COLLEGE BASKETBALL: 1994-95 PREVIEW : Raveling Says Move Was His Idea

In his first interview since retiring, former USC basketball coach George Raveling said Monday that stepping down was strictly his idea, that he had thought about quitting for the last three years and that he was not forced out by Athletic Director Mike Garrett.

“I sincerely believe that the whole thing about a feud between Mike and I has been misinterpreted,” Raveling said. “Not one time since he was made athletic director did we ever even have an argument. For anyone to suggest that a problem between us led to my decision would be a disservice to both Mike and myself.”

When Raveling, 57, announced his retirement through his attorney last week, he cited injuries he had suffered from a near-fatal auto accident Sept. 25. On Monday, however, he said that the accident had been only the final factor in a decision he had long been considering.

“Retiring is something I have thought about a lot over the last three years,” Raveling said. “For most of our lives, retirement is something we all grapple with but for one reason or another we don’t have the fortitude to go on and make a decision. We know we should, we think about it and think about it, but we just don’t do it.

“What the accident did was force me to sit down and stare this thing right in the eye and make a decision. It wasn’t just one thing (that led to his retirement) but I think that it was an accumulation of things.”

Did he consider sitting out this season and returning next year?

“I thought about that but I really felt that it wasn’t fair to the school or the players,” he said. “The other thing was that I doubted seriously that any of the circumstances that motivated me to want to get out of coaching were going to change. Some of those things did not deal directly with USC or the present team.”

Raveling, who suffered nine broken ribs, a broken collarbone and pelvis, and a collapsed lung in the accident, spent 22 years as a college head coach at Washington State, Iowa and USC. He said that if he had to start his coaching career today, he wouldn’t do so because of how the game has changed.

“The most fun in coaching I ever had was when I was at Washington State, because there was a different set of circumstances,” he said. “The rules were different, the kids were different and the expectations were different. It was just fun to coach then. You really were a coach then. Today, it is coach, slash-slash-slash-slash. Coaching is the easiest part. Now, you have to deal with so many other things, from NCAA rules changes to public relations.

“If my son (Mark) came up to me and asked me whether he should get into coaching or not, I would tell him, ‘Don’t do it.’ The reason is that everything is so much different today. People only care if you win, and unfortunately, the real victories come off the court. Seeing a kid grow like (USC’s) Mark Boyd, who had never slept in his own bed until he got here. To see him grow from a boy to a man, those are the real victories.”

Raveling said he was surprised by Colorado football Coach Bill McCartney’s retirement announcement over the weekend but understood his reasoning.

“The pressure in coaching today is unreal,” Raveling said. “Coaches today have to make enormous sacrifices. I have total empathy with (McCartney). I think that you are going to see more and more coaches leaving on their own terms.”

In July, Raveling turned down a lucrative coaching offer from Seton Hall. He said he made his decision after talking to former Pirate Coach P.J. Carlesimo, who left Seton Hall to coach in the NBA at Portland.

“He told me that he didn’t think that there was enough talent there to win more than nine games,” Raveling said. “He also said that if I had decided to put up with that and then had a good recruiting year, I would look forward to two more losing seasons playing freshmen. So, I would be looking at three losing seasons in a row and I had to ask myself if I was ready to do that at this point in my career. I decided that I couldn’t.”

Raveling, who declined an invitation to be honored this weekend when USC plays Temple in the Martin Luther King Classic doubleheader at Memphis, plans to concentrate on his rehabilitation. Twice a week he returns to USC University Hospital for therapy and already has improved his strength.

“Right now, I’m not in any condition to travel,” he said. “My goal is to get through this rehab process, which will run through the end of January. Every day is a mini-victory for me.”