ANALYSIS : Coach Got Caught in His Backlash

LAS VEGAS — Many of this city’s highest rollers and biggest movers and shakers waited eagerly one February afternoon last year to hear Nevada Las Vegas Coach Rollie Massimino speak about their favorite subject--Rebel basketball.

The setting was a Rotary Club luncheon, and the assembled bank presidents, business people and political figures were there to enjoy and digest whatever nuggets Massimino might impart.

It was Massimino’s second season of occupying Las Vegas’ most visible position, and the luncheon was supposed to be a quick schmooze session, another of those dog-and-pony shows that are required of college coaches. Show up, shake hands and smile--a lot. And because the room was packed with 250 ardent, big-money UNLV basketball boosters, smiles were definitely in order.

But a funny thing happened that February afternoon. Massimino failed to show. He didn’t even call. The boosters weren’t amused and became incensed when Massimino later dismissed his no-show to a local newspaper as unimportant.

The backlash lingers.

Although this was the most grievous example, it was a typical Massimino misunderstanding with the UNLV community, according to many observers.

“Unfortunately, Coach Massimino did not establish the kind of overall community relations that were expected of him,” UNLV Athletic Director Jim Weaver said. “I don’t believe Coach Massimino missed that Rotary meeting on purpose, but it was missed.”

Said Nevada Board of Regents member Lonnie Hammargren: “There are some parts of the community that wouldn’t have liked him no matter what, but there are other parts that could have, and he didn’t try.”

Massimino’s brief but rocky tenure as coach of the Runnin’ Rebels ended Friday when the university bought out his lucrative and controversial contract. And although the basketball team’s poor performance was the key factor in the breakup, numerous people familiar with the situation said Massimino’s aloof attitude was also a major factor in his fall.

Massimino disagrees with this assessment.

“I’ve had a great relationship with a lot of marvelous, marvelous people in this community,” he said. “This experience was a great one because of the amount of fine people I’ve met.”

But by this week, what little support Massimino had was gone.

“He was the wrong guy for the job,” said Chuck Thompson, a longtime UNLV booster who also served as former coach Jerry Tarkanian’s attorney. “He was the wrong person at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Poor timing defined Massimino’s 57-game career as the leader of the Runnin’ Rebels, several influential community members said.

Problems began before he rolled out his first ball in the Thomas & Mack Center. After 19 seasons, Massimino, 59, left the relatively tame confines of Villanova in 1992 to become the first coach to succeed the legendary Tarkanian, who brought victories and alleged NCAA infractions in bunches.

Massimino was charged with keeping the program clean, a concept he embraced in the news conference to announce his hiring. In a few seconds, Massimino declared that “in no way will any student-athlete ever embarrass this university . . . ever.”

Tarkanian supporters, and there are many in Las Vegas, perceived the statement as a knock against the former coach, who still resides in the area. Moreover, he couldn’t make the lofty proclamation stick.

There have been problems and embarrassing situations involving Rebel players under Massimino, most notably star forward Isaiah (J.R.) Rider, now a member of the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves. Rider, who was brought in by Tarkanian, was accused of academic fraud, a charge that was dismissed when an independent investigation cleared Rider.

Unfortunately for Massimino, memories don’t disappear so quickly. Some university supporters, who said they were neutral about Massimino before the situation, are still irked by his handling of the matter.

And the Tarkanian faithful? Well, they already were leery of Massimino because he was the choice of former UNLV and current Long Beach State President Robert Maxson, one of Tarkanian’s least-favorite people and a longtime antagonist. The Rider mess provided the doubters with more ammunition.

“He came in and made a lot of people angry right from the beginning,” said Fred Glusman, a Las Vegas restaurateur and formerly proud booster. “You go back to the first day and it only got worse.”

Massimino admits he did not realize the extent of the rift in the community left from the Tarkanian-Maxson battles. This was a mistake.

“I thought I had learned a lot in my life until I went through this,” Massimino said. “But there were many, many, many more positives than negatives.”

Tarkanian said he considered Massimino a friend before he arrived in Las Vegas and still does. However, friends of Tarkanian said Massimino tried to set up a meeting once to clear the air after his first-day statement but Tarkanian declined.

Even some of the local press, whom Tarkanian had masterfully brought in as if they were family members, had trouble working with Massimino. Tarkanian was a media favorite even during the tense times of NCAA probes and the final days before he was forced out in 1991.

As the losses mounted in the Rebels’ sub-par 15-13 1993-1994 season, dealing with Massimino was almost impossible because of his volatile temper.

KVBC-TV’s Colin Cowherd, the co-host of Massimino’s weekly TV show, said dealing with Massimino was one of the most difficult experiences of his career.

“He’s very distant, difficult and aloof,” Cowherd said. “At his worst he is belligerent. After two years of doing the show we still have absolutely no rapport.”

Some longtime supporters attribute a portion of Massimino’s public-relations problems to his coming from the East Coast. They said he exemplifies the stereotypical brash, bombastic Eastern transplant, which did not play well in what essentially is a closed community with a population of about 1 million.

Weaver, UNLV’s athletic director, acknowledged that sentiment was strong--and shared.

“I heard from a lot of people in the community that Coach Massimino had a ‘back East attitude,’ ” Weaver said. “It’s really unfortunate that a wedge was created.”

But could it have been avoided?

Dennis Finfrock, a former UNLV interim athletic director, said the community did not give Massimino a break.

“I don’t feel the town welcomed him from the start,” said Finfrock, a vice president at the MGM Grand hotel. “The town didn’t embrace him like a new coach should have been. He should have been given the benefit of the doubt.”

Although, the majority of opinion seems to be that Massimino created many of his problems in Las Vegas, even his most die-hard critics say the deck was stacked against him.

Regent Shelley Berkley, who angrily criticized Massimino for his initial refusal to accept a buyout, admits that his task might have been insurmountable.

“He came in with some very high expectations, but he made a lot of mistakes,” Berkley said. “But I’m not sure if God almighty could have handled this.”