No Surprise: Titans Name Sneed Coach

Cal State Fullerton, which ended its basketball season Friday night with a loss to Nevada Las Vegas, put the finishing touch on the year Saturday by naming John Sneed as its basketball coach. He was given a three-year contract.

“I hope this job is a little bit easier to keep than it was to get,” Sneed said.

Sneed, who was named acting coach when George McQuarn resigned Nov. 3, guided the Titans to a 16-13 season that included an upset of UNLV.

But as Sneed guided the team through the final weeks of the season, Fullerton interviewed two other coaches, fulfilling an announced commitment to an open search. Texas San Antonio Coach Ken Burmeister and UCLA assistant Paul Landreaux withdrew their applications after being interviewed.

“I aggressively recruited the best possible applicants,” Athletic Director Ed Carroll said. “(Sneed) has met all comers. It was not an inside job. He has met the best and come out on top. . . . It became clear that John was the best choice. Certainly his ability to coach, the Xs and Os, you’ve seen that game after game. His ability to pull the players together under adverse situations is a real tribute to his ability as a head coach.”

With the process complete, Sneed said he had no complaint with the search.

“Sometimes it doesn’t matter how long it takes you to run a race as long as you finish first,” Sneed said. “I don’t have a problem with the process. . . . I’d rather be first and take a lot of time in the race than run a real quick race and finish second. . . . The goal I’ve had for a number of years is to be a Division I head coach. Sometimes you don’t get that opportunity, because it’s not like a player. See, a player can walk on to show his ability. A coach never has an opportunity to walk on and show his ability.”

Although Sneed guided the Titans into a fourth-place tie in the Big West Conference despite being picked to finish ninth, his handicap in seeking the job was considered to be the team’s poor graduation rate during his eight years as an assistant to McQuarn.

“The effort John has made already on academics is very encouraging,” Carroll said.

“I have a lot of priorities, and one undoubtedly is to improve the academic situation at the university,” Sneed said. “We have been working very hard at that, to bring about a change in attitude in our athletes and to raise our graduation rate. We’re not going to complete that in a few months. That will be over a longer period of time.”

Fullerton finished the season with 16 victories, despite having a team with no returning starters from the previous season when the Titans were 12-17.

After the season-ending loss Friday, Fullerton is considered to have an outside shot at a bid to the National Invitation Tournament.

“I thought we would have still been on the bubble if we’d gotten our 17th win,” Sneed said. “But if there is a bid, we’ll take it.”

Fullerton will have four starters back next season.

But Sneed’s immediate priority is recruiting.

“We’re a little bit behind here (in recruiting), but we’ve been behind all year and several times we’ve come out on top,” Sneed said.

He also will hire a second assistant. He announced Saturday that assistant Donny Daniels will stay on.

“That--along with business cards--is a priority,” Sneed said.