Ask Cincinnati fans if they would like their program to be on the same level as North Carolina, UCLA and Indiana, and few would decline that offer.

You kidding? They are the elite, the cream, the country clubbers of college basketball.

So now Bearcats fans, however many choose to remain on board, will get that wish. They soon will be in the company of the Tar Heels, Bruins and Hoosiers. Specifically:

¢ North Carolina, 2001-02: 8-20.

¢ UCLA, 2002-03: 10-19.

¢ Indiana, 2003-04: 14-15.

These schools attempted by chance or choice to change coaches out of season. Not out of basketball season, but out of coaching-change season.

Cincinnati President Nancy Zimpher surely was not surprised to hear hosannas from some in the national media for forcing out Bob Huggins. But there is simply no defending Zimpher’s decision to make this move in late August. She began the process of removing Huggins in early spring, but botched the execution like Bearcats point guard Jihad Muhammad fumbling another ball out of bounds.

Zimpher spoke during last week’s news conference about having “a vision for our future.” A leader with vision and an understanding of college athletics would have recognized the perils of dragging out Huggins’ departure for months. Instead of immediately offering the $3 million buyout the university eventually paid, she tried to low-ball Huggins.

Had Huggins been let go early in the spring, Cincinnati would have had a new coach in place for the crucial recruiting months of April and July. Instead, the Bearcats are stuck in interim mode. Indiana fans can explain the price; Bob Knight was replaced in September 2000, and the two-man recruiting class the Hoosiers salvaged in 2001 has produced only 34 starts and 494 points. The teams that grew from that seed were a combined 29-29 the past two seasons.

When Zimpher was asked if she was concerned about lost recruiting time to date – and more that will be lost until Cincinnati hires a full-time coach – she replied that the school soon would land a new athletic director to replace the retiring Bob Goin. “He or she will help with recruiting,” Zimpher said.

Sure.

That’ll work.