Author: Coach Z (Page 38 of 38)

With the talent gap narrowed between the BCS schools and the rest of the Division I teams, it is no surprise that
Belmont won at Cincinnatti
UNC_Greensboro won at Georgia Tech
Cleveland State won at South Florida

I would not call these upsets, but just a case of smaller budgeted schools with more experience being ahead of the learning curve. Having coached on the lower levels of Division I, I can tell you that there is nothing better than going on the road and getting a win and then cashing the guarantee check that came with the road victory. Two of my most memorable games were wins against Nebraska and Kansas State (cha-ching $$).

When you talk about the wildcats in college basketball most people think of Kentucky, but I am here to tell you that the other Wildcats at Kansas State are a team to watch closely. After watching them in practice last week I walked away thinking that this is a team that could be in the hunt come March. New head coach Frank Martin has done a smooth job of transitioning from assistant to the man in charge without changing his style one bit. He had the attention of all the players and after seeing the score from last night’s win against Sacramento State without 3 starters, he demonstrated the ability to adjust on the fly. Of course, Michael Beasley showed why he may be the top freshman in the country.

Setting a school record for rebounds in his first outing Beasley sent notice to the rest of the Big 12 to look out for the WILDCATS.

To all the Kentucky fans who are calling for Billy Gillespie’s head on a platter for losing to Gardner Webb and comparing it to Michigan’s football loss to App. State take a step back and give Coach Gillespie a chance to bring in a full recruiting class and more importantly implement his system… I know this is not easy… Just ask Tubby Smith.

Eastern Michigan hosted Brown University at 12:00 on Friday. Unbeleiveable as it sounds the game was a weekday noon start. Brown found their groove early. According to Brown player, Chris Skrelja (9 rebounds/8assists) it was the fact that they practice at 5:30 in the morning everyday. “This felt like a night game for us.” They play Michigan on Sunday at noon. Can they pull off two wins at high noon? Time will tell.

It was the 600th game at Chrisler Arena, but more importantly it was the first game for John Beilein as the head coach of the Michigan Wolverines. As I watched the game from courtside I marveled at the way Coach Beilein has taken a team with 8 newcomers that averaged only 64 points a game and turned it into an up tempo offensive team. They routed Radford University 82-55. All this while starting two freshman in the backcourt and turning a lo post player into a perimeter threat.

Keep an eye on Deshawn Sims. Look for him to have a great year and be one of the main beneficieries of the John Beilein system.