FWST: With Trent Johnson fired, where TCU could turn for its next basketball coach

BY JIMMY BURCH [email protected]

Athletic director Chris Del Conte said in a statement Monday that Johnson is “a man of unbelievable integrity” but improvement is needed in the program, which began playing this season at the newly-renovated $80 million Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena.

“It’s hard to find a better person than Trent, and I have the highest level of respect for him,” Del Conte said in his statement. “However, we believe change is needed in the leadership of our men’s basketball program. With our new facility and playing in the Big 12 — the strongest basketball conference in the country — we’re positioned well to have a men’s basketball program that makes TCU and Fort Worth proud.

“Trent inherited a very difficult situation, and we truly appreciated his efforts over the last four years. We simply did not have the success we envisioned but believe the pieces are now in place for us to move forward.” …