UTEP Basketball: Tim Floyd retires after four decades of coaching
By Doug Winkey
Following UTEP Basketball’s loss to Lamar in the early parts of this season, head coach Tim Floyd has retired after four decades of coaching basketball.
It’s not often a coach retires a month into a season, but that’s exactly what happened on the evening of Nov. 27 after UTEP basketball lost a game to Lamar. Head coach Tim Floyd decided it was time to end a four-decade career and step down effective immediately. The Miners were 1-5 after the Lamar loss.
UTEP coach Tim Floyd has retired immediately following a loss to Lamar, a spokesman told ESPN.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) November 28, 2017
Tim Floyd has had an absolutely fascinating career. The 63-year-old has been a college head coach at Idaho, New Orleans, Iowa State, USC, and UTEP. That is quite the cross-country circuit. Floyd also spent time in the NBA, where he replaced Phil Jackson on the Chicago Bulls squad that lost Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. He also spent a brief stint with the New Orleans Hornets that ended in a playoff berth.
Floyd then spent several successful years at USC where he made the NCAA Tournament in three out of four years. He left in 2009 after accusations of improper benefits given to an individual involved in the recruitment of future NBA wing O.J. Mayo appeared. His UTEP successes were never Big Dance caliber, but Floyd did lead the Minors to three postseason births in seven full seasons. He notably scuffled with Andy Enfield at USC over a high-profile prospect’s recruitment. One can imagine the stories he might tell someday about his NBA time and the whirlwind that was USC.
I never got to watch Floyd as an Iowa State fan; his talented Cyclones’ teams were slightly before my interest in college hoops, but his teams were always regarded as tough and disciplined. Floyd was a fiery presence on the sideline that demanded a lot out of his guys and often got it. However, there is a reasonable argument that his style maybe didn’t fit with the modern era of college basketball. The coaching world has really lost one of its underrated, if underachieving, stars.
A struggling Miners’ squad will turn to assistant Phil Johnson to right a ship that is shooting an abysmal slash line of 42%/32%/68% so far this year. He needs to get adjusted quickly with his squad if UTEP is to find solid footing for the year.