Gene Bartow (1930-2012)

[-jk]

Gene Bartow (www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-gene-bartow-20120104,0,4837089.story) died yesterday.

A good coach put into an impossible position - succeeding Wooden. Lessons there for us one day.

-jk

[Bob Green]

It is a sad day for college basketball with this news. Thanks for posting the link.

[doctorhook]

I knew coach Bartow when he was at UAB. Great person, great coach. Prayers to his family.

[WiJoe]

Great guy. Met him while he was at UAB during the old Great Midwest Conference days and on into the early Conference USA configuration. Those Conference USA days with Gene, Kevin O'Neill (Marquette), Bob Huggins (Cincinnati), Joey Meyer (DePaul), Charlie Spoonhour (Saint Louis) and Larry Finch (Memphis) provide some great memories.

[jimsumner]

Gene Bartow (www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-gene-bartow-20120104,0,4837089.story) died yesterday.

A good coach put into an impossible position - succeeding Wooden. Lessons there for us one day.

-jk

True. Except Duke doesn't have a Sam Gilbert to compete with the new coach for control of the program.

[WakeDevil]

UCLA did not fall off the cliff after Wooden retired. The 2-3 coaches who succeeded him just couldn't match his run in the 1960s.

[gotoguy]

Like several after him, Coach Bartow left Champaign-Urbana and the Illini coaching job for brighter lights and greener pastures, in his case UCLA.

Lou Henson followed; then Lon Kruger took the job, only to leave to coach the Atlanta Hawks after they were turned down by Tom Izzo, who then recommended Kruger for the job. Kruger was followed by Bill Self who left for Kansas when ol' Roy skipped back to Chapel Hill. Now the Illini have Bruce Weber who is the first of that illustrious bunch to be in danger of losing his job rather than leaving it for greener pastures. Of course it was Weber who with Bill Self's players, took the Illini to the finals in 2005? only to lose to ol' Roy playing with Doughtery's players when Sean May had a Jack Givens like performance in the final. That of course was my worst day as a Blue Devil/Illini fan, actually surpassing the lost FF Saturday in Seattle in 1989 when both teams lost. The Devils to Seton Hall and the Illini to UM.

Gene of course was the Memphis State coach in 73 when Bill Walton had his amazing finals performance of 22-23 from the field leading the Bruins to their 7th straight title. Larry Finch was a guard on that MSU team and years later(and many pounds gained) coached his alma mater.