Personal Items: Trivia Tidbits on All 68 NCAA Tournament Coaches

There is a tendency to overindulge at an all-you-can-eat buffet. Anyone digesting the following assortment of incisive facts on the 68 NCAA Tournament coaches should find that variety is the spice of CollegeHoopedia's occasionally irreverent smorgasbord. Remember: If a morsel isn't appetizing, don't be a glutton for punishment in trying to comprehend what makes the playoff coaching community tick. Just proceed directly to the next tidbit. Sooner or later, there's bound to be a factoid you can savor en route to the Final Four in New Orleans.

ALABAMA: Anthony Grant was Dayton's leading scorer (13 ppg) and rebounder (6 rpg) as a senior in 1986-87. He averaged 10.7 ppg and 6.6 rpg for the Flyers' NCAA playoff team in 1985 and 7.1 ppg and 4.8 rpg for their NIT squad in 1986.

BAYLOR: Scott Drew served as coach of an Athletes In Action (AIA) squad that toured Croatia and Bosnia in the summer of 1997.

BELMONT: Rick Byrd was a student assistant coach at Tennessee under the legendary Ray Mears.

BRIGHAM YOUNG: At Dixie College (Utah), Dave Rose was first-team all-conference in both basketball and baseball before transferring to Houston. He was a member of the famous "Phi Slamma Jamma" squad featuring Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler in 1983 when the Cougars were ranked NO. 1 nationally and finished second in the NCAA Tournament. Rose's daughter, Chanell, played forward for the BYU women's basketball team and is married to Cougars guard Brock Reichner.

CALIFORNIA: Mike Montgomery had six former assistants serving as Division I head coaches - Barry Collier (Nebraska), Trent Johnson (Boise State/Stanford/LSU), Ernie Kent (Oregon), Stew Morrill (Utah State), Doug Oliver (Idaho State), Willis Wilson (Rice/Texas A&M-Corpus Christi).

CINCINNATI: Mick Cronin's father, Harold "Hep" Cronin, compiled more than 400 victories as a high school coach in the greater Cincinnati area.

COLORADO: Tad Boyle, who played for Kansas under Ted Owens and Larry Brown, was a commodities broker in Kansas City before entering the coaching profession.

COLORADO STATE: The two coaches who preceded Tim Miles as bench boss of North Dakota State subsequently guided Division I schools to the NCAA Tournament in back-to-year years - Ray Giacoletti (Eastern Washington and Utah) and Greg McDermott (Northern Iowa).

CONNECTICUT: Jim Calhoun, making his 13th trip to the NCAA Tournament in 1999 when the Huskies won the championship, became the first coach to reach the Final Four after more than 12 playoff appearances. Calhoun won first-round games in back-to-back NCAA tourneys with Northeastern in 1981 and 1982.

CREIGHTON: Following graduation from Northern Iowa, Greg McDermott played one season of professional basketball in Switzerland. McDermott led the Panthers in field-goal shooting three consecutive seasons from 1985-86 through 1987-88 when he was a combined 59.5% from the floor. He ranked 16th in the nation in that category as a junior.

DAVIDSON: Bob McKillop was North Carolina coach Matt Doherty's high school mentor at Long Island Lutheran. Fordham coach Tom Pecora served as an assistant under McKillop at L.I. Lutheran. McKillop scored three points for East Carolina against Lefty Driesell-coached Davidson in the 1969 Southern Conference Tournament championship game. McKillop then transferred to Hofstra, where he led the Flying Dutchmen in assists in 1971-72 with 3.3 per game.

DETROIT: Ray McCallum, the only Ball State athlete ever to have his uniform number retired (#10), won the Frances Pomeroy Award in 1983 as the nation's top player shorter than six feet tall. During his seven-year tenure as coach for his alma mater from 1993-94 through 1999-2000, he won an amazing 70% of his games decided by fewer than six points.

DUKE: Mike Krzyzewski, who has three daughters, became a grandfather for the first time in mid-November 1999. He was an assistant with Dave Bliss, Bob Donewald and Bob Weltlich on Indiana coach Bob Knight's staff in 1974-75. Krzyzewski had the worst three-year record for the Blue Devils (38-47 from 1980-81 through 1982-83) since George Buckheit went 16-30 from 1924-25 through 1926-27.

