Faith in Haith: Now We Know Why Coach Left Mizzou in Mess for Tulsa

Fool me once, shame on thee! Fool me twice, shame on me! Questions will linger if hit-and-run coach Frank Haith remains unscathed at Tulsa after Missouri, his previous outpost, announced self-imposed sanctions stemming from improprieties during his stint with the Tigers. Leaving the scene of the crimes, Haith bolted Mizzou following the 2013-14 campaign in an unusual move at the time from a power conference member to a mid-major school. Dodging bullets like Shrillary in Bosnia, it turns out Haith packed his suitcase four days after the school received a notice of inquiry from the NCAA.

But Haith fooled folks before. Stripping away the veneer, it was difficult for the average Missouri fan to invest much time exhibiting an abundance of faith in Haith when he was hired as coach to replace Arkansas-bound Mike Anderson. Mizzou followers were dismayed after coach Matt Painter didn't leave his alma mater (Purdue) to accept the job and Haith's good-guy reputation was tainted by strip-club partying with a Ponzi schemer booster at Miami (FL), where he never had a winning ACC record in seven seasons with the Hurricanes (43-69 overall league mark).

But Haith's timing seemed impeccable at the time as he quickly turned a faith-building corner by impressing brothers Flip and Matt Pressey to stay with the Tigers rather than tagging along with Anderson, the college roommate (at Tulsa) of their NBA father (All-American Paul Pressey). Haith rewarded the gifted guards with significantly more court time and the Presseys responded accordingly.

Haith, giving his seven-man rotation an average of more than 25% additional playing time than they had their last year under Anderson, laid the groundwork to win one of the national coach of the year awards. The potent Pressey pair enjoyed almost 50% more minutes between them than they did in 2010-11. But it turns out, there were other "gifts" behind the scenes at moribund Mizzou. No wonder the rudderless institution couldn't handle self-absorbed football players boycotting in support of hunger-striking eight-year professional student from wealthy family.

Upon earning national acclaim, Haith joined the following list of five coaches who did so in their debut season for a school after serving in a similar capacity the previous year with another DI institution: Eddie Hickey (Marquette '59/after leaving St. Louis), Tom Davis (Iowa '87/Stanford), Eddie Sutton (Kentucky '86/Arkansas), Kelvin Sampson (Oklahoma '95/Washington State) and Matt Doherty (North Carolina '01/Notre Dame).

Anderson was national COY three years before Haith. But what type of hangers-on do their programs attract? A supporter who flew with the Mizzou squad on multiple road trips and received complementary tickets from players was arrested by FBI agents on drug-related charges at the team's hotel in Omaha before the distracted Tigers were upset by Norfolk State in the opening round of the 2012 NCAA playoffs. Was that debacle their version of self-imposed vacating participation?

At what cost did Mizzou enjoy some brief success under a mix of Coach Cal/Tark the Shark/Jimmy V but without the accompanying sustained winning? Haith abandoned the program, leaving the tattered Tigers in their worst shape in 50 years. Show-Me State fans may need to be shown a Louisville-recruit good time by a Ponzi schemer to temporarily get their minds off the excessive debris. Stripping things down to get to the naked truth, let Haith's role-dancing around the issue begin. He should realize that, if karma intervenes, time heals all wounds and wounds all heels.