Former KU guard McGrath out of work: ‘I’m in limbo, but the whole world is in limbo’
Out of work since Jan. 13 when he was fired as head basketball coach at UNC Wilmington, C.B. McGrath has been patiently pondering his next move.
“Luckily I can be a little selective in terms of timing,” said former University of Kansas guard McGrath, who according to published reports is owed approximately $600,000 to fulfill terms of the final 2 1/2 years of his 5-year deal.
He was let go with a 26-58 overall record 2 1/2 years into his short stint as UNCW coach.
“I want to stay in basketball obviously. It’s what I know. It’s what I’ve always done. I enjoy it,” added the former Topeka (Kansas) West standout who played at KU from 1994 to ‘98 and went on to win three national titles working as an assistant on former KU coach Roy Williams’ coaching staff at the University of North Carolina.
“There are some guys I’d like to work for. I’ve got to wait until there are openings. With the (COVID-19) virus, there are very few coaching changes. I might do something different a year and figure some things out. But I definitely want to do something in basketball,” he noted in a phone conversation with The Star.
McGrath said he was “shocked for a week; I was stunned” when he received word from athletic director Jimmy Bass that he was being replaced after a 5-14 start to the 2019-20 season, just his third at UNCW. And he has discovered that the job market is quiet right now amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“I’d try it,” McGrath said of perhaps working as a TV analyst for college basketball games as he looks for his next coaching job, “(But) where do you start? Right now there’s nowhere to start with anything. I’m in limbo, but the whole world is in limbo. We don’t even know when we’ll be able to start getting together with people.”
The pandemic, which has C.B. bunkered in his Wilmington, North Carolina house with wife Kris (former KU tennis player Kris Sell, the Big 12 player of the year in 1999), twin daughters Kate and Addison and son Hunter, has forced C.B. to slow down for the first time in a long time.
“(He’s been going nonstop) since I got to high school I’d say,” said the 44-year-old McGrath. He emerged as a major college hoops recruit his senior season at Topeka West.
“I was fortunate enough to play at KU, then I went straight from college to working for coach (Williams at KU and then at UNC until McGrath took the Wilmington job).
“You don’t slow down working for Coach,” McGrath said. “It didn’t slow down when I got the head coaching job. It didn’t work out the way anybody wanted. I didn’t know anything was in jeopardy until the day I got let go. It was kind of strange.”
McGrath — he had three freshmen and four sophomores on the 2019-20 roster — said “in retrospect, I guess if I had known we had only 2 1/2 years to win, I would do some things differently. I thought we had five years to develop a program. We got the roster in place and got to coach them three months.
“I had a bunch of freshmen and sophomores,” he added. “My two juniors were both hurt. If you try to go through the nonconference season and conference with freshmen and sophomores, there will be bumps along the way. They were getting better. If they stay there and stay together, they’ve got a chance (to win next season).
“We had really good kids who worked hard. We just didn’t win enough games. I was doing the best job I knew how to do, just like all coaches do.”
At the time of the firing, AD Bass said: “We appreciate C.B.’s hard work with our program and student-athletes over the last two and a half years and wish him well in the future.”
Coincidentally, McGrath’s mentor — former KU coach/Hall of Famer Williams — struggled through the only sub-.500 year of his career, going 14-19 in Chapel Hill this season. McGrath’s first losing season as a player or coach was his first season at UNCW.
“Obviously I felt bad for him. I don’t like to see him go through that many struggles. I know how much winning and losing means to him,” McGrath said of Williams.
“They (Tar Heels) had so many close games, couldn’t get over the hump and get the confidence they needed. It’s tough when he’s going through those times. Every time I talked to him he was doing well. He’s healthy and those kind of things.”
Williams “was not happy, didn’t understand the timing of it, all that stuff,” McGrath said of Williams’ reaction to the UNCW firing.
“Coach is always a good guy to have in your corner. We obviously talk. He doesn’t know what to do (during coronavirus lockdown). He’s sort of trying to figure it out. It’s different for everybody.”
McGrath, who as a KU player went a perfect 58-0 in games contested in Allen Fieldhouse, followed KU’s fortunes during the (28-3) 2019-20 season.
“I think they had a great chance obviously,” McGrath said of KU perhaps winning the 2020 NCAA title had there been an NCAA Tournament. “Easier said than done. It’s so hard to win it whether you are the favorite or not. Get to the Final Four you still have to win it. On paper and how they were playing, they had a great chance. It would have been interesting to see if teams like Dayton, San Diego State, Baylor, or a couple of surprise teams made it (Final Four).”
Instead of enjoying March Madness, most everybody in the country has been in personal isolation since the second week of March.
“We are home-schooling the kids, quarantining,” said McGrath, a standout student who earned a bachelor’s degree in Human Biology and a masters in Education both at KU. “We have breakfast, lunch and dinner together as a family, like we did growing up as a kid. It seemed we always had meals together (as youth in Topeka).
“It’s a slower pace — walk the dog, go on bike rides, rebound (the basketball) for my son. My girls made the middle school lacrosse team. They just picked it (lacrosse) up then they canceled school.
“The good news is they are in the yard working on their lacrosse game. It’s tough because if you have to quarantine at home you wish there were sports to watch. CBS Sports, ESPNU have been running some games. I tape them so my kids can watch when they are not in (home) school, to keep them occupied somewhat,” he added. “There’s nothing anybody can do. Coaches (who are working) can’t go recruiting until the end of May. I really don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything right now.”
This story was originally published April 8, 2020 at 9:28 AM.
