For black Pac-10 coaches, inauguration takes on special meaning

Ernie Kent has taken a couple of Oregon men's basketball teams to the final eight of the NCAA tournament. Johnny Dawkins has played in an NCAA final and was the top assistant on the bench when Duke won the 2001 national title.

Like Dawkins, Lorenzo Romar played in the NBA and has coached a couple of Sweet 16 teams.

What they saw on television Tuesday morning in Washington, D.C. stopped them. Their observations seemed to say that the inauguration of President Obama will forever have its own resonance with them.

"As I was watching, I was a little overwhelmed," said Romar, the Washington basketball coach, on the Pac-10's weekly conference call. "Having grown up in Compton, Calif., battling through racism ... you get a feeling from a lot of people around you that we can only go so far. In African-American communities, you get men 40 years old who can't look you in the eye, their self-esteem is so low."

Romar's reaction to what he watched Tuesday morning: "It was awesome."

Dawkins, the first-year Stanford coach, called it "an amazing moment in time. Like everyone, I was glued to the television. It shows you that through time, things do change. Anything is possible."

Oregon's Kent, the longest-tenured Pac-10 coach at 12 years, noted how momentous the occasion was, but said he added a message to his players about it, reminding them progress — much as theirs on the floor — is going to have to be collegial.

"One man is not going to change this country," he said. "It's going to be the administration and the support of a whole lot of people. We've got work to do to put people to work and put people back in their homes.

"I hope and pray, and I'm sending good vibes [Obama's] way, because there's a lot of work to be done."

There is, of course, a fourth African-American men's head basketball coach in the league. That's Oregon State's Craig Robinson, the fellow wearing the orange-and-black scarf near the podium Tuesday. Robinson, after attending the ceremonies inaugurating his brother-in-law, was to fly today to the Bay Area to rejoin his team before it takes on California on Thursday night.

"I was sitting here looking at game tape," joked Kent, adding of his rival coach, "and Craig was sitting in D.C. with his brother-in-law."

A head-scratcher

The voters have spoken, even if the prize was slightly less important than the aforementioned.

Lawrence Hill, the Stanford forward, is the Pac-10 player of the week. He was 11 of 15 for 25 points against Cal.

Cal is a lot better than the Oregon schools. I get that. But this was the rebuttal of Taylor Rochestie of Washington State:

He scored 44 points on the road in two games in Oregon. Yes, he was 9 for 23 from the field. But he was 7 of 12 on three-pointers, had 15 assists and five turnovers, equaled Hill's per-game rebound total with six, averaged 42 minutes in playing the toughest position on the floor (point guard) and was 16 of 16 on free throws at Oregon. He was the key figure as WSU demolished the Pac-10 record for foul shooting, with 28 of 28.

A Pac-10 spokesman says the vote is done by six to eight people from the conference office. Judgment and perspective apparently are down the list of requirements for membership.

The Cougars are used to this. Kyle Weaver and Derrick Low were the two players most responsible for a 52-17 two-year record that constitutes one of the league's most stunning turnarounds. Neither ever won the award.

Rim Shots

• Arizona hosts Arizona State tonight, and the Wildcats (11-7) could be solidly in contention for an NCAA berth if Jamelle Horne hadn't twice cost them chances for overtime with foolish fouls in regulation, the latter at USC on Saturday.

"He feels horrible about it," says coach Russ Pennell, "and we feel horrible about it for him."

• Oregon is at Stanford on Thursday, where it hasn't won since 1986.

• Ducks AD Pat Kilkenny told the Eugene Register-Guard he "can't really think of a scenario where we'd have to strongly consider" replacing Kent, whose team is 6-12 and 0-6.