With local debate revolving around whether or not Phillip Fulmer has outlived his usefulness at UT, here are six examples of legendary hoops coaches who stayed inplace a little too long.

1. Denny Crum. Louisville was one of the true juggernauts in 1980s college hoops. The Cards were regular visitors to the Final Four and took home the big prize in ‘80 and ‘86. However, Crum’s last few years were far below the standards he set and left Rick Pitino with considerable work to do in bringing U of L back to basketball health.
2. Dale Brown. Preacher Dale took LSU basketball from a meaningless sideshow to football to a perennial NCAA Tournament participant good enough to reach Final Fours in ‘81 and ‘86. That said, Brown’s final years on the bayou were marred with losing basketball and the fallout from the Lester Earl recruitment.
3. Gene Keady. The face of Purdue basketball for two decades plus, Keady got as much out of his players as any coach of his generation. The Boilermakers won Big Ten titles and played Bob Knight’s Indiana straight up for most of his tenure. Despite those accomplishments, the end of his time in West Layfayette was characterized by teams operating at a talent deficit coming up short despite great effort.
4. Nolan Richardson. Frank Broyles and Richardson always made for an uneasy alliance. That was glossed over as national titles and conference championships were won. Once the winning slowed, an ugly divorce was inevitable. The breakup sadly obscured the marvelous job Richardson did in Fayetteville.
5. Bob Knight. An entrenched old school legend. A pseudointellectual twit with a propensity for meddling in affairs he knew nothing about. Bob Knight and Myles Brand were a pairing certain to produce an ugly ending. The fallout from Moronic Myles firing The General has resulted in the Hoosier staring at what will be a nuclear winter in ‘08-09. Good luck, Tom Crean. You’ll need a hazmat suit to properly clean that mess.
6. Bob Huggins. Essentially a redux of the Bob Knight situation. Huggs passed on better jobs out of loyalty to UC. That loyalty was rewarded with a pink slip from a preening witch who has as much business being a university president as Michael Brown did running FEMA. When the List of Awful University Presidents is compiled, Nancy Zimpher will be competing with Lamar Alexander for a spot at, or near, the top.

Until next week, stay classy, Volnation.