DAHILL
Well-Known Member
Eugene Harris is my uncle who was one of the Blacks fired at AU.... I may have to turn into a UA fan now 
http://www.al.com/sports/birminghamnews/kscarbinsky.ssf?/base/sports/11141613295290.xml
Harris a giant step for UA in recruiting
Friday, April 22, 2005
Eugene Harris does not say hello. Instead his first words when he comes on the line speak volumes about his state of mind.
"Roll, Tide, roll."
The newest assistant coach on Mark Gottfried's basketball staff draws out the words deliciously. His greeting from Alabama sounds suspiciously like a warning to Auburn.
Or, as Harris likes to call Auburn since getting fired there and hired by Alabama, "The other school."
It hasn't created a public buzz like Bill Oliver leaving Alabama to become the Auburn defensive coordinator - hey, this isn't football - but Harris crossing the state could have even more impact on the scoreboard.
It's no coincidence that Harris recruited most of the players on the best basketball team in Auburn history, the 1999 SEC championship team. It's no surprise that Harris moving from the coaching staff to an administrative position a year later marked the beginning of the end for Cliff Ellis.
One insider said, without Harris on the road, Auburn was "a non-factor" in recruiting against Alabama.
Like Stacy Danley, Harris was one of the three people who lost his job when Auburn restructured its athletic department under new AD Jay Jacobs. Unlike Danley, Harris stayed out of the headlines.
"I have no bad feelings toward anybody," Harris said. "I'm not like that. You never heard me say anything negative when I got fired."
He won't start now. He praised Alabama's commitment to basketball. Was Auburn less than committed to the sport?
"I'm gonna let you handle that one," he said. "You know."
Was it difficult for a man who worked at Auburn from 1994 to 2005, who has a daughter at that school, to move to Tuscaloosa?
"It was not tough for me to take the job here," he said. "Coach Gottfried wanted me on his staff. I wasn't wanted at Auburn."
They've quieted down, but there were rumblings that Danley would sue Auburn. Is it possible that Harris could file suit against his former employer?
"I'm going to stay away from that one," he said. "I have no comment on that one."
Harris didn't criticize anyone at Auburn, but he did offer some unsolicited kind words for the man who served for a time as acting AD there.
"I'll tell you who's a good man," Harris said. `Hal Baird. You need more people like him in administration who are going to be honest. He's gonna be upfront. He's gonna be a man."
Harris could be the man again in recruiting in this state. When Orlando Early left the Alabama staff to become the Louisiana-Monroe head coach, Gottfried studied about 30 resumes, talked to about a dozen candidates on the phone and considered four or five of them seriously.
He couldn't find anyone with better contacts and a better rep in the region than Harris. In the first two days after Alabama hired him, Harris got more than 85 phone calls from high school coaches congratulating him.
"Our goal is to lock down this state (in recruiting)," Harris says, "and win a national championship." Hiring him could be one giant step toward both. Kevin Scarbinsky's column appears Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Write him at [email protected].
http://www.al.com/sports/birminghamnews/kscarbinsky.ssf?/base/sports/11141613295290.xml
Harris a giant step for UA in recruiting
Friday, April 22, 2005
Eugene Harris does not say hello. Instead his first words when he comes on the line speak volumes about his state of mind.
"Roll, Tide, roll."
The newest assistant coach on Mark Gottfried's basketball staff draws out the words deliciously. His greeting from Alabama sounds suspiciously like a warning to Auburn.
Or, as Harris likes to call Auburn since getting fired there and hired by Alabama, "The other school."
It hasn't created a public buzz like Bill Oliver leaving Alabama to become the Auburn defensive coordinator - hey, this isn't football - but Harris crossing the state could have even more impact on the scoreboard.
It's no coincidence that Harris recruited most of the players on the best basketball team in Auburn history, the 1999 SEC championship team. It's no surprise that Harris moving from the coaching staff to an administrative position a year later marked the beginning of the end for Cliff Ellis.
One insider said, without Harris on the road, Auburn was "a non-factor" in recruiting against Alabama.
Like Stacy Danley, Harris was one of the three people who lost his job when Auburn restructured its athletic department under new AD Jay Jacobs. Unlike Danley, Harris stayed out of the headlines.
"I have no bad feelings toward anybody," Harris said. "I'm not like that. You never heard me say anything negative when I got fired."
He won't start now. He praised Alabama's commitment to basketball. Was Auburn less than committed to the sport?
"I'm gonna let you handle that one," he said. "You know."
Was it difficult for a man who worked at Auburn from 1994 to 2005, who has a daughter at that school, to move to Tuscaloosa?
"It was not tough for me to take the job here," he said. "Coach Gottfried wanted me on his staff. I wasn't wanted at Auburn."
They've quieted down, but there were rumblings that Danley would sue Auburn. Is it possible that Harris could file suit against his former employer?
"I'm going to stay away from that one," he said. "I have no comment on that one."
Harris didn't criticize anyone at Auburn, but he did offer some unsolicited kind words for the man who served for a time as acting AD there.
"I'll tell you who's a good man," Harris said. `Hal Baird. You need more people like him in administration who are going to be honest. He's gonna be upfront. He's gonna be a man."
Harris could be the man again in recruiting in this state. When Orlando Early left the Alabama staff to become the Louisiana-Monroe head coach, Gottfried studied about 30 resumes, talked to about a dozen candidates on the phone and considered four or five of them seriously.
He couldn't find anyone with better contacts and a better rep in the region than Harris. In the first two days after Alabama hired him, Harris got more than 85 phone calls from high school coaches congratulating him.
"Our goal is to lock down this state (in recruiting)," Harris says, "and win a national championship." Hiring him could be one giant step toward both. Kevin Scarbinsky's column appears Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Write him at [email protected].