Bill Carmody is a sly devil with a Rasputin-ish ability to survive various incidents. Today, we find out he signed a contract extension in this, his 11th season at the helm of Northwestern basketball.
Thursday, in a fit of depression, I admitted for the first time that I thought NU should immediately go in a different direction. Four days later, NU has done exactly the opposite. Teddy Greenstein reports that Carmody had basically been sitting on the extension since August, but the timing, still, is terrible.
I really like Bill Carmody: I think he's a good coach willing to try intriguing, new things, he understands his personnel for the most part, and with a few notable issues, he generally handles a very difficult situation - coaching a Big Ten team with no NCAA tournament experience - well.
I just can't shake thinking this is an awful decision though. People say they want to keep him under contract for recruiting, but, if I'm a recruit, and NU doesn't make the tournament this year, I'd rather see they're committed to finding somebody new, exciting, and capable than sticking with the guy who is 0-11 in tourney appearances. That the school, despite the bad history, cares, and that I could help out and be that player on that first NCAA team.
I guess we'll have to hope those players want to instead commit to being players for Carmody years 12-16. The season isn't over, and great things could still happen. For Carmody's sake and NU's, I hope they do.
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