FLORIDA: Billy Donovan, a third-round pick from Providence in the 1987 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz, was selected ahead of Yale center Chris Dudley. Donovan averaged 2.8 points per game his first two seasons with the Friars before averaging 18 ppg his last two campaigns. Donovan's teammates with the New York Knicks in 1987-88 included eventual Division I head coaches Sidney Green and Louis Orr. His high school coach (St. Agnes, N.Y.), Frank Morris, coached former Gators starting guard Teddy Dupay in high school (Ft. Myers, Fla.). Donovan was an assistant with Herb Sendek, Tubby Smith and Ralph Willard on Rick Pitino's coaching staff at Kentucky in 1989-90 after working with an investment banking firm on Wall Street. Donovan, who led the Big East Conference in steals in 1986-87 with 1.9 per game, is the son of William Donovan, Boston College's captain as a senior in 1961-62.

FLORIDA STATE: Leonard Hamilton, who set a school record by scoring 54 points for Gastonia (N.C.) Community College before attending Tennessee-Martin, was hired by Wilmington, N.C., native Michael Jordan to coach the Washington Wizards in 2000-01. Hamilton's nine-victory increase in Big East competition with Miami (FL) from 1994 to 1995 is the largest in conference history.

GEORGETOWN: John Thompson III, whose father (Georgetown's John Thompson Jr.) and college coach (Princeton's Pete Carril) are both in the Hall of Fame, has a brother, Ronny, who was an assistant at Georgetown under their dad. John III ranked second for most assists in a Tigers career with 358 when he finished playing for them in 1987-88.

GONZAGA: Mark Few was never a head coach at any level before inheriting that position after Dan Monson departed for Minnesota. Few was an assistant for two different Oregon high schools before becoming an aide with the Zags under Dan Fitzgerald and Monson. Few's wedding vows in 1994 were exchanged with Rev. Norm Few, the father of the groom.

HARVARD: Tommy Amaker, a third-round pick from Duke in the 1987 NBA draft by the Seattle SuperSonics, was selected ahead of Yale center Chris Dudley. He served as a graduate assistant on coach Mike Krzyzewski's staff while studying in Duke's business school. Amaker's wife, Stephanie, earned a PhD.

INDIANA: Tom Crean, a brother-in-law of San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh, coached at Alma College and Mount Pleasant High School while he was an undergraduate student at Central Michigan.

IONA: Tim Cluess was a part-time caterer for a Holiday Inn while coaching at the small-college level with C.W. Post. Cluess and his three older brothers (Hank, Greg and Kevin) all played for St. John's.

IOWA STATE: Fred Hoiberg, an Ames, Iowa, product nicknamed "The Mayor," served as Vice President of Basketball Operations with the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves.

KANSAS: Bill Self served as an assistant on the Big Eight Conference coaching staffs of Larry Brown (Kansas) and Eddie Sutton (Oklahoma State). Self, an Oklahoma State alumnus, played in the Big Eight against Maryland coach Mark Turgeon (Kansas) and top two NBA draft picks Steve Stipanovich (2nd selection overall in 1983/attended Missouri), Wayman Tisdale (2nd in 1985/Oklahoma) and Danny Manning (1st in 1988/Kansas). Self, Oklahoma's High School Player of the Year over Tisdale in 1980-81, directed Oral Roberts to the nation's best winning percentage among independent schools in 1996 (18-9) and 1997 (21-7).

KANSAS STATE: Frank Martin, the son of Cuban immigrants, served as a bouncer at a nightclub while attending Florida International in Miami.

KENTUCKY: John Calipari lettered two years for UNC Wilmington before transferring to Clarion (Pa.) State.

LAMAR: Pat Knight was coach of the Wisconsin Blast of the International Basketball Association and Columbus Cagerz of the United States Basketball League. He was also an administrative assistant and scout with the NBA's Phoenix Suns and an assistant coach with the CBA's Connecticut Pride.

