McKnight Says He’s ‘Almost Relieved’ He Didn’t Get Titan Job : Basketball: Leaving Mater Dei would have been tough. But he regrets not being interviewed.

Mater Dei basketball Coach Gary McKnight said he was “almost relieved” Wednesday when Cal State Fullerton announced that UCLA assistant Brad Holland had been named men’s coach at the school.

“My son (Clay) will be at Mater Dei for the next three years,” said McKnight, one of seven finalists for the job. “If it would have gotten to the point where I had to make a decision, it would have been tough on my family.”

But McKnight added that he might have been closer to being put in that position if Fullerton’s search committee had not interviewed only two of the finalists: Holland and Yale’s Dick Kuchen.

“I was hoping to get an interview, and I think I would have gotten a better shot at the job with an interview,” he said. “I think the Fullerton people would have gotten a better feel for me.

“Many think of me as a high school coach and nothing more. Sometimes, you look at somebody and get a preconceived idea of what they’re like. Then you meet them and find out they’re not what they seem to be.”

McKnight, a Fullerton graduate and the most successful high school coach in Southern California the past 10 seasons with a 286-26 record, was asked by Titan Athletic Director Bill Shumard to apply after Shumard decided not to renew John Sneed’s contract.

McKnight met with Shumard, had several follow-up telephone conversations and felt good about his chances. “I feel they’re really courting me, and I have a real solid shot at it,” McKnight said two weeks ago.

But McKnight said Wednesday he thought Fullerton officials had “their minds made up,” and were going to hire a Division I coach or assistant. He was told Wednesday that he would not be interviewed.

Still, he maintained he got fair treatment from Shumard.

“Bill is a class guy, and he’s going to do real well at Fullerton,” said McKnight, who added that he is not interested in the vacancy at Orange Coast College.

Mater Dei will return nine of its top 10 players next season from a team that finished 34-2 and advanced to the State Division I championship game, where it lost to Alameda St. Joseph.