FOLLOW @JAVIERJMORALES ON TWITTER!
[rps-paypal]
Reporters enjoyed a laughfest when Rich Rodriguez took the mic
[ezcol_1half id=”” class=”” style=””]
Rich Rodriguez’s comedic, never-take-yourself-too-serious approach has worked in Tucson. It had them rolling in Hollywood this morning at the Pac-12 media day at the Warner Brothers studios.
Rodriguez has reason to be loose after the Wildcats won the Pac-12 South last season despite a No. 4 predicted finish in the division at last year’s media day. His team is once again in that position with the media picking the Wildcats again to finish fourth.
No tightness around the collar for Rodriguez and Arizona again. It’s a breath of fresh air from the two previous permanent head coaches — John Mackovic and Mike Stoops, both of whom reportedly alienated players and coaches on their staffs with their no-nonsense, suffocating approach.
No coach has been more fun to this point than Rich Rod. Wish they all were as laid back and loose.
— Kyle Ringo (@KyleRingo) July 31, 2015
Don’t get me wrong: Rodriguez is not happy-go-lucky or carefree. He knows when to coach, and coach very well, and when to communicate openly with the media.
Judging from Tweets at the Pac-12 media day, reporters ate up Rodriguez’s one-liners. After a loss, Rodriguez is not so candid, which is not a shocker. Would you be so charming after a loss or a bad practice?
The important thing to take from Rodriguez’s funny commentary today is that he is in complete control at Arizona after the transition from the Stoops era. He is very familiar with his long-standing staff, many from his West Virginia days, when he enjoyed the same kind of bliss.
Click on “Next” on the slideshow to read to the Tweets and comments about Rodriguez from today’s media day …
[/ezcol_1half]
[ezcol_1half_end id=”” class=”” style=””]
Site founder and award-winning sports journalist Javier Morales has published his first e-book, “The Highest Form of Living”, a fiction piece about a young man who overcomes a troubled upbringing without his lost father and wayward mother through basketball and hope. His hope is realized through the sport he loves. Basketball enables him to get past his fears. His experience on the court indirectly brings him closer to his parents in a unique, heartfelt way. Please order it at Amazon (for only $4.99) by clicking on the photo:
[/ezcol_1half_end]
