Columnist Dean Juipe: Spoonhour has chance to be ideal

Dean Juipe

Friday, March 30, 2001 | 10:38 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@lasvegassun.com or 259-4084.

You can see that he'll be good on the rubber-chicken circuit.

He's folksy.

And honest.

And quick on his feet.

As people in Las Vegas get to know him, they'll come to like and appreciate Charlie Spoonhour.

He says he routinely works the banquet and luncheon crowds and is comfortable doing it. As is apparent by his mannerisms and witticisms, he's a natural in front of a receptive audience.

He may even give John Robinson a run for his money when it comes to working a crowd, and the UNLV football coach is the best there is.

He might also be more than acceptable as UNLV's new men's basketball coach.

Introduced Thursday afternoon in the low-key setting of a boardroom within the Thomas & Mack Center, Spoonhour passed his initial test. Like they say, you never get a second chance to make a first impression -- and Spoonhour was surprisingly glib and accommodating in winning over those who were privy to his Las Vegas debut.

Personally, I was indifferent a day earlier when it became apparent Spoonhour had the job. But after seeing him, however briefly and however flattering the environment, I at least caught the license plate of the idling bandwagon. Others in the community may respond as well. In fact, they almost certainly will.

One thing about the hiring of Spoonhour, it wasn't going to offend. It may not have rocked the socks off of those who were salivating for a big, big name like Rick Pitino, but it wasn't going to alienate them either.

Anyone with an open mind will warm to the new coach. And, in time, the skeptics should be able to set aside their misgivings, such as concerns about Spoonhour's age (61), his false (two-year) retirement and the notion that he's doing this with a hidden agenda.

Given his credentials and his personable, heartfelt style, you have to figure the UNLV program is in good hands.

The administration loves him and sees him as a Robinson clone. Both of the senior-ish coaches insist on having fun while molding young players and trying to win games.

They're personable, and proven.

Of course Spoonhour needs to be successful to retain such glowing reviews, as he's well aware.

But he isn't just waltzing in unprepared or coming off a basketball hiatus. He has been doing TV the last couple of years and he has come to know the junior colleges inside out, the result, in part, of his son being immersed in the juco loop (and having coached the 2001 national champion).

It's a safe prediction that he'll tap into that talented -- and sometimes overlooked or undervalued -- reservoir.

There are other immediate issues -- calming the recruits, reassuring the leftovers from the Bill Bayno and Max Good season(s), formulating an effective staff -- but Spoonhour has done this before and his track record indicates he can do it again.

Honestly, if his stay at UNLV plays out as well as his introductory news conference did, he'll be regarded as more than satisfactory.

It may even become increasingly clear that he was the right man for the job all along.