LEHIGH: Dr. Brett Reed began his collegiate coaching career with Oakland (Mich.) Community College, where he was an assistant for his father's program.

LONG BEACH STATE: Dan Monson played football as a receiver for Idaho, where his father, Don, was named national coach of the year by the NABC upon posting a 27-3 record with the Vandals in 1981-82. Dan is the only son with more Division I coaching victories than his father (minimum of more than 200 wins apiece).

LONG ISLAND: Jim Ferry guided Adelphi University (N.Y.) to winning streaks of at least 20 games each of his last two seasons with the Golden Panthers in 2000-01 and 2001-02. He was a career 42.8% (121-of-283) shooter from three-point range for Keene (N.H.) State College.

LOUISVILLE: Rick Pitino averaged more assists per game (5.6) than points (4.7) in his two-year playing career with Massachusetts. Al Skinner, Boston College's all-time winningest coach, was captain of the 1973-74 UMass squad that was led in assists by Pitino for the second straight season.

LOYOLA (MD.): Jimmy Patsos' brother, Chris, captained the Florida Southern baseball team to the 1981 NCAA Division II World Series championship.

MARQUETTE: Brent "Buzz" Williams received his nickname while attending Navarro College, where he "buzzed" around the junior college basketball team so often the coach issued him the moniker.

MEMPHIS: Josh Pastner, while an AAU coach in the Houston area, coached future NBA players such as T.J. Ford, Daniel Gibson and Emeka Okafor. Pastner was a college teammate of Arizona All-American Miles Simon, an ESPN analyst who was named Most Outstanding Player at the 1997 Final Four.

MICHIGAN: John Beilein is the only active mentor in the country to register 20-win seasons at the junior college, NAIA, NCAA Division II and NCAA Division I levels. A 22-7 record in 1993-94 in his second year at the major-college level with Canisius was the winningest in school history at the time and came just two seasons after the Golden Griffins suffered an all-time high in losses (8-22 mark in 1991-92). His uncle, Joe Niland, coached Canisius for five seasons from 1948-49 through 1952-53.

MICHIGAN STATE: Tom Izzo was a teammate in high school (Iron Mountain, Mich.) and college (Northern Michigan) of former Detroit Lions coach Steve Mariucci. Izzo, a running back, and Mariucci, a quarterback, were the best men in each others' weddings.

MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE: Sean Woods, a member of Kentucky's "Unforgettables," scored 21 points in a 1992 East Regional final at Philadelphia against Duke. His running bank shot gave UK a 103-102 lead with 2.1 seconds remaining before Christian Laettner's subsequent jumper as time expired gave the Blue Devils a dramatic victory.

MISSOURI: Frank Haith's nephew, Sean Bell, was slain by New York City police in a controversial November 25, 2006, 50-bullet shooting incident.

MONTANA: Wayne Tinkle played professionally for 12 seasons (in CBA, Sweden, Spain, Italy, Greece and briefly in International Basketball League). The youngest of 11 children (seven girls and four boys) is married to former Lady Griz basketball standout Lisa McLeod.

MURRAY STATE: Steve Prohm began college at Division III Oglethorpe in Atlanta before promptly transferring to Alabama, where he worked as student manager.

NEW MEXICO: Steve Alford amassed the fourth-best career free-throw percentage in Division I history when his eligibility expired (89.8% with Indiana from 1983-84 through 1986-87). His father, Sam Alford, led the NAIA in free-throw shooting in 1963-64 with a mark of 91.2% for Franklin (Ind.).

NEW MEXICO STATE: Marvin Menzies, like his predecessor (Reggie Theus), came to NMSU after spending the previous two seasons as an assistant coach under Louisville's Rick Pitino.

NORFOLK STATE: Anthony Evans' teams at Delhi (N.Y.) Tech secured a #1 junior college ranking each of his seasons there in 2001-02 and 2002-03.

NORTH CAROLINA: Roy Williams' son, Scott, was a backup guard with the Tar Heels. The all-time winningest coach through 23 seasons could go winless the next two years and still boast more victories than any mentor through his first 25 campaigns.

