No, not her. Please.

That’s what I was thinking as I headed to the press conference that announced Beth Combs as the new head coach of the women’s basketball team.

I didn’t want her. Having covered NU’s women hoopsters for a season, I saw first-hand how June Olkowski — a Horizon League Coach of the Year who led Butler to an NCAA tournament birth — allowed the Wildcats to become the joke of the Big Ten.

In newly appointed Beth Combs, I saw the same kind of coach. Young, limited coaching experience, a successful tenure at the mid-major (or not even) level.

Combs also took her team to an NCAA tournament appearance.

How is coaching at Colgate and winning Patriot League Coach of the Year honors any different from Olkowski’s resume?

Surely, NU Director of Athletics Mark Murphy will know now to stay away from any more June Olkowskis.

Maybe, just maybe, Murphy will forget for one second that he used to attend Colgate and that he was the school’s athletic director for four years before coming to NU. Maybe he won’t play favorites.

Maybe, just maybe, he’ll realize that what NU needs isn’t another coach from a school that no one’s ever heard of. Maybe he’ll get someone from a big time program. Maybe he’ll sign Notre Dame associate coach Carol Owens.

Now try and pretend for one second that a lot of NU students actually care about women’s basketball, and ask around.

Who would you rather have coach the Cats? Someone from Notre Dame, or someone from Colgate?

I bet you most students on this campus will not respond with something regarding toothpaste.

This is precisely why I cringed when I saw the announcement. I was mad. How dare he just hire someone from his alma mater like that?

What’s next?

Is Randy Walker going to get fired so we can hire Colgate’s football coach?

I was going to let Murphy have it in this column.

But then Murphy held the press conference, introduced Combs, explained the reasoning behind his selection, and I was subdued.

Murphy, in the most casual and nonchalant manner possible, sold me on Combs and immediately stopped all my doubts about this coaching selection.

It’s not favoritism at all. The fact that Murphy worked with Combs for four years is an advantage.

I sure didn’t look at it that way at first.

She’s played in the Big Ten. She’s familiar with recruiting in Illinois. I had never even thought of that.

And then there was the biggest difference between Combs and Olkowski that I had neglected earlier.

“The program (at Butler) was successful before (Olkowski arrived there),” Murphy said. “Beth turned a struggling program around at Colgate.”

I believed it. If she’s as good at turning around basketball programs as she is at turning around the opinions of a cynical columnist in a matter of minutes, then I’d watch out for her.

As I left the press conference, I couldn’t help but feel like I had just been brainwashed.

Murphy and Combs had managed to make me do a 180-degree turn, and leave with a feeling of optimism — albeit, very guarded — about the women’s program.

I also left with a newfound respect for Mark Murphy and his gifts of persuasion.

He might even be able to convince me that Andy Kaufman actually had a shot to win the ASG presidency.