America is known for giving second chances, especially to those who seek forgiveness for past mistakes.
Todd Bozeman understands this all too well and is ready to prove that at Morgan State, where the Prince George?s County resident became the 15th men?s basketball coach in the Baltimore school?s history last week.
Bozeman comes to Morgan almost a decade after he was forced out as California?s head coach, after he made an illegal $30,000 payment to the family of a player.
Bozeman was then basically barred from coaching by the NCAA for eight years, but remained active in the sport as a professional scout, assistant coach and through running a series of youth camps. He could be seen on occasion at the Verizon Center in Washington, as a scout for an NBA team.
“It was tough because I felt like I let a lot of people down that supported me,” Bozeman said. “But sometimes in your youth you don?t understand that and you don?t realize you represent so many more people.”
Whether Bozeman is the right fit for a university like Morgan, which is looking to improve its athletic reputation, remains to be seen. Bozeman, 42, was the most well-known nationally of the three finalists for the job after going 63-35 in 3 1/2 years at California, which included an upset of defending national champion Duke in the second round of the 1993 NCAA tournament.
The Bozeman selection also represents the second straight time that Morgan picked the most recognizable name on its list. Butch Beard, who has previous NBA and collegiate experience, resigned in March after five years following a 4-26 season that included academic suspensions and team expulsions.
A safer pick might have been going with a fresh face like Bowie State coach Luke D?Alessio, who led the school to the national Division II Final Four in 2003 after building up the program at the Community College of Baltimore County-Catonsville virtually from scratch. D?Alessio achieved much of his success at both schools by recruiting local players, and several of his Bowie State products have gone on to pro ball in Europe and this country.
Still, Bozeman appears to have learned from his past transgressions and is ready to help turn Morgan State from MEAC cellar-dweller into a national power, or at least a team that can reach the NCAA tournament.
“I?ve been talking to people in this community ? and everyone said this is a sleeping giant,” said Bozeman, who went to high school at Bishop McNamara.
Bozeman added that for Morgan to reach its full potential it has to do a better job of recruiting local talent. Area schools of similar size had gotten away from that for years until recently, with Towson and Loyola both having success in that regard – and improved records to match.
Rudy Gay, Carmelo Anthony, Michael Lloyd, Reggie Williams and David Wingate are just some of the names Bozeman rattled off to prove a coach doesn?t have to travel far to find high-caliber players. “This city is full of players and have always had players,” Bozeman said. “So it?s just a matter of them having an opportunity to come here.”
Almost all basketball players want to play for a winner, something that most Baltimore schools have not done for more than a decade. The myth that players want to get as far away as possible is just not true and one only needs to look at George Mason?s magical Final Four run this year as proof. All five Patriot starters are from Maryland.
“George Mason lets you know it?s possible,” Bozeman said.
Ron Snider is a free-lance writer based in Baltimore.
