A day after USC coach Andy Enfield and UTEP coach Tim Floyd were involved in a verbal altercation at a pre-tournament reception in the Bahamas, both coaches are saying the feud is over and that they have both moved on.
ESPN has the full story:
The feud began in April, with Floyd calling Enfield because he thought USC was tampering with UTEP recruit Isaac Hamilton (No. 32 in the 2013 recruiting class, according to ESPN’s RecruitingNation).
“I lobbed a call into Coach Enfield back in April and felt like there was tampering going on with [Hamilton], and sure enough, three months later he put USC on his Facebook page and backed out of his letter of intent,” Floyd said Thursday. “I called and we discussed that in a very serious vein. [Enfield] asked me not to turn him in, and [he said] that they just wouldn’t take [Hamilton]. But we didn’t end up with him, and that was a lick.”
Hamilton sought a release from his letter of intent in July. Floyd initially denied the release while accusing Enfield and USC of tampering. The former McDonald’s All-American eventually was granted a release and enrolled at UCLA, where he will sit during the 2013-14 season after his waiver request was denied by the NCAA.
The feud escalated when Enfield criticized Floyd in a Men’s Journal article that was released last week.
“Tim Floyd shows up every day at work and realizes he lives in El Paso, Texas,” Enfield told the publication. “And he’s pissed off that he didn’t get the USC job two months ago. I told him, ‘Tim, if I could have all this power to somehow convince a family to do this, why the heck didn’t the kid come last spring, when I first got the job?’ ”
Floyd responded Thursday
“I damned sure didn’t appreciate the comments that he made last week publicly about the city of El Paso, Texas, where my grandparents were born and raised, where my father was born and raised and played at Texas Western, and where I lived 22 years of my life,” Floyd said Thursday. “It’s a fabulous city, and my reaction yesterday was more about the city of El Paso than the previous part.”
Floyd added, “As far as him saying he was just trying to apologize yesterday, it would’ve been really nice if he had apologized three weeks ago when that magazine article came out. His timing wasn’t very good.”
Enfield expressed regret Thursday for the incident.
“I regret that the situation happened and I apologize to the USC fans, but this is about the players,” Enfield said. “We’re moving on.”
The Pac 12 commissioner is currently investigating the altercation between the two coaches. Although both of these coaches are claiming their beef is over, something tells me this is just getting started. Either way, these guys aren’t setting the best example for the young men they are supposed to be mentoring.