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Bozeman Comes Off the Bench
Former Cal basketball coach Todd Bozeman, who recuited and coached players like Jason Kidd, Lamond Murray and Shareef Adur-Raheem, relaxes at his parents' home in Forestville, Md.
(Jessica Tefft - The Washington Post)
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He went next to his parents' house in Forestville, where Bozeman and his wife bring their two children for dinner every Sunday. Michael comes with his family, too, and long after dinner the three Bozeman men sit around the table and talk, often about basketball. It's these conversations to which Todd Bozeman credits his patience.
"Todd might be getting down, but we'll just keep picking him up," Ira said. "I'll say, 'Right now they might have put the handcuffs on you, but don't worry. You're going to get another shot.' "
Others aren't so sure. Bozeman's actions left Cal with scars -- three years of NCAA probation, a one-year postseason ban and two lost scholarships -- that some will never forgive him for. Former Cal athletic director John Kasser, who cleaned up Bozeman's mess, did not return calls seeking comment for this story; former Cal athletic director Bob Bockrath, who hired Bozeman, said he didn't want to comment.
"In the basketball world, Todd's kind of like a leper," Townsend, the Kansas assistant, said. "Even his name can scare an athletic director."
"When we handed down his punishment, I never thought he'd coach again," said David Swank, the chair of the NCAA investigation into Bozeman. "Usually an eight-year ban is like a career death sentence. He committed some major violations. It takes a long time for people to forget that."
Bozeman will wait.
He had an epiphany just last week, one that brightened his outlook and made him feel more patient than ever.
"Did you know John Chaney was 50 when he became the head coach at Temple?" Bozeman said. "Man, that means I could wait another nine years and still have a great career. I mean, I'm only 41. I've got time. I don't have to rush everything for a second chance."
