Mar 27, 2008

Cal coach Braun fired after 12 seasons

By Jeff Faraudo / Bay Area News Group

BERKELEY - As impatience with the Cal men's basketball program swelled this season, a common remark about coach Ben Braun started something like: "He's a nice guy, but ..."

On Wednesday, after Braun was fired following 12 seasons, two of his players suggested being a nice guy might have been part of the problem.

Sophomores Jamal Boykin and Theo Robertson both said they were surprised and disappointed by the news the team was given first by Braun, then by Cal athletic director Sandy Barbour.

"I heard all the rumors, but I was speechless and shocked," said Boykin, a sophomore transfer from Duke, who became a starter late in the season. "That was my initial reaction. Kind of numb in a way."

Robertson, a De La Salle High grad who sat out this season to recover from offseason hip surgery, said players were "unsettled" about the news of the day.

"We appreciated a lot of things coach Braun brought to our program," Robertson said. "But it's a business, so from that standpoint everyone understands the decision."

Both players agreed the Bears, 17-16 overall this season and ninth-place finishers in the Pac-10 Conference, underachieved. Boykin said a more disciplined approach might have helped.

"(The) relationship with guys here was phenomenal. (We were) free and able to smile and laugh with the guys, but at times that carried into time where we should have been taking care of business," Boykin said. "So having a coach we kind of fear in a way could help us at this point."

Robertson said players ultimately are responsible for their performance on the floor, but agreed that something was missing.

"I think there was an aspect of mental toughness this team lacked, and that was evident in our defensive struggles," he said. "Maybe it is a new coach who brings that to a team."

Barbour said Braun, 54, represented many things the university wants in a coach. But there was no getting around the fact the Bears played in the NCAA tournament just once in the past five seasons.

"Ultimately, the bottom line is we just didn't win enough basketball games," she said. "I believe this is a very talented team and I believe they underperformed."

She said a nationwide search would begin immediately, and that there is no specific timetable for naming a new coach.

Among potential candidates are ex-Stanford coach Mike Montgomery, St. Mary's coach Randy Bennett and former Warriors and Kings coach Eric Musselman.

Barbour said she has lofty expectations for the team, expected to return four sophomore starters next season, unless Pac-10 scoring leader Ryan Anderson decides to enter the NBA draft.

"Four out of the last five seasons, not to go to the NCAAs, concerns me about putting our student-athletes in the best position to have, as I said to them this morning, outrageous success," Barbour said.

Braun posted a record of 219-154 at Berkeley, winning more games than any coach since Clarence "Nibs" Price, who set the school standard of 449 victories during a 30-year reign that ended in 1954.

He took Cal to the NCAA tournament five times after stabilizing a program rocked by scandal under former coach Todd Bozeman. But the Bears' most recent NCAA tournament victory came in 2003, and they haven't survived the first weekend of the event since his debut season of 1997.

More recently, Cal was just 79-75 overall in the past five seasons, including 39-51 in conference play. The Bears finished 6-12 in the Pac-10 this season for the third time in the past four years.

Braun had three years remaining on his contract, and will be paid $985,000, his base salary for the 2008-09 season.

Braun could not be reached for comment, but said in a statement released by the school that he appreciated his time in Berkeley.

"I've had the privilege to coach at one of the top universities in the country, and I'm proud of the program we've built," he said. "I'm obviously disappointed that my staff and I won't be able to coach this team next year, and I feel they will be very successful."

Robertson said he and Boykin, as soon-to-be fourth-year college players, have assumed leadership roles within the team.

"It's kind of our job to guide this team during this time," he said, adding that the players will meet sometime in the coming days to discuss what they'd like in a new coach and have been encouraged by Barbour to share those feelings.

"She's truly dedicated to getting the best for us," Boykin said. "This is what she feels is best for us. It's tough, but it's just one of those things that's part of the college basketball business."