I've read that article a dozen times before, and there remains a lot of conjecture that is pretty much nonsense. Focusing on Garnett was silly; he never once seriously considered college, and Fogler never once seriously gave any consideration that he may come to SC. Jermaine O'Neal was a completely different story, and, in my opinion, led to Fogler's demise. Fogler counted on and planned for O'Neal to be on the team, and when he chose the NBA instead, it a)left Fogler with no back-up plan, and b)flat-out deflated him to the point that he basically checked out on the job.
Also, the idea that Tubby Smith ever seriously considered coming to SC when we hired Odom is nonsense --- as is the idea that the notion ever progressed to so much as a discussion between the university and Smith. Jim Calhoun, on the other hand, DID seriously consider our overtures at the time.
A lot of good analysis in the article though. Interesting ideas about McGuire's possible successors, and how that could have changed things, though I don't think any of the 3 guys ---K, Valvano, or Pitino --- were ever seriously considered. Few people remember it, but the only other guy besides Foster that we seriously considered hiring at the time was Chuck Daly, who had had a ton of success at Penn, and had become an assistant on the 76ers. He wanted the job.
