Author: Coach Z (Page 32 of 38)

Coach Pat Flannery at Bucknell has created a monster. Now he must feed it. After back to back wins in the NCAA tournament the expectation level at Bucknell is through the roof. However, the Patriot League is not a league where you just reload every year. It is a conference that develops players and has them for four years. After losing three starters (including two senior captains) to injury, his young squad has beaten the likes of LaSalle and played Villanova to a standoff.

Led by senior John Griffin (yes he is the son of former St. Joe coach, John Griffin) the Bison have showed why Pat Flannery is one of the best coaches in the country. One could only imagine what he would be like if he had all the resources at his disposal.

Randy Monroe has the UMBC Retrievers off to their best start in school history. It is always nice to see a good guy get it done.

Transfer note:

Alex Legion has told Kentucky coach Billy Gillespie that he is leaving. You’ll remember he signed with Michigan, but then was let out of his letter of intent after Tommy Amaker was fired. Don’t be surprised if he finds his way back to Michigan. Can you see him paired up with Kelvin Grady and Manny Harris…Wow!!!

Speaking of Tommy Amaker, I am sure there was some celebrating after his Harvard squad defeated Michigan last week. I have to go back and check the record books to find the last time the Wolverines lost to an Ivy League squad. Lloyd Carr knows your pain Coach Beilein.

Indiana held off a pesky Tennessee State team led by former Ohio Valley Freshman of the Year, Bruce Price. Price had 34 points for the game…However the big new was that Eric Gordon went down in the first half with what the trainers described as a bruised backside. Sitting courtside doing the game for the Big Ten Network, I was disapointed that I wouldn’t have an opportunity to watch him perform in person. One thing I did learn about him watching him go through the morning shoot around. He is all business. His work ethic and attention to detail were of a four year veteran. And as Kelvin Sampson said, “when your best player sets a tone like Eric, it is easy to get everyone else’s attention.”

When Gordon went out Sampson was force to play guys out of position. They were already shorthanded with Jordan Crawford and AJ Ratliff not suited to play. Crawford should be back for the Kentucky game while Ratliff will return after the end of the Fall semester.

It was a trio of seniors who came up big for the Hoosiers. DJ White started the game 8 for 8 from the field and ended up with 29. He is a lottery pick in my book. He not only scored inside, but is capable of making the mid range jumper. Mike White came off the bench to coral 10 rebounds and Lance Stemler hit two big threes to maintain a working margin for Indiana.

Two great coaching moves Kelvin Sampson has made already this season. First, by electing to sit Gordon the rest of the game he gave his team an opportunity to discover other ways to score. Secondly, his decision to remove the redshirt from Mike White will pay dividends in the Big Ten.

Perhaps, the best insight by Coach Sampson was his belief that there are no big wins or big losses in November. You are just trying to find out what you have as a team. The loss to Xavier showed him the inexperience inside. Hence, the reinsertion of Mike White into the lineup. Also, that loss helped them win on the road at Southern Illinois. It was the first Hoosier road win against a ranked opponent since 2002. It will give them tremendous confidence going into the league season.

Moving into the second month of the college basketball season sees only 15 teams left unbeaten and 9 remaining winless. The ACC leads with four unbeaten squads (Duke, UNC, Clemson and Miami). Miami is a big surpirse, but only time will tell if they end to be this years version of Clemson who started off 17-0 last year and then folded down the stretch. The Big East has three (Pitt, Georgetown and St. Johns). Not surprising with the first two. Jamie Dixon never loses a game in November. The surprise is St. Johns. Albeit some favorable scheduling maybe the reason. The Big 12, Pac 10, and SEC had two teams each. Cal is off to a good start and if they stay helathy could make a run at UCLA in the Pac 10. The surpirse in the SEC is that it is Vandy and Ole Miss who are undefeated while Florida and Kentucky had absorbed multiple losses.

Butler continues their magical run from last year as they have rolled to 7-0 after knocking off Ohio State. The biggest shock is that no team in ther Big Ten is undefeated. It could have been the fact that they went 3-8 against the ACC for the second straight year.

On the winless side four teams with tradition have yet to find the left side of the ledger. Ball State, Delaware, Canisius and Furman have combined for 22 losses without a win.

The biggest question is what will happen first. The last undefeated team loses or the last winless team gets a victory. My money is on the undefeateds. I will keep you posted….

Iowa played the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks in the first round of the Hawkeye Challenge. My first question was why would they play the team that appeared to be the second best team in the tournament. As the home team you always set it up so that you can play in the finals. And every year since 1985 that was the case. Not only had Iowa played in the finals, but they had won it. In fact, they were 49-1 all time in the tournament.

However, the Warhawks coached by the 2007 Sun Belt Coach of the Year, Orlando Early, battled from a 14 point second half deficit to beat Iowa in overtime. In the championship game they routed the Rice Owls… Tornament MVP is a player that has flown under the radar, but will not be there very much longer. Tony Hooper was by far and away the best player over the two days. He not only scored, but made every big shot his team needed. Keep an eye on Hooper and the Warhawks.

Summit League takes a bite out of the Big Timers. Centenary knocked off Texas Tech on Saturday and IUPUI beat a very good UMASS team. Coupled with an earlier win b y South Dakota State over Northern Iowa and it looks like this could be the best the league has been from top to bottom.

Head Coach Jeff Reynolds was reprimanded by the Mountain West Conference for post game remarks made after a road loss to Montana. Here is what he said, “The fact that the official was right there, and he made the call, and this guy runs over from out of his territory to overrule him, you know, that’s questionable.” That call took the ball from Air Force and left them on the short end of a 59-57 score….Come on, are you kidding me? Go to the video tape and it will show you the truth. How about having the official respond to questionable calls after the game in a press conference….Why do we keep protecting officials? Make them answer the bell…

The truth be known most officials are good guys doing the best they can. Furthermore, I can accept a guy saying he made a mistake. You respect that.

One of the most sincere gestures I have ever heard of was when Rick Hartzell sent Jim Valvano a note apologizing for blowing a call in the NC State-Georgetown tournament game that cost NC State a victory. It also turned out to be the last game Valvano ever coached… If he can show class like that. Why can’t other officials answer the bell?