 |
 |
 |
|
According to terms of the most recent contract extension that went through the 2010-11 season, Braun is due a $985,000 buyout. The door to the men's basketball office was locked Wednesday afternoon and it was dark inside.
| Advertisement |
|||
| |||
Barbour said a search for a new coach will begin immediately, aided by the firm of Eastman & Beaudine, Inc. Associate head coach Louis Reynaud will direct the program until a new head coach is named, and the other assistants will at least stay aboard until then.
"This team had a tremendous amount of talent and it was more the little things that held us back," said forward Theo Robertson, who redshirted the season while recovering from hip surgery.
The Cal job is one of two open in the conference, along with Oregon State, which fired Jay John during the season.
Some possible replacements for Braun include Saint Mary's coach Randy Bennett, former Stanford and Golden State Warriors coach Mike Montgomery, former UCLA coach Steve Lavin, former Warriors and Sacramento Kings coach Eric Musselman, UNLV coach Lon Kruger or Arizona assistant Kevin O'Neill.
Barbour already has her own short list.
Boykin said the Bears need a "disciplinarian" who will put some "fear" in the players.
"The numbers don't lie," Boykin said. "We made the NIT but that was a disappointment to a lot of people. I really have no idea why our defense was so bad. It's a mental toughness thing and we didn't have that mental toughness on the defensive end."
Braun has a school-record 11 postseason victories and reached a record five NCAA tournaments. His 219 victories at the school are second on Cal's career list behind only Nibs Price, who was 449-294 from 1925-54.
The 54-year-old Braun coached at Eastern Michigan and Siena Heights College before joining the Bears in September 1996. His career record is 552-389 in 31 seasons.
Braun was born in Chicago and played one year of basketball at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse before transferring to Wisconsin. He graduated in 1975.