He was only 29 when fate fed him the opportunity of a lifetime -- a Division I head coaching gig.
Jose Fernandez, then a first-year Bulls assistant, was given a two-year contract and the reins to USF's foundering program in the wake of predecessor Jerry Ann Winters' scandalous resignation in October 2000. USF finished 4-24 that season, the program's worst ever.
Nearly a generation later, the mediocrity -- and much of Fernandez's hairline -- have receded. Tuesday night against Memphis, the 45-year-old married dad of a built-in basketball team (five girls) can earn victory No. 300.
For those scoring at home, that's a .