Tulsa hires Mizzou’s Haith as coach
TULSA, Okla. — Tulsa hired Frank Haith of Missouri as its men’s basketball coach Friday, landing a majorconference coach to lead the Golden Hurricane’s transition from Conference USA to the American Athletic Conference this summer.
The 48-year-old Haith said the move came quickly: He was contacted Thursday and was particularly interested by Tulsa’s upcoming move to the home of national champion UConn and teams like Memphis and Cincinnati.
“It’s truly a blessing,” Haith said. “There’s no question that Tulsa’s move into the American Athletic Conference was a big part of making the decision to come here. The strength of this league is phenomenal. It’s a basketball league.”
Haith was 76-28 at Missouri, which plays in the SEC. He replaces Danny Manning, who left for Wake Forest after two seasons in Tulsa.
University President Steadman Upham pointed to Haith’s record (205-129 over 10 years at Miami and Missouri, including eight postseason trips) and his experience leading transitions as major factors in the hire. Missouri left the Big 12 for the SEC and Miami moved from the Big East to the ACC.
“We talked to many head coaches, we had serious conversations with some, but there was only one coach that met all of these criteria,” he said.
Haith was suspended for the first five games of last season by the NCAA after it was found that he inadequately monitored his former assistants’ interactions with disgraced Miami booster Nevin Shapiro and then tried to cover up a five-figure hush money payment to keep potential violations hidden.
The Committee on Infractions report also found that Haith provided inconsistent answers during multiple i nterviews with investigators, i ncluding conf l icting accounts of when he reported the shakedown attempt by Shapiro to Hurricanes athletic director Paul Dee.
Haith has said he “strongly” disagreed with the report but did not appeal the findings. He told reporters he planned to donate 18 days’ worth of his salary from his suspension to the Boys and Girls Club of Columbia. His base annual salary was $450,000, though he earned a guaranteed $1.6 million each year with the Tigers.
As successful as he was at Missouri, Haith was plagued by postseason stumbles, as the secondseeded Tigers lost in the NCAA tournament’s first round to 15th-seeded Norfolk State following a 30-5 season in 2011-12. They lost again in the first round in 2013. This past season, Mizzou went 7-8 down the stretch and failed to qualify for the tournament.
Haith had only positive things to say about Missouri, and athletic director Mike Alden in particular.
“During my time there, he was absolutely incredible to me,” Haith said. “I want to thank the student athletes at Missouri. That was the toughest thing for me, to leave those young men. I did have a chance to visit with the guys before I got on the plane yesterday, and I talked about the decisions I had to make. I thought it was important to let them know. It was really tough for me to leave Missouri.”
DEVELOPMENTS
Rebels add transfer: Ole Miss continued its roster overhaul on Friday with the signing of Tennessee State transfer M.J. Rhett.
The 6-9 Rhett adds depth to the Rebels’ frontcourt. He averaged 10.9 points and a team-leading 9.1 rebounds per game last season at Tennessee State.
Rhett is expected to graduate from Tennessee State in May, which would make him eligible to play immediately for his senior season. He is the seventh signee for the large incoming class, which also i ncludes guards Roderick Lawrence and Terence Smith, who signed with the Rebels on Wednesday.
J.T. Escobar, Marcanvis Hymon, Stefan Moody and Rauno Nurger signed during the fall.
Ole Miss is trying to bounce back from a disappointing 19-14 season, which ended without a trip to the postseason. Lead- ing scorer and star guard Marshall Henderson is the only departing senior, but coach Andy Kennedy has made it clear there will be substantial changes.
Briefly: Duke sophomore Rodney Hood is entering the NBA draft. The 6-8 Hood averaged 16.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists after sitting out last year following his transfer from Mississippi State. ... Kentucky has announced that freshman forward Marcus Lee will return for his sophomore season, joining sophomore center Willie Cauley-Stein in bypassing the NBA draft to stay another year with the national runner-up Wildcats. ... The Houston Cougars’ top two scorers have been granted releases to transfer. But the releases come with conditions. Sophomore guard Danuel House tells KRIV-TV that he and junior forward TaShawn Thomas agree to Houston’s conditions barring their transfers to any school in the American Athletic Conference or on the Cougars’ schedule for the next two seasons. But he says they plan to appeal to the NCAA a stipulation barring them from moving to any Texas school.
Miami Hurricanes forward James Kelly plans to transfer to a school closer to his home in Michigan. Coach Jim Larranaga said Friday that Kelly has been granted his release by the Hurricanes. The 6-7 Kelly is from Ann Arbor, Mich. He averaged 6.0 points and 3.7 rebounds last season.