The dance floor is closed.

Long Beach State’s men’s basketball team had put in a valiant run this past weekend at the Big West Tournament. I was honored to be a part of the festivities the past 3 days.

Our men had a rough go at Cal State Fullerton, but we escaped with a 94-91 win. Against UC Irvine, we had a game-winning shot at the buzzer by Aaron Nixon, winning 75-73. We had gained a few more points on Irvine in the Black and Blue Rivalry Series, which was a plus at the tournament.

However, when I saw that Cal Poly lost to Pacific, I knew that our road was going to take a detour back to Long Beach the next day, barring chaos by Bob Thomason’s Fighting Tiger Team. See, these Tigers had some talent. Christian Maraker and Tournament MVP Johnny Gray would see Pacific defeat us 78-70 on a chilly Saturday night in Anaheim.

I was so exhausted from the past two days, that I saved my energy. To my surprise, I didn’t lose my voice, and I still had some energy left. I soaked in the whole experience that night. I was proud to have been at the Big West Tournament, save for the first day.

But during this run, the Beach’s embattled head coach’s job was on the line each game. As soon as the Beach Band and Cheer bus left the Anaheim Convention Center, I knew that there was no way that Larry Reynolds would keep his job.

I mean, let’s face it. In the Larry Reynolds era, we haven’t had decent records at all. Our coach has a terrible record at the Beach, a complete aberration of his success at Cal State San Bernardino. We simply didn’t have the right system, or the best group of players to give us consistency in winning. The outgoing AD, Bill Shumard, was responsible for having Reynolds as our coach still, even though he could have rode off into the sunset by giving him his walking papers.

I will note the pluses of this season:
* Best record since 2001-02
* First appearance in the conference title game since 1995
* School and Big West record 17 3’s in one game
* Two players on All-Tournament, Jibril Hodges (the career 3-points leader) getting All-Conference first team
* Two out of three taken from Irvine, including the semifinal, giving us a bigger advantage over the Anteaters in the rivalry series
* The best year in the Larry Reynolds era
* I was on TV (personal plus)

However, all these are moot if you look at the bigger picture. A seat at the Pyramid for a men’s basketball game hasn’t been a hot commodity when Reynolds was coach. The boosters, alumni and fans are frustrated with him not delivering wins on a consistent basis. And this year, we dropped our homecoming game, a game we were expected to win.

The decision would have been tough for the administration and our new President, Dr. F. King Alexander, had the outcome been different and in our favor. I think Pacific’s ticket being punched made the decision easier.

I have so much respect for UOP. They have quality players, an accomplished coach, and are the Gonzaga of the Big West. I congratulate Coach Thomason, their players, their fans, and even the mascot Powercat, and hope they make the BWC proud at the NCAA Tournament. But it will also be a moral win for us if Reynolds is fired next week or sometime soon. If he is still our coach next year, I think our season will surely have been below expectations.

I know this isn't fair to the coach himself, and with all due respect to his efforts, it should be a privilege to coach at the Beach because we have a tradition of playing at our best potential, and having it all pay off. To not deliver when it matters most is against the wishes of the students, the fans, the boosters, and the alumni. This is the same at any institution, in any sport. If you don't win as a coach over a period of time, in all likelihood you will be sacked (as the say in the football sense).

In any case, when Long Beach State went down against Pacific, they went down fighting.