"...replacing Dick Kuchen who never finished with a winning record over the previous 7 seasons."
That's not entirely true. The 1981-82 team went 14-13. I still remember the chants at old Harmon when we got that final win to clinch a winning season--over Furd, capping off a 3-game winning streak to get over .500 for the season.
While Kuchen's overall record was nothing to write home about, guys like Mark McNamara, Michael Pitts, and Michael Chavez, among others, made the 1980-1983 squads fun teams to get behind and root for.
Rest in Peace, Lou. You were my Cal coach during my student years. I was there when we beat UCLA for the first time, and Harmon exploded. It was after another great victory I magically met a woman across the gym who became a soul mate. It was you more than anything else, that made me such a fan of Cal basketball. I know you ended on a sour note, but who among us should only be judged by our failures? Harmon was a rockin, rollin, happening place during my years, and you were our coach.
If you find it upsetting that Fox has managed to squeeze four utterly worthless years out of Cal, it could be worse: Kuchen got seven. Feels like we're in a similar moment, although I remember Harmon alone made Cal basketball worth attending even in the darkest years.
Hard to believe Cal lost to UCLA like 50 games in a row during that streak. The football equivalent was Bruce Snyder's 1990 team that beat UCLA for the first time in 18 seasons. It's ironic that Bob Bockrath fired Campenelli and later became a complete buffoon who would not renew Snyder's contract after that magnificent 91 season. Bruce Snyder is my favorite football coach at Cal, and I loved watching his teams play even during the first three losing seasons. RIP, Bruce.
Requiescat in pace, Coach. I too was one of the Cal fanatics in the 80’s screaming my lungs out in the bandbox that was Harmon Gym. You may recall that Bockrath was the AD who ran Bruce Snyder out of town right after the 1991 Citrus Bowl win, the high water mark of Cal football since the 1950’s.
There's no doubt Campinelli's style would not fly today, and his getting axed kept the most talented roster at Cal from imploding. Even early on, he carried a certain imperiousness that was off-putting to me. However, I did feel like the guy got more punishment than he deserved. He never got another HC job, which is nuts. Though inappropriate by today's standards, his sort of behavior was pretty commonplace among coaches at that time.
Kuchen was the last of a string of bad coaches (for my money Jim Padgett was the worst of the lot) and Campanelli was a breath of fresh air who finally got the Bears back in the post season. We need someone like him to come along now -- sans the abuse, of course.
"...replacing Dick Kuchen who never finished with a winning record over the previous 7 seasons."
That's not entirely true. The 1981-82 team went 14-13. I still remember the chants at old Harmon when we got that final win to clinch a winning season--over Furd, capping off a 3-game winning streak to get over .500 for the season.
While Kuchen's overall record was nothing to write home about, guys like Mark McNamara, Michael Pitts, and Michael Chavez, among others, made the 1980-1983 squads fun teams to get behind and root for.
Rest in Peace, Lou. You were my Cal coach during my student years. I was there when we beat UCLA for the first time, and Harmon exploded. It was after another great victory I magically met a woman across the gym who became a soul mate. It was you more than anything else, that made me such a fan of Cal basketball. I know you ended on a sour note, but who among us should only be judged by our failures? Harmon was a rockin, rollin, happening place during my years, and you were our coach.
If you find it upsetting that Fox has managed to squeeze four utterly worthless years out of Cal, it could be worse: Kuchen got seven. Feels like we're in a similar moment, although I remember Harmon alone made Cal basketball worth attending even in the darkest years.
Interesting seeing this news paired with McKeever, another coach terminated for abuse.
Hard to believe Cal lost to UCLA like 50 games in a row during that streak. The football equivalent was Bruce Snyder's 1990 team that beat UCLA for the first time in 18 seasons. It's ironic that Bob Bockrath fired Campenelli and later became a complete buffoon who would not renew Snyder's contract after that magnificent 91 season. Bruce Snyder is my favorite football coach at Cal, and I loved watching his teams play even during the first three losing seasons. RIP, Bruce.
Requiescat in pace, Coach. I too was one of the Cal fanatics in the 80’s screaming my lungs out in the bandbox that was Harmon Gym. You may recall that Bockrath was the AD who ran Bruce Snyder out of town right after the 1991 Citrus Bowl win, the high water mark of Cal football since the 1950’s.
There's no doubt Campinelli's style would not fly today, and his getting axed kept the most talented roster at Cal from imploding. Even early on, he carried a certain imperiousness that was off-putting to me. However, I did feel like the guy got more punishment than he deserved. He never got another HC job, which is nuts. Though inappropriate by today's standards, his sort of behavior was pretty commonplace among coaches at that time.
Kuchen was the last of a string of bad coaches (for my money Jim Padgett was the worst of the lot) and Campanelli was a breath of fresh air who finally got the Bears back in the post season. We need someone like him to come along now -- sans the abuse, of course.
Wow, welp, for all you Mozilla fans, it took seven years before the AD, then, fired Kuchen.