UNC ASHEVILLE: Eddie Biedenbach, an All-ACC first-team guard in 1965-66 with North Carolina State, married a former Wolfpack cheerleader (Barbara). His first varsity coach in college was Press Maravich, the father of LSU legend Pete Maravich. Biedenbach frequently played against Pistol Pete in informal workouts.

NORTH CAROLINA STATE: Mark Gottfried led Alabama in most three-point field goals with 81 in 1986-87, the first year the rule was introduced nationwide. That squad is one of only three teams in NCAA history with five active players scoring over 1,000 points in their college careers (teammates included Derrick McKey, Terry Coner, Jim Farmer and James Jackson). Mark's father, Joe, coached Southern Illinois for three seasons from 1978-79 through 1980-81 before becoming athletic director at South Alabama. Mark's uncle, Mike, a national game-day announcer for ESPN, was head football coach with Murray State, Cincinnati, Kansas and Pittsburgh.

NOTRE DAME: Mike Brey, Danny Ferry's assistant coach at DeMatha High School in Hyattsville, Md., joined Mike Krzyzewski's staff two years after the national player-to-be enrolled at Duke in 1985. Brey's mother, the former Betty Mullen, held the world record in the 50-meter butterfly and competed with the U.S. team at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. His uncle, Jack Mullen, averaged 4.7 points per game as a sophomore guard for Duke's first ACC Tournament championship team in 1960.

OHIO UNIVERSITY: John Groce played in high school at Danville, Ind., under Todd Lickliter, who went on to coach Butler and Iowa.

OHIO STATE: Thad Matta, a transfer from Southern Illinois, led Butler in assists and three-point field-goal percentage in 1987-88 and free-throw percentage in 1988-89. He was involved in postseason play in each of his six seasons as a full-time assistant coach from 1994-95 through 1999-2000 with Miami (Ohio), Western Carolina and Butler. At first glance, Matta is a native of the ultimate smaller Illinois basketball community named Hoopeston. However, the town rhymes with "up" not "hoop."

PURDUE: Matt Painter's father attended Big Ten Conference rival Indiana.

ST. BONAVENTURE: Mark Schmidt was a freshman at Boston College in 1982 when he played in successive NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional games against legendary coaches Ray Meyer (DePaul), Jack Hartman (Kansas State) and Guy Lewis (Houston). As a senior in 1985, Schmidt played 11 minutes in the Eagles' 74-73 second-round victory against Mike Krzyzewski-coached Duke in the Midwest Regional.

SAINT LOUIS: Rick Majerus served as an assistant under Don Nelson with the Milwaukee Bucks in 1986-87.

SAINT MARY'S: Randy Bennett played for his father, Tom, at Mesa Community College before attending UC San Diego. At Mesa, Bennett helped his team to a 56-10 record and two Arizona J.C. championships.

SAN DIEGO STATE: Steve Fisher is the only individual to be named head coach at the start of an NCAA Tournament and then go on to direct the school to the NCAA title (Michigan in 1989 after replacing Bill Frieder). Fisher won his first 12 NCAA playoff games decided by fewer than six points or in overtime with the Wolverines before bowing to Western Kentucky, 82-76, in OT in 1995 in the opening round.

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE: Scott Nagy's father, Dick, was a longtime assistant coach at Illinois under Lou Henson. Scott, who set a record for assists with Delta State (Miss.), was named Gulf South Conference Athlete of the Year in 1988.

SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI: Larry Eustachy was a high school and junior college teammate of former San Jose State coach Steve Barnes in California. Barnes was an assistant under Eustachy at three schools (Idaho, Utah State and Iowa State). Eustachy served with current Arkansas State coach John Brady as Mississippi State aides under Bob Boyd in the mid-1980s.

SOUTH FLORIDA: Former Kent State coach Stan Heath played for a different Mid-American Conference school (Eastern Michigan) and served as an assistant at another MAC member (Bowling Green).

