Being a long-time fan of the Chicago Cubs, I happen to know something about long-term curses. Unfortunately, the ASU basketball program has been developing quite a reputation as a graveyard for college basketball head coaches. While I understand the need to change coaches at ASU, I am hoping that Herb Sendek will break the ASU Curse, where all of our former basketball coaches have not been able to get another head coaching position after being fired from their position at ASU. In 1982, ASU mysteriously fired their most successful coach, Ned Wulk, only one year after achieving their best record in history at 24-4. Ned was a great recruiter having assembled a starting lineup of Alton Lister, Fat Lever, Bryon Scott, Sam Williams and Johnny Nash. This illogical firing of Coach Wulk started the string of fired ASU coaches who were not able to secure another head coaching position, despite their impressive track record before coming to ASU - Ned Wulk, Bob Weinhauer, Steve Patterson, Bill Frieder, Don Newman (one year interim coach), Rob Evans, and now Herb Sendek. Thus, I will be rooting for Herb to get hired again as a head coach to break this dreaded curse of the past two decades. Likewise, I will not mind if our next ASU coach elects to use ASU as a stepping stone to another better coaching position and after building a much stronger program here. We need to develop a new reputation as a place to find great basketball coaches.
