Category: College Basketball (Page 124 of 153)

It was one of those nights that you dread as a parent. Your two sons squared off against each other on the court. That made for a tough night for former Oklahoma State Coach Eddie Sutton as his two sons, Scott (the head coach at Oral Roberts) and Sean (the head coach at Oklahoma State) pitted their teams against each other for the first time.

Take off the uniforms and you wouldn’t have known who the Big 12 team was and who the mid major was in this contest. Oral Roberts led from start to finish as they routed the Cowboys by 15. After closing the first half with a 17 point lead ORU held serve in the second half enroute to their first win over Oklahoma State.

It looks to be a long year for the Cowboys as they looked totally overwhelmed by ORU. NO disrespect to them, but one only wonders how OSU hopes to match up against the likes of Texas and Kansas in Big 12 action. If it is any consolation this is the same ORU squad that knocked off Kansas last year and took Texas down to the wire a week ago. Maybe they should be playing in the Big 12.

On the bright side for Eddie Sutton, at least one of his sons was guaranteed a win last night.

Coach Bob Huggins was supposed to be in a transitional year at West Virginia. Many skeptics thought that the players who were recruited by John Beinlein wouldn’t be able to adapt to Huggins in your face style and system. However, Huggins has proved again why he will be in the Hall of Fame when his career is over. The Mountaineers are 8-1 and don’t seem to be having any trouble adjusting. Look out Big East opponents Huggie Bear is back and better than ever.

Frank Haith is in a make or break year at Miami. Many thought he would be in such a hole by the time the ACC season rolled around that he would be stepping down early. So what have the Haith led Hurricanes done. They are 10-0 and one of only 14 undefeated teams left in the country. With the next five games at home the Hurricanes have a chance to roll out to a 15-0 record. After seeing what their football team did this year, Miami fans can celebrate the revival of their basketball squad.

Dick Vitale underwent successfull throat surgery today. ESPN announced that he will be sidelined until February. Like a true competitor Vitale tried to play through the pain, but in the end the surgery was the only option. Whether you like his style or not, he has been one of the biggest supporters of college basketball. He has helped the game explode over the past twenty years. Many do not know that he was a successfull college coach at the Univesity of Detroit. His team set standards that have still not been matched.

However, I remember him most for the lectures he gave at Five Star Basketball Camper. As a junior in high school I sat mesmerized for over an hour listening to him motivate and extol the finer points of the game. In fact, it was his enthusiasm and love for the game that inspired me to be a coach. For those of you who think he is all show, you need to think again. He has a bigger heart than he does mouth (no disrespect intended).

Our prayers and well wishes are with you Coach Vitale. I can’t wait to see you on the sideline again.

The Kansas Jayhawks are as good as advertised. I had an opportunity to catch them against a good Ohio University team yesterday at the Sprint Center in Kansas City. They manhandled Ohio from start to finish. And mind you this is an Ohio team that just handed Maryland a rare home loss a couple days prior. What is most impressive about the Jayhawks is their depth in the backcourt and their defensive execution.

Their rotation on ball screens was the best of any team I have seen in 25 years of coaching. The ability to pressure, rotate and recover was phenomenal. And their depth is unbelievable.

When you bring Brandon Rush (a lottery pick) and Sherron Collins (he might be their best player) off the bench it would give any coach nightmares. When Rush and Collins get fully healthy, one could only imagine the havoc they will wreak. Combine those two with Mario Chalmers (another future NBA’er) and steady Russell Robinson and you have the best quartet of guards in the country.

Coach Tim O’Shea played for Coach Gary Williams at Boston College and obviously learned his lessons well. On Wednesday his Ohio U. Bobcats handed Maryland only their fourth non-conference home loss since 1989. After dominating the game from the opening tip the Bobcats have shown why they could help the MAC become a multi bid league this year. Currently, there are 6-2 with their only losses coming on the road by two against Holy Cross and Temple.

With Jerome Tillman and Leon Williams Ohio has arguably the best 3 and 4 man in the league. They continue the road trip with a Saturday contest against Kansas and then head to Hawaii where they will face St. Johns in the first round of the Rainbow Classic.

Big wins over ACC opponents are not new to the Bobcats and Coach O’Shea. They have also beaten North Carolina and Virginia in his tenure. Coupled with a trip to the NCAA tournament a couple of years ago, it is easy to see why he was on the list for a number of openings last season. Another big run and he could be moving on.