Dear Mr. Hill,
In 1999, Fordham hired you to resurrect its struggling men's basketball program, one that hadn't been very successful since it joined the Atlantic 10 Conference in 1995. Their logic, presumably, was that hiring you, a former NBA coach, would put the school on the proverbial basketball map and create a winning atmosphere at Rose Hill.
I think you and I can both agree it didn't go well.
The team actually got worse every year you were coaching it, going from 14 wins in your first year, to 12 in your second, to eight in your third, and finally to an embarrassing two in your last (unless of course you count those two forfeit wins against St. Bonaventure, which I hope you do not).
After the 2002-03 season, you were finally fired, because at the rate you were going, the team would have been winning a negative number of games had you stuck around much longer. I'm sure you weren't surprised, and I would imagine you weren't even very disappointed. The four years you spent at Fordham were, to say the least, forgettable for all parties involved.
Everyone here at Fordham has certainly forgotten them. We've got a coach now that we're quite happy with, thank you very much, and for the first time in a while, we're optimistic about the future.
Apparently, though, you have not forgotten the time you spent at Fordham.
Back in town last month to play the Knicks as the new head coach of the Seattle SuperSonics, you had plenty to say about your old employer.
"It's not a Division I school," you said, according to the New York Post. "It's a good school, but they should really think about going to Division III and putting academics first if they're not going to put any money in sports."
Now Mr. Hill, I agree that it would be nice if Fordham spend a little more money on athletics, but I'm a realist. I know that there's not exactly a surplus, and with projects like the Lincoln Center Master Plan looming, the basketball program may not be a top priority. And that's OK.
But Mr. Hill, you're the last person who should be complaining about Fordham's lack of spending on athletics. After all, according to The Post, Fordham signed you to a 10-year deal in 1999 worth a cool quarter-million dollars a year. A decent percentage of their athletic budget was tied up in paying you!
Now if you're suggesting that Fordham could have spent its money more wisely by not signing you, I'm with you. Maybe $250,000 a year isn't top notch, superstar coach money, but you're not a top notch, superstar coach, and a quarter-million dollars could buy an awful lot of sneakers. But I have a feeling that's not what you meant.
Not when you followed that statement up with this gem, according to The Post: "I don't want to embarrass the school, but it's never going to work there."
Really? Never? That's funny, because last time I checked, all things considered, things have been working pretty well since you left. Coach Dereck Whittenburg's win totals more than doubled in his second season (going from six to 13) and included wins over Xavier, Temple, and even a victory in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament. This year, the team has already defeated Virginia, an ACC opponent. A .500 season isn't out of the question, and if it's not this year, it's one in the not too distant future.
It most definitely can work at Fordham, and it's pretty arrogant of you to think that it can't just because you had no success. Don't blame Fordham for the fact that you couldn't win here, even though you had the benefit of a future NBA starter on your roster. Remember him? Smush Parker? I bet you do; those are his Lakers looking down from a playoff spot on your Sonics.
"I tried to make it work," you told The Post. "That was a mistake. I should have left. It's my fault. I never should have taken the job." Now that's something we all can agree on.
I asked Frank McLaughlin, Fordham's executive director of intercollegiate athletics and recreation, if he had anything to say about your comments, but he took the high road. Here, Mr. Hill, is the entire text of his e-mail response: "I have no comment."
Next time someone asks you about the time you spent at Fordham, Mr. Hill, I suggest you keep those four words in mind.
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