"The program wasn't going anywhere, and we needed a change." Horne said. "For the program to go somewhere, something had to happen."

Another player, who asked not to be identified, called Kleinfelder's dismissal "definitely the best thing for the program. You definitely want to see people who can motivate [players], who can use them to the best of their ability and get the best out of their abilities. As the season progressed the respect wasn't there."

Players Disappointed

"Satisfaction doesn't have to come out of a tremendous record," the player added

Another player confirmed that several members of the team would not have returned if Kleinfelder retained her post.

But most of the hoopsters felt that the squad's poor showing resulted from more than just Kleinfelder's coaching

"It was a combination of many things for us. It wasn't just the coaching. [We had] a lack of height and lost a lot of close games," Horne said.

I hope people on the team can separate Carole the coach and Carole the person, and realize that she is nice, a human being," junior Franesa Hall said yesterday.

A committee partially composed of at least one teammate and members of the standing committee on Athletics will choose the next shipper of the team, Reardon said.