Locally, the reaction to Arizona State’s hiring of Todd
Graham has been indifferent, with many unsure simply
because they don’t know who he is.

Nationally, though, the reaction has been far more
precise: angry.

There has been a lot said and written about the way Graham
left Pittsburgh for Tempe after just one year, with ESPN.com’s Mark Schlabach getting his
shots in.

Schlabach was a guest on Arizona Sports 620’s Burns and
Gambo Thursday, and he didn’t mince words there, either.

“Bottom line, you’ve got to go look your kids in the face
and tell them you’re leaving and be a man about it and
tell them why you’re leaving,” he said, referring to a text message that
informed the team he was leaving.

Even still, Schlabach thinks it’s wrong that Graham left
the school after being there less than a year, especially
after he sold the school and players on his system and the
fact that he would be around for a while.

But that stuff happens in college sports, so it really
may be the way it went down that has so many upset.

“I just think it’s one of the worst-handled exits I’ve
ever seen,” Schlabach said.

A college insider, Schlabach said there are plenty of
people at places Graham has left that said they couldn’t
wait for the coach to leave.

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