Thursday, July 10, 2003 | 9:27 a.m.
Ron Kantowski is a Las Vegas Sun sports writer. Reach him at [email protected] or (702) 259-4088.
Whoever is running a UNLV athletic department that seems about as organized as Oscar Madison's sock drawer these days should make a trip to the local Blockbuster and get reacquainted with "The Wizard of Oz."
He -- or she -- needs to put on his/her ruby red cross-trainers, click them together three times and mimic Judy Garland in the classic movie: "There's no place like home."
I repeat: There's no place like home.
Say it again: There's no place like home.
Instead, whoever is playing the part of the bumbling wizard and working the controls behind the curtain in the athletic department apparently fails to see the value of hiring from within the Las Vegas community. At least this time, that didn't include its own back yard.
Not that Jim Schlossnagle didn't do a nice job in his two years as UNLV baseball coach, or that his top assistant, Buddy Gouldsmith, won't do a similar job as his replacement. But, Jimmy, we hardly knew ya' before you bolted for a pasture that I didn't know was any greener at TCU.
Maybe it's greener as in the color of money. Had the Wizards of Maryland Parkway only offered you a little more of the green stuff after you showed you had the brains, courage and heart to get the job done on the yellow brick road to Omaha, you'd probably still be here -- your wife's Texas accent notwithstanding.
With the possible exception of the "335 Club," the unofficial band of UNLV baseball boosters which more or less disappeared from Wilson Stadium when Schlossnagle erected a wind screen directly in front of their viewing perch along the left-field foul line; and some within the department, who considered him arrogant, most thought Schlossnagle was the right man for the job.
But then who's to say that a couple of other young coaches with local ties couldn't have done just as well? Two years ago, before it imported Schlossnagle from Tulane, UNLV could have hired former Bishop Gorman and current CCSN baseball maestro Tim Chambers had it wanted, or it could have taken a chance on ex-Valley High standout Steve Rodriguez, which Pepperdine (which has more College World Series titles than UNLV, I might add) did last month.
UNLV had a second chance to make things right with Chambers, whose deep Las Vegas roots have kept him home, regardless of how many games or national championships he has won. But apparently it never even considered him this time before naming Gouldsmith as coach.
If anything, given the success CCSN has enjoyed the past two years with a roster comprised mostly of Las Vegas-area players, Chambers-to-UNLV seemed like an even better fit this time.
Here's another thing about hiring local coaches: Once you do, they tend to stay around a while.
Of course, it's entirely possible that Gouldsmith could turn out to be a fine replacement and a fixture in the community, like Fred Dallimore was. The players seem to like him and I also have spoken to some of their parents, who credit Gouldsmith for much of the team's success. Yet, in that he has never been a head coach, there is always that question mark.
With Chambers, you get an exclamation point after the won-lost record.
I have always chided UNLV for not recruiting more local players in sports that "don't count," which would be all of them except football and basketball. Maybe it's time to extend that beef to the recruitment of local coaches.
The way I see it, UNLV already has struck out in that area this summer.
Strike one was when President Carol Harter informed associate athletic director Jerry Koloskie and anybody else who lives here they needn't apply for John Robinson's AD job.
Strike two was when it bypassed Lori Harrigan, one of its very own who has made Las Vegas her home, for the head softball position when all Harrigan would have had to do to recruit top players is toss one of her two Olympic gold medals on the living room table.
Strike three was Wednesday, when it didn't have the sense to place a phone call to Chambers, a proven winner, before promoting Gouldsmith, only a potential one.
Well, at least UNLV didn't dally in naming Schlossnagle's replacement. If only it acted that fast in getting to the bottom of that "Phonegate" caper.
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