Ernie Kent is Getting to Work: Adds Adept Assistants to the Fold

Feb 27, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Ernie Kent (right) interviews Southern California Trojans guard Jio Fontan (1) after the game against the Arizona Wildcats at the Galen Center.USC defeated Arizona 89-78. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Sometimes quick moves may seem rash, irreflective and feckless.  Yesterday’s announcement should remind us that those will not be adverbs associated with Ernie Kent’s tenure in Pullman.  It is now obvious that experience and  discipline will trump any idea of upstart coaches at Beasley, which is perfectly fine.  Two coaches with administrative and recruiting specializations will allude to Kent’s propensity for setting up his own system, delegating what he considers minutia to his carefully selected generals.

Silvey Dominguez has been employed as a coach or administrator throughout the greater Southwest since the late 1970s.  He most recently worked as an assistant at Air Force, but 18 years ago was a Kent assistant at WCC St. Mary’s.

Greg Graham (the former Boise State coach, not the former Indiana player and journyman professional), was an assistant for Kent at Oregon prior to taking the helm as Head Bronco at BSU, and was fired after becoming the second winningist coach at the Idaho commuter college (albeit, the hoops program has only existed since the late 60s).   He led the  Broncos to their first tournament appearance in a decade, and two years later he was jettisoned. This goes to the Cougs’ consistent practice of hiring coaches after they have built a program, only to see themselves fired after a couple let down seasons.

These guys will be Kent’s soldiers, they know each other, and when combined with Kent, we now have more than a century of coaching experience on the bench.  Let Coug fans hope that this strategy pays off.