Fan X likes to torment me on the subject(s) for my blogs. Giving him full credence for many good ideas, my blogs are thoughts which capture my mind during a day or week. Sometimes they are a recapitulation of what has happened in sports. Other times they involve subjects more personal and are reflective. And other times, they are just compilations of what I think is important and might be to you, the reader.
With that in mind, I am not going to dwell much on the NFL—even if there is plenty to discuss. Thursday night, Dwayne Henry of the Tennessee Titans started the NFL slate off with a sonic boom—a 99 yard touchdown run, bringing back memories of Tony Dorsett’s famous run for Dallas. Henry ran for almost 250 yards on Thursday night as the Titans kept their flickering playoff hopes alive with a resounding win over Jacksonville.
In a game which had no meaning as far as the playoff picture is concerned, the New York Jets came from behind and defeated Buffalo on a typically cold day in Western New York. The matchup between rookie QB’s Sam Darnold for New York and Josh Allen of Buffalo was much more the story. Darnold, shaking off the remnants of rust and the foot injury which still troubles him, drove New York to the winning score. That translates to leadership and poise, which a franchise QB should have.
So, for at least one game, Darnold looked like the QB the Jets thought he would become in future years. His counterpart, Allen, can run and throw. His rushing total of over 100 yards puts him int the history book as the first QB in the draft era to have four consecutive games of 100 yards rushing. He passed somewhat effectively, but in the end, his questionable throw, intercepted by Trumaine Jackson of the Jets, sealed the Bills fate.
But fear not, Bills fans. Allen, like Darnold, is young and will be a strong leader. While we AFC East fans have to deal with the seemingly ageless Tom Brady for a few more years, the Allen-Darnold duels will become a staple of intra-division games.
Speaking of the Patriots, who were in Miami today, Brady set some more career records on his TD passes. Unfortunately, New England lost to the Dolphins on the final play of the game—a pass reception and two laterals which resulted in a game-winning score, temporarily denying New England its 9th straight AFC East crown. Dubbed the “Miracle in Miami,” it was a fun play to watch unfold—especially if you dislike the Patriots.
The NFL is not what I came to discuss. Neither is the sudden resurgence of the Golden State Warriors with the return of Steph Curry, to be augmented with the return on Monday of Draymond Green to the lineup after an ll game absence due to a toe injury and the highly-anticipated debut of 6’11” Boogie Cousins.
It surely wasn’t about the Rutgers flop in the Bronx on Saturday, breaking a lengthy winning streak against Fordham, which was hosting a Big Ten team in their tiny Rose Hill gymnasium for the first time since Purdue came East in 1935.
And it wasn’t about F&M laying an egg at home, losing to Mc Daniel after winning a road test against a game Haverford squad. Or Johns Hopkins coming up short versus perennial power in the Division III Football Championships. Or even Seton Hall’s stunning OT win over 9th ranked Kentucky at Madison Square Garden, where the teams traded incredible buckets and which became a game that ESPN has called an “Instant Classic.”
My subject for this week came from watching about five minutes of a basketball game between former Big East rivals Georgetown and Syracuse. The final score was 72-71 in favor of the Orange, in a less than packed Carrier Dome. Like prior Hoya-Orange matchups, it had thrills and chills and all of the bruising play famous in this once can’t miss rivalry.
Yet that was not what caught my eye. It was the matchup of the coaches. Jim Boeheim, the bespectacled one with very little hair, who has been coaching the Syracuse men for eons, was matching wits with the Georgetown coach, Big East and NBA legend, Patrick Ewing. I easily can recall the games Boeheim led his team against the invasion of John Thompson and his prize player, the same Patrick Ewing. Now Ewing has taken over for the Thompsons—father and son—and is trying to lead the Hoyas back to glory. Although his 7-1 team lost yesterday, Ewing has amassed a talented bunch, which bodes well for the future. Plus he can coach too.
So I started to think about the old and new coaches in the college ranks. Not just the retired legends like John Wooden, Thompson, Lou Carnesecca of St. John’s, Digger Phelps of Notre Dame, Dean Smith of North Carolina and Bob Knight of Indiana. Or the present legends who will make the Hall of Fame like Coach K at Duke, Roy Williams at North Carolina, Boeheim, Villanova’s Jay Wright, John Caliphari at Kentucky, Tom Izzo at Michigan State, Kansas head man Bill Self or Bob Huggins at his alma mater, West Virginia. But also, the next generation of coaches who are starting out or who have been winning consistently and, with some great recruiting and luck, may record a whole lot of wins and some national titles along the way.
Who are the guys who haven’t won the prize yet or who show the promise to become top coaches in the next couple of years and beyond?
I went to my trusted research assistant, Google for some answers. As always, Google did not disappoint me, even keeping me away from my second source for information, Wikipedia.
Here’s what I saw. A lot of damn good coaches who could win it all. Which is good for the sport.
