Author: Coach Z (Page 31 of 38)

Butler fell from the list of the unbeatens as they lost a conference road game to Wright State. WSU Coach Brad Brownell proves once again why he is one of the best and most underrated coaches in the business. After taking the Raiders to the NCAA tournament last year and graduating the league MVP he has put together another squad that will challenge for the Horizon League title.

Other upsets of note were a combination of three road teams going into hostile environments and pulling off the win. Rhode Island traveled to Syracuse and beat the Orangemen in the Carrier Dome. Last year Jim Boeheim complained about being snubbed from the NCAA tourney, but a loss at home will kill you every time. Jim Baron has Rhode Island off to a 10-1 start and this win proves they could be a team to be reckoned with down the road. Stephen F. Austin and Dayton went on the road to Oklahoma and Louisville and pulled out wins. Dayton’s win is significant for two reasons. First it kept Rick Pitino from getting win #500. Second, it gave coach Briand Gregory a signature win prior to A-10 play. Gregory is on the hot seat and wins like this will help him get a much needed extension.

New coach Tim Jankovich led his Illinois State Redbird to a win over Cincinnati.

Hats off to the upset winners on Saturday.

Arizon head coach Lute Olson has announced that he will take a leave of absence for the rest of the season. His personal problems turned out to be a troubled marriage as he has filed for divorce. That is news I am glad to hear. So often personal issues involve illness. I hope this tremendous coach and person is back on the bench next year.

Alex Legion announced earlier in the week that he was leaving Kentucky. Now he is having second thoughts. While he is working it out his teammates will take on 15th-ranked Indiana without him. As Pat Reilly put so well, “you’re either in or you’re out.” Choose and let’s get on with it…Coaching sure has changed. Twenty years ago that player would have been gone the minute he opened his mouth….Do you think Adolph Rupp would have kept him in the Bluegrass State? I don’t think so!!!

Connecticut Head Coach Jim Calhoun was reprimanded by the Big East office after making comments regarding the officiating of his team’s game with Northeastern. Calhoun was given two technicals and ejected for laughing at a call. Official Wally Rutecki called the first technical on Calhoun for using profanity while correcting one of his players….Are you kidding me!! An official who is paid $2000 for a little under two hours of work should be concentrating on what is going on out on the floor, not on the bench..

Talking with several coaches over the past couple of days has given me a new perspective on power run amock. Without any checks and balances the officials in college basketball have given more technicals to date than in any previous season.

Since when is it illegal to yell at your players. I guess this is a new sensivtivy training for officials. After 25 years of coaching I can tell you that officials need to get better at calling the plays on the court and forget about the bench. If you don’t believe me ask Jay Wright at Villanova after the horrendous call that cost him a game against North Carolina State. Oh, that’s right he can’t comment.

Finally, as Coach Calhoun questioned, “how did the official know it wasn’t gas that I had on the bench when I laughed?”

Once again I call upon the NCAA to make the officials attend a post game press conference to answer any questions. That way they will think twice prior to broad personal interpretations. And I am not talking about blocks and charge calls.

Rick Barnes maybe the best coach at adapting to his talent and environment of any coach in the business. After losing Kevin Durant to the NBA many thought there would be a drop off. Starting 8-0 with a road win at UCLA is not looking like a step back. He has adjusted once again and created another formidable team…. I can remeber talking with him after practice during his first year at Providence. He had followed Rick Pitino and had enough smarts to know what his strengthes were and what the fans expected. He was expected to press like Pitino. However, his strength was in teaching man to man half court defense. So he adapted. Pressed for one pass and then fell back into a tough, in your face man to man defense. Therefore, he was able to combine both and put together another outstanding team and keep the fans happy.

Now at Texas he has done that again.

It has become almost commonplace that successful head coaches can have their sons take over for them upon retirement. Some might think it is deal made with the devil, but in a couple of recent instances it has worked out well. Last night Tony Bennet and Keno Davis got huge wins for their teams and made their father’s proud.

Tony Bennet led his Washington State Cougars to a win over Gonzaga, 51-47. He has picked up where he left off last year and has the Cougars undefeated after eight games. This could be a team that slips into the Final Four, much like his father’s Wisconsin team.

Another big win was Drake over Iowa State, 79-44. The Bulldogs were moribound until Dr. Tom Davis took over and led them to their first winning season last year. Some questioned his son’s inexperience, but he has quickly silenced the critics after a 6-1 start.

Watching both teams there is no question that both Tony and Keno paid close attention to how their father’s ran programs. Time will tell if they have the same type of legacies as Dr. Tom and Dick Bennett. They’re off to a good start.

One son who has struggled is Sean Sutton at Oklahoma State. Since taking over for his father he has been beset by players with off court problems as well as injuries. The flip side of following your father into the profession is that they are usually big shoes to fill. The Cowboys need a quick turnaround to get Coach Sutton off the hot seat.