Travis Ford Will Be Perfect Fit As New Saint Louis Basketball Coach

It’s didn’t take long for the Saint Louis Billikens to make their decision on a replacement for former head coach Jim Crews, and they have found the perfect man in former Oklahoma State Cowboys head coach Travis Ford. Ford was fired earlier in March despite having a winning record and taking the Cowboys to the NCAA tournament in five out of eight seasons.

Crews had held the position for the previous four years. Things were beginning to go in the wrong direction as the team’s 55-14 record from 2012-13 to 2013-14 became a distant memory after losing a total of 42 games over the past two years. He was fired shortly after the most recent Billikens Atlantic 1o tournament loss.

Saint Louis Athletic Director Chris May stated there was a seriousness about the program competing nationally and has determined Ford shared in that vision and is the man for the job. This is the second time Ford has coached in the conference, as he was also head coach of the Massachusetts Minutemen.

It may be a bit of a stretch and unfair to expect more than what’s happened for the Saint Louis program recently. Maybe the firing of Ford at Oklahoma State wasn’t the best move either. It’s hard to imagine that the best high school seniors in the country are interested in investing a few years of their lives at either one of the schools with more attractive programs scouting them.

But one thing is certain: Ford does have a history of winning. His 217-146 record that he’s created at both Massachusetts and Oklahoma State proves that. If he can bring that to his new program, he could be at Saint Louis for a while.