SYRACUSE: Jim Boeheim, an avid golfer, served as varsity golf coach for the Orange from 1967 until the program was disbanded in 1973. He was an assistant basketball coach under Roy Danforth during that period. Boeheim, a three-year teammate of Syracuse All-American Dave Bing in the mid-1960s, played in the CBA for the Scranton Miners. On five occasions (1977-84-96-01-03), Boeheim guided the Orangemen to the Top 20 in a final AP poll after they were not ranked that high in the preseason.

TEMPLE: Fran Dunphy, in his first varsity start for La Salle, held Niagara's Calvin Murphy to eight field goals after Murphy averaged 38.2 points per game the previous season in 1967-68. Dunphy ended his college career in 1969-70 with a career-high 29 points against Miami (FL).

TEXAS: The Longhorns' turnaround in 1998-99 (19-13 record after going 14-17 in 1997-98 under Tom Penders) enabled Rick Barnes to become the only active coach to take two different schools to the NCAA playoffs in his maiden voyage with them after they posted a losing mark the previous campaign. He previously achieved the feat with Providence in the late 1980s. Barnes posted the nation's best winning percentage by a first-year major college head coach in 1987-88 when he went 20-10 (.667) in his lone season with George Mason.

UNLV: Dave Rice was an assistant coach with the Runnin' Rebels under Jerry Tarkanian, Tim Grgurich, Bill Bayno and Charlie Spoonhour.

VANDERBILT: Kevin Stallings, in his first 37 seasons that began as a freshman under legendary high school coach Vergil Fletcher at Collinsville, Ill., has been with only one team that posted a losing record (Vanderbilt was 11-18 in 2002-03) - high school, junior college, player for Purdue, assistant at Purdue, assistant at Kansas and head coach at Illinois State and with Vandy. He was on the same staff with Jerry Green, Steve Robinson and Mark Turgeon during coach Roy Williams' first four seasons with the Jayhawks from 1988-89 through 1991-92.

VERMONT: John Becker coached two seasons at Gallaudet, the country's only four-year liberal arts college for the deaf and hearing impaired.

VIRGINIA: Tony Bennett is the son of former DI coach Dick Bennett and brother of women's coach Kathi Bennett.

VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH: Shaka Smart became the career assists leader for Kenyon College, a liberal arts school in Ohio.

WESTERN KENTUCKY: Ray Harper was the SWC Rookie of the Year in 1980-81 when he averaged 9.8 ppg and 3.9 apg for Texas coach Abe Lemons.

WEST VIRGINIA: In 1976-77, forward Bob Huggins led the fledgling Eastern Collegiate Basketball League in free-throw shooting with a mark of 84.4% for the Mountaineers. He wanted to play professionally but turned to coaching after a woman accidentally steered her car into the path of his ten-speed on a hilly street with the handlebars snapping his knee. Huggins, one of the top 10 high school scorers in the history of the state of Ohio, directed Akron to the nation's best winning percentage among independent schools in 1988 (21-7) and 1989 (21-8).

WICHITA STATE: Gregg Marshall, after his birth in Greenwood, S.C., spent the first 3 1/2 years of his life on College Avenue, which is located adjacent to his previous coaching stop (the Winthrop campus).

WISCONSIN: Bo Ryan, who led Wisconsin-Platteville to four NCAA Division III championships in the 1990s, is one of seven coaches in history to capture four or more NCAA Tournament titles - joining UCLA's John Wooden, Kentucky's Adolph Rupp, Indiana's Bob Knight, Evansville's Arad McCutchan, North Park's Dan McCarrell and Cal State Bakersfield's Pat Douglass. Ryan was the winningest coach by percentage in the 1990s at any NCAA level (266-26, .928). He still holds a Wilkes College record with 18 field goals in a single game and was named conference baseball coach of the year at Racine in 1973-74. Ryan married coach Bill Cofield's secretary, Kelly, when he was an assistant with the Badgers. Ryan was a Badgers aide in 1979-80 when Dick Vitale, less than a month after being fired by the Detroit Pistons, made his ESPN debut as an analyst in a game at DePaul.

XAVIER: Chris Mack played for Athletes in Action in 1993 and in Europe in 1994. His wife, Christi, was Director of Basketball Operations for the Musketeers' women's basketball team from 2001 through 2003.