By LENN ROBBINS
May 28, 2008
The only person missing from yesterday's announcement that Mike Jarvis had been hired as Florida Atlantic's new basketball coach was Don King, to remind us that, "Only in America . . . "
Only in America does everyone get a second chance and Jarvis got his. Jarvis almost took St. John's to the height of the college basketball world, coming up one game shy of the 2000 Final Four, and bringing the program to its knees when it was found he was aware of monthly $300 under-the-table payments to former center Abe Keita but looked the other way.
The NCAA violations resulted in Jarvis being cited for "failure to monitor the financial situation of the student-athlete."
"It was something I had to get comfortable with," FAU athletic director Craig Angelos, told reporters yesterday. "Over time, I came to have a real comfort level that we can go forward and move past this."
Florida Atlantic has become a haven for big-name coaches looking for one-more run. Howard Schellenberger is the football coach and now Jarvis is the basketball coach.
"We're going to be playing in the dance," Jarvis told reporters. "I don't know when. I'm not making those promises. But I am promising you that before very long, we're going to be having a party here."
Don King should be invited.
