Quick Notes in College Basketball

Tim Floyd was hired today to be the next head basketball coach of the Texas-El Paso Miners in a surprising move.

Floyd is currently part of an investigation into the athletic department at the University of Southern California. Although officials at UTEP do not believe that any investigation will mention Floyd specifically, it is a questionable decision by the UTEP athletic department to bring in a coach under such scrutiny.

Floyd enters his new position about a year after stepping down at USC under allegations that he gave $1,000 to an adviser of star O.J. Mayo. To bring unnecessary attention to its program, UTEP put itself under the microscope and brought unneeded criticism to its basketball team.

Elsewhere in the country, Boston College fired coach Al Skinner after its men's basketball team finished with a losing record in two of the previous three seasons. It would be a smart move by the Eagles Athletic Director Gene DiFillippo to hire Harvard's Tommy Amaker.

Finally, St. John's needed a big name. The Red Storm needed media attention, a strong personality, a respected basketball mind, and a man dedicated to rebuilding the program. Steve Lavin fits all of those qualities. The one thing he lacks though is the experience of building a successful program (he was hired at UCLA the off-season after the Bruins won a national championship). Who knows if Lavin will succeed in New York, but the Red Storm came out winners today.