Ron Kantowski finds the University of Pacific’s failure to promote Karen Weitz benefits Centennial High and Vegas

Friday, Jan. 12, 2007 | 7 a.m.

Life is full of successful people who at least partially got that way by being in the right place at the right time. There was Lou Gehrig when Wally Pipp got a headache; Harrison Ford when Tom Selleck couldn't shed Magnum to play Indiana Jones in "Raiders of the Lost Ark"; Lyle Lovett when Julia Roberts went temporarily blind and/or insane.

Then there are successful people who occasionally find themselves in the wrong place at the right time.

That would describe Karen Weitz, the workaholic girls' basketball coach at Centennial High, who guided the Bulldogs to four consecutive state championships before deciding to explore her options, chase a dream, taste the asparagus ... whatever it was that prompted her to leave the comfort of Bulldog Gymnasium last year for the University of Pacific in bucolic Stockton, a produce hub in California's verdant San Joaquin Valley.

She agreed to become the top assistant for a Tigers team that had finished 5-22 the year before. When Craig Jackson resigned after a 1-5 start, she was presented with her first Division I coaching opportunity as Pacific named Weitz interim head coach. Even she couldn't have imagined the dominoes falling into place that fast.

But they didn't stay lined up for long.

She won five games and lost 17 with one of her players (former Centennial star Whitney Price) and a bunch of Jackson's. But it didn't matter how many games she won or lost or with whose players. At the end of the season, Weitz was not offered the job.

"We talked about it, but they said they were looking for somebody with experience at that level, which they said I lacked," she said.

But that raises the age-old question: How does one get experience at the next level if nobody is willing to give one a chance to acquire some?

"I still think coaching basketball is coaching basketball," Weitz shrugged.

She said she wasn't bitter about the way things turned out at Pacific, perhaps because she was fortunate to get her old job back. If there was one thing that a few months in Stockton taught her, it was how much she missed every day in Las Vegas.

Still, if you talk to her long enough, you sense that the experience left at least a hint of a bad taste in her mouth.

Maybe it was just the asparagus.

She was bypassed at Pacific for Lynn Roberts, who had built a juggernaut at Chico State in the Freddie Prinze League (actually, NCAA Division II). Roberts is finding it difficult to win with Jackson's players, too. Pacific is 3-13 so far.

Weitz, on the other hand, is 18-2 at Centennial. The Bulldogs lost 67-66 to Galena of Reno but won a rematch with the Grizzlies by 38 points. Centennial's only other loss was 58-52 to Narbonne of Harbor City, Calif., during a holiday tournament in Phoenix.

The last I saw Centennial play was at Mojave in 2005. That's where I found myself Tuesday night. Not a lot has changed, beginning with Weitz's wardrobe.

White pullover, navy workout pants, white sneakers. OK, maybe it's not as familiar as Bear Bryant's houndstooth-check hat. But it's what winners wear around here.

The last time I saw Centennial, they had a sophomore guard named Italee Lucas. She's a senior now. She's a lot better. Her supporting cast isn't quite as strong, but it doesn't flub its lines.

Centennial plays as if its hair is on fire and the fire marshal has left the building. That's the way it played against Mojave two years ago, despite having just three players on the bench.

That's the way it played Tuesday night, despite having just three players on the bench.

"We started with 10 (total players), but a couple quit," Weitz said.

A couple usually do. The Bulldogs practice year-round, which doesn't leave a lot of time for boyfriends or downloading Hilary Duff songs onto your iPod. It also explains that while their opponents are shuffling their play lists, the Bulldogs are usually cutting down the nets.

But this year, they may not enter the state tournament as favorites. During Weitz's sabbatical, Bishop Gorman started practicing year-round, too. The Gaels are 16-0 and ranked No. 5 in MaxPreps.com national basketball poll.

When I asked Weitz about Gorman, she said she hadn't seen the Gaels in a while. I think that's her way of saying Gorman is pretty good. She said Cheyenne was pretty good, too.

It should be a dandy state tournament, and it's here this year.

The way I see it, Pacific's loss is the Orleans Arena's gain.

Pass the asparagus.