CAL STATE FULLERTON WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT : A Change of Pace Is What Sharp Needed

Dana Craft, associate athletic director at Southwest Texas State, called Linda Sharp in the spring of 1989, hoping the USC women’s basketball coach could recommend some candidates for the vacant Bobcat job.

The discussion focused on top assistant coaches around the country until a surprise candidate emerged.

“The conversation was real light, and then, jokingly, I said, ‘Why haven’t you asked about me?’ ” Sharp said. “That knocked her socks off. She was surprised, but we went from there.”

Within weeks, Craft had secured one of the nation’s most successful women’s college basketball coaches in Sharp, who guided the Trojans to a 271-99 record in 13 years and consecutive national championships in 1982-83 and 1983-84.

Sharp’s move from Los Angeles to San Marcos, Tex., sent shock waves through the sport.

“I fell off my couch the day I read it in the paper,” Cal State Long Beach Coach Joan Bonvicini said.

Many couldn’t believe Sharp would leave such a plum position for the coaching equivalent of a green banana.

The Bobcats were Division I toddlers, having moved up from the NAIA level in 1984. With a 65-67 record in five seasons, they weren’t breaking even in Division I.

And what were the chances of prize recruits bypassing powerhouse Texas, 25 miles to the north in Austin, to enroll at Southwest Texas State?

But most people didn’t know Sharp was ripe for a move.

“I just needed to make a change,” said Sharp, whose Bobcats play in Cal State Fullerton’s tournament, which begins tonight.

“I wasn’t happy. I wasn’t as excited or as motivated as I had been in previous years, and I felt there were too many things that I couldn’t fix.”

No single factor led to her departure, Sharp said. It was a combination of things.

She grew tired of scheduling problems caused by the lack of a constant home court.

When the USC men’s and women’s teams were in town, they played doubleheaders in the Sports Arena. But when the men were away and the women home, Sharp said the school wouldn’t pay to rent the Sports Arena for a women’s game only.

In Sharp’s last season at USC (1988-89), the Trojans played Texas at Cal State Fullerton and three other “home” games at Loyola Marymount. The 1,200-seat Lyon Center, where the USC women now play most home games, was completed after Sharp left.

“I never felt I had a home-court advantage,” Sharp said. “It’s tough enough winning on the road, but you’ve got to have a home you feel comfortable in. You’d be recruiting someone and she’d say, ‘But where do you play?’ ”

Sharp wanted to hire more experienced assistants but said she couldn’t offer high enough salaries to attract top-notch candidates. With the exception of long-time assistant Fred Williams, there was a high turnover rate on Sharp’s staff.

“I always had young, inexperienced assistants,” Sharp said. “I could never attract an experienced recruiter, and that was frustrating.”

Sharp, 40, who grew up in Orange County and played basketball at Kennedy High School, Fullerton College and Cal State Fullerton, was also becoming disenchanted with Southern California’s traffic, smog, crime and other problems.

“I don’t miss Southern California,” she said. “It was just a little bit crowded and a little bit scary. You’re going at such a hectic pace all the time, you don’t even know what day it is. It’s nice to slow down, enjoy life a bit.”

Sharp, who also serves as an assistant athletic director for promotions, public relations and fund raising, is happy with her situation at Southwest Texas State. The Bobcats play in the 7,200-seat Strahan Coliseum.

Sharp said she has adequate travel and recruiting budgets and solid administrative support for the program. And the five-minute drive to work is a lot less stressful than her Seal Beach-to-Los Angeles commute.

“It’s a nice change,” Sharp said.

Southwest Texas State went 16-11 last season under Sharp, the Bobcats’ best record since moving to Division I. Sharp has only nine players this season, but she is excited about the future. She signed five players to letters of intent this past week.

Her recruiting approach is a little different than it was at USC, where Sharp could point to the Trojan tradition, the national championships, the great players--Cheryl Miller and Pam and Paula McGee.

“We’ve never done anything big, but I tell players they have the opportunity to come here and get things going, to be part of something exciting,” Sharp said. “It’s neat to see a program grow.”