More On The Mike Arnold Firing

We have uncovered a little bit of insight into why Mike Arnold was let go at Clark College. Athletic director Charles Guthrie met with players on Monday, and here is an account of the meeting from one of the players:

— “He made a point that there are 20 high schools in the area, and Coach Arnold didn’t recruit locally enough.” A total of 12 players are listed on the roster at ClarkPenguins.com, and six of them are from Clark County. Two are from Portland, one from Longview, and one from Snohomish. There also is one from Arizona and one from Georgia.

— “He wanted a little more organization. The AD would come in at the start of practice sometimes and the head coach wouldn’t be there.” Another source told me that one of Arnold’s shortcomings is, “He doesn’t own a watch,” and that tardiness is a chronic problem. That source added, however, that Arnold does a good job of holding players accountable in the classroom and in the gym.

— “He said he looked up the record the last five years in close games and it wasn’t good. And the tournament record wasn’t good.” The player said Guthrie indicated that the record points to the need for improved organization. The Penguins went 3-2 this year in games decided by five points or less, and they lost their first two games at the NWAACC tournament.

The player added that Guthrie acted professionally during the meeting, and that he thought the meeting was productive. “One of our guys walked out. He was pretty rude, and he (Guthrie) handed it well.”

I still need to confirm this account of the meeting. We’ll continue to report on this story, and I expect to have a column in Sunday’s paper.