April 10, 2010 – In Fred Hill Jr.’s bio he’s called a “Jersey Guy,” which in a Jersey-Shore-kind of-way explains the question, “what kind of 51-year old son goes to his dad’s baseball games and gets in a cussing argument with the opposing coaches?” “Freddy,” as all those familiar with him call him, not only didn’t apologise, but went against his boss’s orders by showing up at the next game, presumedly to resume his rant. Well, it cost him his job, which after a 44-77 record over four years, isn’t such a bad thing for RU hoop fans.

The trouble is Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti is now on a hot seat having to make a reactive decision on who will lead the Scarlet Knight’s basketball fortunes out of the dark ages. As though Pernetti’s task isn’t daunting enough as he tries to raise Rutger’s fortunes above the classification of “feeble” in the Big East.

Pernetti and Rutgers basketball also needs to raise cash in a cash strapped state, to build a basketball center and upgrade the RAC, one of the best on-campus 8,000 seat venues anywhere, and compete with everyone from Pitino to Wright to Krzyzewski to Calipari to Boeheim to Steve Lavin, Danny Hurley and Ralph Willard Jr. for players in their own backyard. They’ll also need to pay a coach to lead his vision.

Three million a year was the bandied number throughout this season’s coaching derby. Pernetti has nothing close to that, not to mention little support from alums, state funding and his trustees.

Somehow, Pernetti’s spin doctors have Fran Fraschilla and Jim O’Brien as the saviours. No one is asking why Fraschilla left St. John’s and New Mexico abruptly or about O’Brien’s lawsuit with Ohio State, which exonerated him from being bashed by OSU and the NCAA for alledgedly loaning $6,000 to a Serbian recruit.

Fred Hill Jr. ($600,000 per year) leaves a bit of a mess, too. First, his dad, Fred Hill Sr., RU’s baseball coach, has to continue to work for Pernetti, while his son weasels the most out of a bad contract former AD Bob Mulcahy gifted him in 2006. Junior has gone from a loyal Rutger’s “dream job” to a threatened defendant in a lawsuit aimed at getting somewhere from $1.8 to $2 million out of the school, in just a matter of hours. New governor Chris Christie, who is strangling every taxpayer dollar in New Jersey, should represent Rutgers in the courtroom.

All this excitement has taken some observer’s eyes off the (basket)ball. Rutger’s has a chance to settle with Hill because it can fire him for cause…i.e. as a head coach and high-profile leader of the school’s second-leading revenue sport, you aren’t supposed to throw f bombs at public intercollegiate/athletic places, and, be stubborn (no apology), and, disregard orders (insubordination) from your boss. This turn of events may take away the horror of Hill’s contract, while at the same time opening the door to a good coach who may be able to keep recruits, import more player and coaching talent and put the program on a course moving ahead toward the goals of 1.) competing in the Big East, 2.) performing in the Big East tournament and 3.) securing an eventual NCAA bid.

O’Brien and Fraschilla are not those guys. They will be patches, and within another four years or less, be heading toward the sunset. Despite granting Hill a one-year reprieve on St. Paddy’s Day and missing out on the March Madness coaching carousel, you would have hoped, that if Pernetti is as bright as some say, and been doing his job, he has a list of creative options that will improve Rutger’s fortunes.

Let’s start with Bob Knight (worked for $250,000 a year at Texas Tech, and gave it back), whose son Pat last month publicly mentioned “that schools like St. John’s and Rutgers should at least be making a phone call” to inquire about the General’s interest. Who better to persaude Mike Rosario to not blow his career chances by sitting out a year and transferring or going early to a foreign league where he’ll be forgotten forever. Rosario’s best days were played under the demanding Bob Hurley Sr., who is one of the few who can match temperments with Knight. Who better to stabilize the program, put a shining light on it, and groom players and coaches? Who better to raise money (ask the librarian at Indiana) and graduate players?

The second inquiry would be to Larry Brown ($7 million a year according to Forbes.com), rumored to want to return to his first love, teaching “the right way to play”, familiar with the metropolitan New York area, having homes in both Philadelphia and New York and maybe, not completely in sync with his new owner, Michael Jordan. This is a long shot prospect, especially if the 76ers job opens, but it’s about time Brown jumped jobs and the money doesn’t really matter after pulling in his salary for a couple of years and settling with the Knicks for close to $20 million.

A third consideration would be Gino Auriemma ($1.5 annually, plus Nike contract, bonuses, incentives and perks) who needs to coach men to truly gain a distinction among basketball’s greatest coaches. It isn’t quite clear how RU’s HOF women’s coach C. Vivian Stringer ($500,000 base plus bonuses, incentives and perks which total an estimated $1.2 million), one of Gino’s arch rivals, would welcome that news, but that might be just the factor that get’s Gino to Piscataway. He likes to tweak whenever possible.

For a fourth possibility, wait a few days and see if former Rutgers star Eddie Jordan ($5 million estimated) becomes available if fired from the Philadelphia 76ers. Jordan’s chances at another NBA job (Sacramento, Washington, Philadelphia) would certainly shrink, and taking his Princeton offense back to college, while returning to his alma mater makes sense. If there’s a guy who could better help Rosario prepare for the NBA, please submit to Pernetti.