Moving On and Moving Up

I have always wondered how people are able to move from one job to another so suddenly...coaches get other positions, players get traded, workers get transferred. Well, I'm in the midst of it right now as I have been named Head Men's Basketball Coach for the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, CA.

It is going to be an exciting and challenging era as we create the new wave of Caltech basketball -- and I am really looking forward to it.

As a coach at MIT, I have always marveled at the abilities of our student-athletes to achieve success both on and off the court. Building a program with high caliber academic players is truly invigorating.

Being in the LA area, maybe I will get the opportunity to meet Kobe Bryant and quiz him about his mind -- after all, bball guru Sonny Vaccaro believes he is brilliant:

"Kobe has his own mind," Vaccaro said. "He's bright. He could have gone to MIT and been successful. I watched his formative years. Even when he left Adidas, he did it because it made good business sense. He made decisions. He's never been afraid."

"Kobe is his own man. One of the most unique people I've met in my 69 years."

Had Kobe gone to college, I suppose he would have been a true student-athlete...