Category: College Basketball (Page 126 of 153)

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.

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….