Posted on: Sunday, July 11, 2004
UH makes curious choice for new coach
By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Columnist
"You're not serious, he's gonna do what ... ?"
"You've got to be (kidding) me about this, right?"
It seems some of the people who know Jim Bolla think he's crazy to be pursuing the University of Hawai'i women's basketball coaching job. And, then, there are those who think UH must be.
Out of the 91 candidates who we're told applied for the job being vacated by Vince Goo, Bolla's candidacy is the most interesting. You could also say the most curious.
In advance of the UH Board of Regents' meeting Thursday to confirm the athletic department and Manoa chancellor's nomination, here are some of the tidbits as they have seeped out over the nearly five-month process to pick a new coach:
Bolla is 52, and his last college coaching stint was eight years ago at Nevada-Las Vegas, where he resigned after a 4-21 season that was the exhausting low point of his 14 seasons.
Four years ago, he said his goal was to become an athletic director, not a basketball coach.
His wife, Dallas Boycheck Bolla, was the head coach at Long Beach State for eight seasons until 2003.
He would come to UH direct from Oasis Barbecue. That's not a team, but a business in Las Vegas where they sell so-called everything-including-the-kitchen-sink "barbecue islands." For $3,000 to $35,000, they say they can build you a palatial setup to suit Emeril.
But will Bolla be able to "kick it up a notch" for Rainbow Wahine basketball?
That is the $135,000 (high end of the pay scale) question when it comes to replacing Goo, the state's winningest basketball coach.
And, that's where you have to wonder if all those other schools who have sought new coaches over the past eight years have been missing a bet. Or, if UH has.
In 14 seasons, eight as head coach and six more as co-head coach with former wife Sheila Striker, Bolla went 300-120. Between 1988 and 1994, there were five 20-plus win seasons and three NCAA Tournament appearances. Then, after 11-15 and 4-21 finishes, he walked away.
"Coach Bolla loves the sport so passionately, I'd love to see him back," said Missy Thomas, a two-time All-American under his hand (1982-86). "He was demanding, but whenever you needed help, he was ready and willing to put in the effort to help you become a better basketball player, a better student and a better person," Thomas said.
After leaving the basketball job at UNLV, Bolla became a fund-raiser for the athletic department, where his credits included securing a $3.15 million donation to finance a softball stadium and the startup of a golf team.
Presumably, if you can sell a $35,000 barbecue in Las Vegas, where thermometers have been busting 100 degrees regularly, maybe you can sell most anything.
Even a few thousand empty seats in the Stan Sheriff Center?
Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.