First, there are the established or older coaches. John Beilein comes to mind. The 65 year old Michigan coach has a top squad this season, coming off a team that lost the National Championship to Villanova last season. He will always be on the cusp of a title, and, if things break right, may even win one.
Same for Mark Few. A talented recruiter and a solid coach, he made his name at Gonzaga before the lure of the bigger money led him to Georgia. While known primarily as a football conference, SEC basketball is always competitive even if Kentucky nearly always wins the crown.
Also in that realm is Tony Bennett, who is approaching age 50 and who has produced some superb teams at Virginia, even if the Cavaliers were bounced in the first round by number 16 seed UMBC. Facing Duke and Carolina is daunting. I just wonder if his teams have enough moxie to win it all.
Mike Brey is at a football school and manages to do just fine. The 59 year old is a stellar recruiter and fine coach. It is just the same mantra for Brey at Notre Dame as for Bennett at UVA—the ACC is littered with carcasses trying to surmount the big boys.
There are a lot of 50 and 60 year old coaches who win and win some more. Rick Barnes at Tennessee, Frank Martin with South Carolina, Bruce Pearl at Auburn and Avery Johnson at Alabama all can be found in the SEC. Jim Larranaga routinely produces highly competitive teams at Miami. Ditto Jamie Dixon at TCU. Lon Krueger at Oklahoma, Mark Turgeon with Maryland, Randy Bennett of St. Mary’s (CA), Dana Altman with the Oregon Ducks and Greg Mc Dermott at Creighton. Just too name a few.
The young guns are the ones who I have interest in. I admit that Patrick Ewing is no youngster, just like Chris Mullin at St. John’s, his alma mater. I like this rivalry for the ardor and the history it educes.
Three sets of brothers come to mind—the Millers, the Hurleys and the Drews. The Millers have established themselves at high profile schools—Arizona for Sean and Indiana for Archie—where the expectation is to win national titles.
Danny Hurley is now at UConn after success at Rhode Island; UConn is known for champions in basketball. Big brother Bobby Hurley has progressed to Arizona State after his first gig at Buffalo. The former Duke All-American has the basketball smarts that their Hall of Fame father instilled in them at St. Anthony’s, a New Jersey prep powerhouse in Jersey City.
The Drews, who played for their father Homer at Valparaiso, are at Vanderbilt and Baylor. These schools are not likely homes for national title contenders. But with their coaching pedigrees, they should be ensconced for years to come.
Another coach with a pedigree is Chris Collins. The Northwestern head man is the son of Doug Collins, a former NBA All Star and coach. Moreover, he played for and coached as an assistant at Duke. His credentials are super and with a refurbished Welsh-Ryan Arena, the Wildcats are worth watching.
Falling into the father as coach classification is Richard Pitino. His father was a title winner at Louisville and Kentucky. Hopefully he will not suffer a fall from grace like his dad.
Shaka Smart at Texas is going to develop national championship caliber teams. He is bright and capable, effusive but decisive on the court, always moving in for the kill. I like his swagger and demeanor.
Chris Mack at Xavier and Seton Hall’s Kevin Willard compete in the treacherous Big East. With some top tier recruiting, they have the potential to rise in stature. Same with former Butler coach now at Ohio State, Chris Holtmann.
An up and comer in the Big Ten is Pat Chambers at Penn State. The Philadelphia native has turned heads with his team’s feisty play. Take note, Steve Pikiell.
Steve Alford is always measured against the greatest—John Wooden. A star high school and college player in Indiana, Alford has won in the D I circles with Iowa, New Mexico and now at UCLA. I keep waiting for his breakthrough year, just like Bruins boosters. I just hope that the vultures don’t swoop down on him.
I have always like Andy Enfield (a.k.a. The Shot Doctor) The sweetheart coach of upstart Florida Gulf Coast landed a great job at USC. Andy has a great coaching resume as a shooting coach for the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks and with Leonard Hamilton at Florida State. He holds 18 school records at Johns Hopkins, where the Shippensburg PA High School valedictorian graduated in 1991. Founder of a health care software start up company named TractManager, he is worth millions. Basketball is his passion and he gets to do what he wants with total financial security. Enfield can get the right talent and he certainly can coach. He is in a big market and he is married to a model. This is the kind of guy who can break through at any moment with the right assortment of talent.
I can go on and on about mid-major icons like Gregg Marshall at Wichita State who are winners. Or I can point out some lower level coaches who have caught my eye like Fordham’s coach, Jeff Neubauer and Bob Richey at Furman. King Rice at Monmouth, once a hot commodity at Monmouth, has fallen on very hard times with an 0-11 start this season. He seems to be the exception.
The state of college hoops couldn’t be better. There are established coaches who are the immortals. But there are plenty of unknowns or ones with big promise, waiting in the wings. Just like the high-flying, three point shooting teams we love to watch, it is the ones where the coaches get the players to buy into defense first that win continuously.
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