Cal fires assistant coach, days before meeting UH in NCAA
ASSOCIATED PRESS
In this Feb. 11, 2016, file photo California assistant basketball coach Yann Hufnagel, left, is seen on the bench with players Kameron Rooks, center, and Ivan Rabb (1) during an NCAA college basketball game against Oregon in Berkeley, Calif.
California has fired a key assistant coach as it prepares to open the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament against Hawaii.
In a statement released by the Cal athletic department today, the school said, “effective immediately, Yann Hufnagel has been relieved of his duties pending the outcome of the termination process and will not be traveling with the team during its NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament run.”
The Rainbow Warriors and Golden Bears meet Friday in Spokane, Wash.
The statement said, “The actions follow a finding, issued today by UC Berkeley’s Office of the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination (OPHD) that Hufnagel violated the University’s sexual harassment policy.”
Hufnagel, who has spent two years at Cal, had been an assistant at Vanderbilt and Harvard, where he coached Jeremy Lin.
On a conference call with reporters this morning, Cal coach Cuonzo Martin said, “You’re talking about a guy who’s part of your staff and a family member. We take a tremendous amount of pride in that. We’ll push forward. There’s always bumps in the road. We talk about these things, life things. It’s not an easy thing, but we’ll find our way.”
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Right now, the only focus should be on our basketball team! My time to exonerate myself of a fruitless claim by a reporter will come.
— Yann Hufnagel (@yhufnagel) March 14, 2016
16 responses to “Cal fires assistant coach, days before meeting UH in NCAA”
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no big deal, I remember when Michigan fired the head coach before the tournament and they won it all. GO BOWS
maybe this will give ganot an edge
I wonder if he got a $200,000 termination bonus like our UH coaches get when they get fired.
Probably not but I assure that the NCAA DOSENT hand down sanctions against them the way they treat the smaller programs like UH. Again , the deep pockets always seem to come out of problems unscathed!
Two things can happen to Cal when we meet. One, the team rally around each other and play lights out. Or two, the team gets distracted and falls apart. Lets hope it’s the second one.
In other words, they either win or they lose.
In the history of basketball there has never been a tie. The best case scenario is if the game was played at someone’s home court, however that won’t happen in basketball, unless it’s the National Basketball Association, or what’s called the NBA. Therefore Hawaii now has added ammunition to win. The task is not to letdown, however Coach Ganot will not let a letdown happen. Dave Shoji won his last championship in 1987, when he was a mere 38 years old. Coaching is a young man’s game unless u r Tom Coughlin. Phil Jackson could not return to The Lakers to coach because of jealousy by the Buss brother running basketball operations. The lesson to learn is that if the Lakers are able to draft Ben Simmons, alls well that ends well. The University of California won a National Title during the Newell era. So California is no slouch and California has a 20 and 18 winning record in The Big Dance, while the Rainbow Warriors have an 0 and 4 bagel record. Bagels are some of the most tasty pastries that one can consume and they are delicious with Cream Cheese on them. When a Starbucks cashier asked me if I wanted Cream Cheese on my blueberry bagel, I said yes, not knowing that Starbucks charges 75 cents for that small quarter inch high slab of an inch and a half diameter serving of Cream Cheese. Delicious though. Having taste buds is one of the luxuries of life. Isn’t life wonderful for The Rainbow Warrior Basketball team. Considering that Coach Ganot basically got his start in coaching with Bob Nash, I think he will stay with UH. We have the makings of a head coach Eran Gsnot that could have decades of association with the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Just as I have, having graduated in 1979, the year that Dave Shoji won his first national title game when the AIAW was overseeing Women’s Collrge Basketball. Whenever there is smoke, there is fire a lot of times. California could have waited until after the NCAA tournament to announce the firing of The Assistant Coach, however this swift action bodes of a situation that was quickly escalating out of control.
Perps are everywhere. Co-workers, family members, friends or even neighbors. You just never know what lurks in the minds of people these days.
I don’t know what this coach is accused of but I’ve been hearing that numerous coaches and students have been accused and punished, under Title Nine, of sexual harassment with little or no recourse. Title Nine which was passed to provide equity for women has turned out to be a tool that women activists have used to punish men. Many colleges, who are already very liberal, are afraid to challenge women over fear that they will appear anti-Title Nine.
John Montgomery, the son of Mike Montgomery former Cal head coach was involved in recruiting and coaching some of the current Cal players. The two Montgomery’s had a great 6 year run at cal– glory years for the Cal program. I worry that Cal will hire John back to fill this vacancy. We were lucky to get a young talented and up and coming coach on our staff.
I thought UH got put on probation and lost scholarships and were not allowed to play in the post season due to sanctions from the NCAA???? How are they now allowed in this tournament???
next year my friend.
The harassment has nothing to do with any students or faculty, it is a sports reporter.
So, the article says that Hufnagel coached Jeremy Lin in college; does it mean he coached the guards playing for Cal?? What exactly was he responsible for while at Cal?
who cares
Strategy