Author: Coach Z (Page 25 of 38)

Arizona gave itself a huge boost to it’s NCAA resume with a convincing win over #6 ranked Washington State. Behind a barage of 3 point shooting (12 for 21) they soundly defeated the Cougars and got themselves one step closer to a tourney bid. The quickness of Jarred Bayless exposed the Cougars. When he is healthy they are capable of beating any team in the country.

Sticking in the Pac -10UCLA overcame a late lead by Oregon to pull out a hard fought victory. Kevin Love showed why he is one of the top freshman in the country by recording a double double (26 points and 18 rebounds). His ability to demand a double team is what sets him apart from most post men in college basketball. Couple that with a deft passing touch and you can see why he may only be in Westwood for one year.

As a sidenote. Last week there was a question about whether or not John Wooden talking with Kevin Love was an NCAA violation. How absurd can you get? That’s what’s wrong with the NCAA. They spend their time investigating that when all during Wooden’s tenure there was no investigation into Sam Gilbert’s illegal involvement with the program. Too many people with nothing better to do.

Getting back to outstanding freshmen, Michael Beasley, put on another second half show against Colorado. Twenty nine points and 11 rebounds. What I love about this kid is his demeanor on the court. Nothing rattles him. The other thing that sets him apart from his peers is his ability to score without taking shots. He is a monster on the offensive glass. Here’s hoping they win on Wed and go into the Kansas game undefeated. The wildcats will be primed to break the Bramlage curse. Almost thirty years of futility in your own building. I can’t think of a better guy than Frank Martin to finally get it done.

First off let me say congratulations to Scott Drew and the Baylor Bears. He has Baylor back from the ashes and has them ranked in the top 25 for the first time since 1969. In fact, he wasn’t even born yet! In only four years he has taken a program wracked by death and scandal and rebuilt them in his own image. Don’t underestimate that choir boy look, Scott learned how to build a program alongside his father (Homer) as they took Valparaiso from a little school in Indiana to the top of the heap. Can anybody forget the miracle shot by his brother Bryce in the NCAA tournament that led the Crusaders to the Sweet Sixteen? Well, don’t look now, the Baylor Bears are for real and knocking on the door of the NCAA tournament only two years after they were not allowed to play any non conference games.

Led by Austrailian import, Aaron Bruce, Baylor is on a two game road win streak and sits tied with Kansas at the top of the Big 12. Also, it should be noted that his father has Valpraiso in the top three of Horizon League in his first year in the conference.

Speaking of the Horizon League, can you believe Butler is still ranked after two losses in the conference. That show a lot of respect for the league. Granted they were road losses at Cleveland State (7-0 in the league and banging on the door) and at defending champions (Wright State) home court. However, Arizona State had the same thing happen and fell out of the top 25. Glad to see the Horizon League getting the due it deserves.

Gag Order
Coach Rick Majerus is in some hot water as he attended a Hillary Rodham Clinton rally. It seems that a reporter cornered him and asked his views on abortion. The quotable target Majerus told the reported he was pro choice and now has caught some grief for speaking his views. I thought we lived in America..

Jay John lost both games on his recent weekend road trip and then came back and lost his job. Knowing that he had to split on the road to keep his job, the Beavers failed to do it and another college coach is shown the door. By my count that is already six possible changes this year and we aren’t even in the thick of conference play.

After over six years of losing John will hand over the reigns to his assistant Kevin Mouton for the rest of the season. Just in case you are counting Oregon State has only had one winning season in the last 18 years. How the might have fallen. Could it be more than the coach? Facilities and budgets will all be beefed up for the next coach. And, oh by the way, John will walk away with $1.1 million as his severance for never leading his team into the NCAA tourney. Not bad. Where do I get a contract like that?

The inevitable names have already surfaced, Mike Montgomery (former Stanford), Bob Knight, Eddie Sutton and Mark Few. Just to name a few… Look also for some NBA assistant’s to be in the mix. Mike Dunlap (Denver) and Dean Demopoulos (Portland). Demopoulos makes sense since he know the region and has shown the ability to evaluate and develop players from his days at Temple.

Let the fun begin….

I know I wrote a couple of days ago that when you get into conference games the media will call too many wins upsets, but there were a couple of upsets on Saturday. Starting with Maryland over North Carolina. How can a team that lost to Ohio and American at home go to the DeanDome and pull of the upset. Call it great coaching. Gary Williams has his players believing again. What makes this an upset is not that North Carolina is #1 in the country, but that it was at home.

The other upset was on the other end of the country. USC drove crosstown to knock off UCLA in Pauley Pavilion. Again, I ask how could a team that lost to Mercer (an Atlantic Sun team under .500) look up at all those championship banners and not be intimidated. Tim Floyd’s team has struggled with eratic play from OJ Mayo, but this win shows just how good these young freshmen and sophomores could be for the men of Troy. If they can learn to share the ball (hear theat OJ) and guard with the intesity that is needed in college than they could be a force come tourney time….

Staying in the Pac-10, Stanford knocked off Arizona State. I would consider this an upset even though Arizona State was the higher ranked team. However, the final margin (15) says alot about how good the Cardinal will be now that Lopez (the good half) is back.

In the Big 12, Kansas State handed Texas A & M it’s second straight loss. Looks like Mark Turgeon is getting some ill hospitality in his first run through the Big 12. Again, the final score is what makes this game so surprising. The final score was 75-54 and the score was a lot closer than the game. After intermission the Wildcats controlled both ends of the floor. Michael Beasley led the way with 21. He is getting my vote for best freshman and maybe player of the year…

Some other surpises of note,UConn beat Marquette, Auburn beat Ole Miss, NC State beat Miami, and Cincy beat Pitt. All victories by the lower rated teams. However, they wer all on the victors home court. As a former coach I know how tough it is to win on the road, so I wouldn’t consider them too much of an upset.

A couple of teams getting it done on the road. Kansastraveled over to Missouri for the first installment of the Border War and came away with a 76-70 win. Also, Michigan Statewent to Minnesota and came away with a win. Winning on the road is how you win conference championships. Kansas is well on it’s way to another title under Bill Self.

Pepperdine Head Coach Vance Walberg has stepped down due to family reasons. Why is it always family reasons? You never hear of a steelworker leaving his job due to family reasons. I will believe it if he doesn’t coach again somewhere else. For all of the hoopla and track record of success at the junior college and high school level, it never translated into much success at Pepperdine.

Sout Carolina Head Coach Dave Odom anounced his retirement at the end of the season. Glad to see the Gamecock administration do the right thing and let him go out on his own terms. I guess that would mean he doesn’t want to coach again. Let’s wait and see on this one.

That’s five potential openingsif you throw in San Francisco, Detroit, and Arizona. Oh, that’s right Lute Olsen is coming back next year. I would like to know the Vegas odds on that one.

Here’s my choices for the five openings:
Detroit–Perry Watson comes back
Pepperdine–Gib Arnold
Arizona–Kevin O Neill
San Francisco–Eddie Sutton (still looking for 2 more wins to get to 800)
South Carolina–Greg Marshall (it’s a better fit than Wichita State)

With money escalating in Division I, look for there to be plenty of coaching changes.