Author: Coach Z (Page 17 of 38)

In a season that has been plagued by injuries and inexperienced play, Bucknell has regained a little of that post season magic. The Bison who own NCAA tournament wins over Kansas and Arkansas the past two years found themselves down 2 points with under 4 seconds to go in the third overtime of their first round game with Navy.

It was senior John Griffin, who coach Pat Flannery has said is the heart and soul of this team, kept his and the Bisons year alive. He took the inbounds pass and took two dribbles and banked in a shot just inside halfcourt to give Bucknell a two point win.

So look out Kansas, Bucknell isn’t done yet…

Speaking of done, Coach Perry Watson has resigned after fifteen years at the helm of Detroit. Watson, who took a leave of absence around Christmas time due to health reasons, made it official after their opening round loss to Wright State.

Not done yet, rumor has it that Eddie Sutton is all over the Missouri State job. That’s right, another job that hasn’t opened has caught the eye and interest of Sutton. Also, Nolan Richardson is a leading candidate at Arkansas State. I am ordering my tickets for the Arkansas-Arkansas State game right now.

Michael Beasley may have had a double-double against Colorado last night, but it was seniorClent Stewart who stole the show. Check out this pregame. A night to remember.

Ohio State took a huge step towards making the NCAA field with their 80-77 win over Purdue last night. After losing to Minnesota on the road over the weekend they may need three more wins to get in. Fortunately, they have one more shot against Michigan State at home. A win puts them at 10-8 in the Big Ten and in need of at least a first round tournament win.

Thad Matta has done an excellent job with a young team that lacks a true leader. That’s why I think they may miss Mike Conley more than Greg Oden.

Michael Beasley just keeps rolling along. He put up another double-double last night and almost had it at halftime (20-7). He needs just four more to break the record held by David Robinson when he was at Navy. And what amazes me most is that there are some columnists who say he is not the player of the year. They want to vote for Tyler Hansborough. Please!! Take Hansborough off North Carolina and they are still a tourney team. Take Beasley away from the Wildcats and they are barely sniffing the NIT.

Media people can’t hold it against Beasley that he is only a freshman and that he plays at a school with little recent basketball success. Come to your senses people…

According to sources from Fox Sports both Barry Hinson of Missouri State and Mike LaPlante of Jacksonville State will be released at the end of the season. LaPlante in his eigth year makes sense. He has failed to muster consistent winning seasons.

Hinson on the other hand has the highest winning percentage in the league in his tenure behind S. Illinois and Crieghton. He graduates players and wins games, but not enough in this day and age. The last two years he was robbed by the committee of an at-large bid even though his rpi was 22 and 31 respectively. RPI only counts when it helps a BCS school! The lack of a tournament appearance has made this coach expendable.

I have always said I love the profession, but I hate the business. Doing it the right way and winning isn’t always enough.

The seniors at Kansas put on a display last night as they beat Texas Tech by 59. This is the same Tech team that beat Texas a couple of days ago. Senior Russell Robinson made all five of his shots as the Jayhawks seemed to have righted a ship that was listless.

After running off 21 straight victories the Jayhawks lost focus for a couple of weeks and dropped three games. It seems after the last two wins (Kansas State by double digits) Bill Self has his team refocused and ready to make a run at the national championship. I am still sticking by my preseason prediction of the Jayhawks cutting down the nets in San Antonio.

I only wish Bob Knight had been in studio for ESPN to comment on the game. Looks like he won’t have to critique his son in the tournament afterall.

Coaching News: Nolan Richarson is in discussions with the officials at Arkansas State about the thier opening. At 66, the question is does he have enough juice left in the tank to take on such a rebuilding job. Also, rumors are flying out of Berkeley about Ben Braun’s future with the Bears.