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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   ADDITIONAL ITEMS • NCAA (External Link)   CONTACT THE HERALD Report scores and results to 425-339-3470 or 1-866-6-SCORES (Call after 4:30 p.m.) E-mail information including items for Tuesday's Communities Sports Roundup and Thursday's Outdoor Calendar, to sports@heraldnet.com Kevin Brown, Sports Editor kbrown@heraldnet.com   Published: Thursday, March 27, 2008 California coach Braun fired after 12 seasons Associated Press BERKELEY, Calif. -- California underachieved in the eyes of its players, its athletic director and its fans. The school fired basketball coach Ben Braun on Wednesday following another disappointing season in which the Golden Bears missed the NCAA tournament for the fourth time in five years. Braun spent 12 years at Cal and made the tournament five times. But the Bears only went to the NCAA tournament once over his final five seasons, leading to the decision by athletic director Sandy Barbour. She met Wednesday morning with Braun, who then met with eight players from the team in the locker room afterward with the news. Barbour, too, talked to as many players as she could considering some had already left town for spring break. She said her decision was made this week after evaluating the program over the course of the season. "Ultimately, the bottom line is we just didn't win enough basketball games," Barbour said. "I believe this is a very talented team and I believe they under performed. ... It concerns me not to put the student-athletes in position to have outrageous success." Cal finished ninth in the Pac-10 this season, going 17-16 overall and just 6-12 in the conference despite having a talented roster that included likely future NBA players in Ryan Anderson, DeVon Hardin and Patrick Christopher. Anderson, the team's leading scorer and rebounder this season as a sophomore, is likely to declare himself eligible for the NBA draft without hiring an agent so he can still return to school. The Bears had the youngest roster in the Pac-10 -- with two seniors and no active juniors -- and made the NIT, where they were knocked out in the second round by Ohio State on Monday night. They struggled all season to play solid defense and that led to losing lots of close games. ARIZONA: Kevin O'Neill said he expects to return to Lute Olson's Arizona staff and succeed the Hall of Famer when he retires. O'Neill became interim coach Nov. 4 after Olson took a leave of absence for undisclosed personal reasons. When Olson recently announced that he would resume coaching next season -- he is signed through 2011 -- speculation arose that O'Neill might depart instead of returning to his job as an assistant. MISSOURI STATE: Purdue assistant Cuonzo Martin was hired as the head coach. The 36-year-old Martin replaces Barry Hinson. Hinson was fired on March 9 after failing to take Missouri State to the NCAA tournament in nine seasons.

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