a guy who knows he has a good thing at ORU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmh8286 Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 That sounds much more realistic to me also, VC. I could be totally wrong, but Jerry strikes me as a guy who knows he has a good thing at ORU. While I think you're right, Godfdad, Jerry did shop himself around as recently as two years ago, applying for the open job at Minnesota, and it seems like one other place. I asked him about it a while after, and he replied something to the effect of, "Well, you know, just seeing what's out there." It may have been a means of upping his value to ORU, personal dissatisfaction about something, there may have been some conflict going on in the department, or, this being around the time that Richard Roberts resigned, he may have felt a lack of security at ORU. I really don't know what the reason was. Whatever the case, I think Jerry Finkbiener is a great fit for ORU, and ORU is a great fit for Jerry. I just don't see him leaving to go to Tulsa, but you never know. Misti Cussen seems like a much more likely possibility, especially with her husband already working here, although I would think anyone with long-term connections with ORU would have a hard time making that jump. Too much tension between the two programs over the years. But I could be wrong . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ORUJason Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 Misti will make a great head coach some day, she is smart, talented and a great communicator. However, there is NO WAY that TU would interview an assistant from ORU. They perceive the TU job as being highly desirable and only an assistant from a "big time" program would realistically be interviewed. The Bill Self to TU move was a unique situation. Jerry's situation is a lot like Scott's, they know they have it good here with very little pressure, and competitive salaries for the head coaches. That isn't to say they wouldn't move on for the right situation, but I don't think TU is the right situation. I wonder if they will consider Kathy McConnell-Miller, the former TU coach who was successful and moved to Colorado but couldn't duplicate the success there. She was very well liked and was a very relatable and down-to-earth person which was very refereshing. Bubba doesn't seem to be interested in previous TU rethreads however (i.e. Steve Kragthorpe) and seems like the type who would go his own direction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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