Vandals let Pfeifer go

Mac Hopson had to sit out the 2007-08 men’s basketball season at the University of Idaho after transferring from Washington State.

He practiced with the Vandals and watched them improve this year. So he was shocked to learn Tuesday morning that George Pfeifer was fired after two seasons.

“I’m disappointed. I was looking forward to playing for Coach Pfeifer,” Hopson said. “I thought we were going to be real good (next year). We were going to have one of our best teams at Idaho since my dad (Phil) played at Idaho (1979-83). I was surprised. I didn’t see it coming. I thought (athletic director) Rob Spear was going to give him his last year on his contract.”

Spear announced Tuesday that Pfeifer was not returning for the final year of a three-year contract.

“George improved the competitiveness of the program and I commend him for his effort,” Spear said in a school news release. “However, in evaluating all aspects of the program and its future, the timing is right to make a change.”

Spear didn’t return phone calls. He declined further comment in an e-mail when asked for more details about the firing.

The Vandals finished the season with an 8-21 record, their most successful under Pfeifer (12-48). Idaho had a four-win improvement overall over the 2006-07 season and won four more in the Western Athletic Conference. The Vandals earned the sixth seed in the WAC tournament, losing to New Mexico State 73-53 to end their season.

Pfeifer, 51, released a comment through Idaho’s sports information department.

“I regret we were not able to complete our journey at the University of Idaho,” Pfeifer said. “We were hired to improve the men’s basketball program. In not quite two full years we moved the men’s program from the cellar of the Western Athletic Conference to a sixth-place finish when coaches and media polls picked us to finish last. We made our best strides in the end when I believe it is the most important.”

Pfeifer returned a phone call after meeting with the players in the afternoon.

“I want to take the high road,” Pfeifer said as he was cleaning out his office. “I don’t want to sound like I’m bitter.”

Hopson, a 6-foot-2 point guard who will have two years eligibility remaining after leaving WSU, said he was in Pfeifer’s office Monday talking about next year.

“We were relaxed and joking and talking about next year,” said Hopson, who played one year at North Idaho College and one season at WSU. “Everything was good. We were talking about next year and how excited we were about how good we’d be. We’re going to do three times better next year.”

Pfeifer said Hopson would have had a significant impact had he played this year.

“He’s the best player in our program … and I’m not going to be able to coach him,” Pfeifer said.

Pfeifer replaced Leonard Perry, who was fired after five seasons. Pfeifer assisted Perry for one year before being promoted to head coach.

Prior to joining Idaho, Pfeifer spent 16 years as head coach at Lewis-Clark State College where he compiled a 296-208 record. Before coaching at LCSC, he spent eight years as a high school coach at St. Maries (Idaho) and Hardin (Mont.).

Spear said a search for a replacement is underway.

A few names that surfaced as possible candidates were former Utah and Eastern Washington coach and current Gonzaga assistant Ray Giacoletti; WSU assistant Matt Woodley; former San Diego coach Brad Holland; Portland State coach Ken Bone, whose team won the Big Sky Conference tournament and opens against top-seeded Kansas in the NCAA tournament; Southern California assistant and former College of Southern Idaho coach Gib Arnold; and former Wyoming coach and Colorado assistant Steve McClain.

It’s believed that Giacoletti isn’t interested. But Woodley, reached in Denver shortly after WSU arrived for its first-round NCAA game on Thursday, said he’s interested.

“I’m very interested in the job,” Woodley said. “They’ve had past tradition and they’ve had really good coaches there that have won. Look at Tim Floyd, Larry Eustachy, Don Monson – guys that have coached there and have won – there’s tradition. A lot of these places don’t have tradition, don’t have past history. I understand it was in different leagues at the time, but there’s been winning basketball at the University of Idaho.”

Woodley said hadn’t been contacted about the job.