Canzano...

He always has nice things to say...

Portland State and UP have always accepted that they're stepping-stone programs in the event one of their coaches should have high-level success.

From this article on Shaka Smart.

Nevertheless, I think it is interesting to see coaches nowadays that are staying put with their teams instead of simply bolting to a larger program. Mark Few is a good example (although he is quite successful where he is).

So, which coach has used UP as a stepping stone to a higher level program? None in the last 50 years. Canzano used the San Jose Murcury News and the Fresno Bee as stepping stones.

One might say that Spoelstra used UP as a stepping stone - just not the UP MBB program..

up7587 wrote:So, which coach has used UP as a stepping stone to a higher level program? None in the last 50 years. Canzano used the San Jose Murcury News and the Fresno Bee as stepping stones.

Michael Holton stepped "up" to TV studio work for Blazer games.

I always chuckle when the hosts look to him for basketball advice.

PurplePrideTrumpet wrote:
I always chuckle when the hosts look to him for basketball advice.

Yeahhhh he strikes me as more qualified to be on one of those Joan Rivers fashion critique shows than say ANYTHING about basketball....

DaTruRochin wrote:Yeahhhh he strikes me as more qualified to be on one of those Joan Rivers fashion critique shows than say ANYTHING about basketball....

That might be a little harsh. The guy did play in the League for a number of years, and it wasn't due to his height.

I like Michael. Whatever you think of his ultimate record, he did add some spark to UP hopes when he was here. He just couldn't balance recruiting good players with getting players who were academically sound.

And he was pretty loyal to UP when we had some pretty harsh years when Rob was at the end of his string. I remember at Toso when he showed up to support the team only an hour or so after his UCLA team was in the Pac10 tournament.

So he didn't have the complete package.

Very few do.

I think Michael Holton is a good guy. To say he has nothing relevant to say about hoops is a liitle harsh, and not much based in fact. He did play for John Wooden at UCLA. How many people can say that? He did play in the NBA, which is more than 99.99.....% of us can say. He was a ciollege D1 assistant coach for several years and head coach for five years.

He knows a little bit. He was never publicly bitter towards UP and showed class in the way he exited.

How many coaches HAVE succeeded on the Bluff? The problems are more systemic than just the coach. UP is a difficult place to recruit, and there is a losing mindset that has historically permeated the UP MBB program , administrators, and fans/supporters - really, ever since Jack Avina left. Even Jack's last few years were not without internal conflict.

Thanks, goldhelmet, well said!

Michael was, and still is, a personal friend of mine from many years prior to his coaching stints on the Bluff, so I've remained out of the discussion until now.

However, as helmet's response so aligns with my thoughts, I wanted to echo them and say that no one feels worse than Michael that things just did not work out as everyone expected/hoped.

If you speak to any of his players, I think you'll find that, in retrospect, he prepared them well for life after college and basketball. Last week I was talking with a one-time Pilots wing who played in Europe for a number of years and is now living in Vancouver; he can't say enough good things about the positive influence Michael has had on his life.