A letter to Jim Livengood

Dear Mr. Livengood,

As I sit here and watch the sinking ship that has become Arizona basketball. I have to wonder just how much you are to blame. Sure, some people will blame Lute Olson and I slightly understand that. However, a closer look reveals that you are not very good at what you do.

It all started last year when Josh Pastner wanted to be an associate head coach and you refused. Had he been here now, this whole mess would probably have been avoided. Do you think Abdul Gaddy would have said no to Pastner? Not likely. Do you think Jeff Withey would have transferred? Not likely.

You guaranteed there would be no smooth transition by hiring a completely new staff. Thank you for hiring Reggie Geary, though we both know you had nothing to do with it. Instead, you let Mike Dunlap sign a contract that had no clauses in it.

That's right. You made the decision to pay an assistant coach 375,000 dollars based on basically nothing. You did not think to make a clause that would force him to become head coach should something happen to Lute. Instead, you waited until that something did happen and he turned you down.

Now, logic would tell us that you should have hired Reggie Geary. He is a former player and all of the recruits love him. Instead you hire an AAU coach and color commentator. That's genius, Jim. You had the opportunity to hire a coach that has been around grown men and instead you go with a guy that is known more for being associated with ASU than being a head coach.

This whole mess could have been avoided, similar to the mess in numerous other sports. The good thing is that there are ways to fix the problems that are increasing by the minute. The bad news is that you are in charge of them.

You could hire Josh Pastner, resign, or build a time machine and we would all probably forgive you. Instead, three years from now, you are going to be the man that killed Arizona basketball.

Thanks Jim.