Magnus

April 2nd, 2013 at 3:21 AM ^

I don't see why it has to be.  It has the same perks that some of their other sports have when it comes to recruiting.  They just need someone to come in there and consistently do the right thing (aka not get in trouble) along with being a decent basketball coach.  It's like most schools, except most schools aren't in LA.

Tater

April 2nd, 2013 at 5:19 AM ^

He could have had a lot better job if he had waited. Unless UCLA gets the banhammer for recruiting violations, USC will always be under their shadow in LA.  It will be like football in reverse: USC will get only the area players that UCLA doesn't want.  

I'm sure a lot of really cool jobs will open up next year, and he would have been on everyone's "hot list."  It's still a decent move, and a huge pay raise, but it could have been a lot more in a year.

Mr Miggle

April 2nd, 2013 at 8:41 AM ^

It's crazy to think bigger jobs would be out there for Enfield if FGCU took a step or two back next season. Would he even have been considered for a major job two weeks ago? Succeeding at USC will put him in line for better jobs.

LSAClassOf2000

April 2nd, 2013 at 6:14 AM ^

In one respect, Enfield fits the prevailing profile of more recent USC basketball coaches in that part of his resume contains NBA experience, but it also seems like a bet on the style and attitude of Enfield, and that's completely fine for a school that was short on obvious choices to replace O'Neill. I don't fault Pat Haden for wanting to go in the direction of youth and energy at USC, and I would think that Enfield could find a sufficient pool of recruits perfect for his game out there as well, and the massive upgrade in available resources at USC won't hurt either. If USC wanted to change the perception of its basketball program, this is a good start, I think. 

htownwolverine

April 2nd, 2013 at 7:01 AM ^

Not surprising. Go back to his pre game Florida interview with Craig Sager. Sager asked him why his house was for sale. He mumbled something about the wife's commute to pick up their children.

Buck Killer

April 2nd, 2013 at 7:37 AM ^

It is sports, and if an athlete does this it is fine. Was Lebron or Shack "wealthy enough" before their moves to Florida?

74polSKA

April 2nd, 2013 at 7:47 AM ^

IIRC, his wife put her modeling career on hold to move to Ft Myers with him for his chance to start a coaching career.  Maybe this move benefits Enfield and his wife because it will be much easier for her to get back into her career in LA. 

newfoundhbomb

April 2nd, 2013 at 8:26 AM ^

hope he is not looking for another job in 5-6 years... one good year doesn't always equal success.  best of luck to him, hope he is successful out there.

cheesheadwolverine

April 2nd, 2013 at 9:04 AM ^

Hiring a coach on the basis of a grand total of two successful games screams desperation to me. That said

A) it's USC, they probably should be desperate

B) our conference has one team that hired an assistant and one that is in the process of shutting itself, so...

Jinjooappa

April 2nd, 2013 at 9:50 AM ^

I can't believe people are criticizing this guy for taking a million dollar raise. He took this program probably as far as it can go. They won't be able to compete with UF, FSU, and Miami in the long run. They don't have the resources and alumni/booster base to do so.

This hire makes total sense for USC/Haden. Haden is a cerebral guy so it figures he'd be enamored with a Hopkins man. Also, Enfield has shown the ability to take a fledgling, moribund program and turn it into a winner in a short time. Time will tell whether or not he can do it against the big boys.

Rabbit21

April 2nd, 2013 at 10:16 AM ^

I'm not entirely sure about that.  I'd say Gonzaga is more of a basketball power in Washington than UW or WSU and it's  not like Miami or FSU would really present scary competition(UF a different matter).  If he wanted to stay and build on his success he'd have a chance to do something at FGCU, that said it's a lot easier to do that at USC and if he's not necessarily tied to FGCU or isn't entirely happy lviing there, then sticking around has a lower potential payoff and it's hard to blame him for that.  Still I wonder if even a million dollar raise is effectively a paycut when he's moving to a higher cost of living area and his tax bill has probably shot through the roof.

MI Expat NY

April 2nd, 2013 at 10:42 AM ^

Winning at FGCU would be more like winning at Eastern Washington than winning at Gonzaga.  Not only is FGCU below the big three in the pecking order, they're also below USF and UCF, and possibly below FIU and FAU.  I imagine the ceiling at FGCU is a consistent tourny entrant as a 14-16 seed and likely never replicating this year's sweet 16.  

kicknback1

April 2nd, 2013 at 11:54 AM ^

By the time the State of California gets done taxing him, he'll probably be making less than he was at FCGU....

Michiganguy19

April 2nd, 2013 at 11:58 AM ^

Would have been insane. VCU is like Harvard compared to FGCU. They are in a crap conference and have only had students for like 15 years.... He had to make a move, that is how these things work. Good for him and his family. Those kids at FGCU had a great few days this March, but they were even lucky to be there...

BlueinLansing

April 2nd, 2013 at 12:10 PM ^

and hardly anyone would have heard of him if his team hadn't been the upset winner of the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament as the #2 seed.  Still not a huge upset put an upset none the less.

Doubt FGCU makes the tourny without the auto-bid.

 

 

jmblue

April 2nd, 2013 at 12:31 PM ^

This is a huge roll of the dice by USC.  Enfield has two years of head coaching experience.  The first year he went 15-17.  So they are basically hiring him because of this one season alone - actually, probably just because of one tourney run, with a team that I assume was recruited mostly by his predecessor (Enfield was an assistant at FSU two years ago).