Personal Items: Did You Knows Regarding 2019 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 most of the NCAA Division I Tournament coaches should find that variety is the spice of this occasionally irreverent smorgasbord. Remember: If a morsel isn't appetizing, don't be a glutton for punishment in trying to comprehend what makes the coaching community tick. Just proceed directly to the next tidbit. Sooner or later, there's bound to be a factoid that you can savor.

ABILENE CHRISTIAN: Joe Golding served as an assistant coach with two junior colleges before returning to his alma mater ACU in the same capacity.

ARIZONA STATE: Bobby Hurley appeared in the 1994 feature film Blue Chips, where he played for the Indiana team under coach Bob Knight.

AUBURN: As an undergraduate at Boston College, Bruce Pearl was Tom Davis' administrative assistant before serving as an assistant coach under Davis at Stanford and Iowa.

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.

BRADLEY: Two-time C-USA all-league selection Brian Wardle scored all of Marquette's first-half points (17) on 2-16-00 when it trailed DePaul, 27-17.

BUFFALO: Detroit-area prep coach Nate Oats joined Bobby Hurley's staff directly with junior college recruit Justin Moss in 2013 before Moss became Mid-American Conference Player of the Year the next season and one year before center Raheem Johnson aligned with the Bulls as another J.C. signee. Moss and Johnson played under Oats at Romulus H.S.

UC IRVINE: Russell Turner played under recently-dismissed William & Mary coach Tony Shaver with Hampden-Sydney (Va.).

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

COLGATE: Matt Langel played under retiring coach Fran Dunphy at Penn before serving as an assistant coach under him at Penn and Temple.

DUKE: Mike Krzyzewski 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.

FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON: Greg Herenda holds the Merrimack (Mass.) record for assists in a game (22) and shares the standard for single-season average (9.0).

FLORIDA: Mike White's wife, Kira, was an All-SEC volleyball player for Ole Miss. His father, Kevin, is Director of Athletics at Duke.

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 (Fla.) from 1994 to 1995 is the largest in conference history.

GARDNER-WEBB: Tim Craft directed the Runnin' Bulldogs to non-league road victories in the last five seasons against three ACC members (Clemson, Georgia Tech and Wake Forest) plus two Big Ten teams (Nebraska and Purdue).

GEORGIA STATE: One of Ron Hunter's teammates at Miami (Ohio) during three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances from 1984 through 1986 was NBA standout Ron Harper. Hunter hit all six of his field-goal attempts while Harper went 7 of 22 in their final college game, an 81-79 overtime loss to Iowa State in the first round of the 1986 Midwest Regional. Hunter gained national notoriety for coaching barefoot during games to raise awareness of children who do not have shoes. With Samaritan's Feet, Hunter helped raise more than 250,000 pairs of shoes and made deliveries to Peru, Costa Roca and South Africa.

GONZAGA: Mark Few never was 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.

HOUSTON: Kelvin Sampson was a three-year baseball letterman at Pembroke (N.C.) State.

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: Fran McCaffery is believed to have been the youngest coach (28 years old) ever to take a team to the NCAA Tournament when he directed Lehigh to the 1988 playoffs. His wife, the former Margaret Nowlin, ranks among the top 10 scorers in Notre Dame history. She was the catalyst behind the first-ever NCAA women's appearance by the Irish in 1992 and was named MVP of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference Tournament that year. Margaret served as an assistant coach at her alma mater in 1996-97.

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

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: Bruce Weber served as a high school assistant coach in Milwaukee three years during his college days. He has two brothers who are high school coaches (Ron in northern Wisconsin and David in the Chicago area).

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

LIBERTY: Ritchie McKay's brother, Orlando, caught 13 touchdown passes for the University of Washington from 1989 through 1991 (shared NCAA national title with Miami FL as senior) before becoming a fifth-round selection in 1992 NFL draft by the Green Bay Packers. Their father, Joe, averaged 11.9 points per game for New Mexico from 1960-61 through 1962-63.

LOUISIANA STATE: MIA Will Wade began his career as a student manager for Clemson.

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

MARQUETTE: Steve Wojciechowski played professional basketball in Poland for one season after finishing among Duke's top 10 career leaders in assists and steals.

MARYLAND: Mark Turgeon became the first Kansas player ever to play in four consecutive NCAA Tournaments (1984 through 1987), played in the Big Eight Conference against Illinois counterpart Bill Self (Oklahoma State). Turgeon was an assistant with Jerry Green, Steve Robinson and Kevin Stallings during coach Roy Williams' first four seasons with the Jayhawks from 1988-89 through 1991-92.

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 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. They are relatives of soldiers that inspired the best-selling book "Band of Brothers" and Oscar Award-winning movie "Saving Private Ryan."

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.

MINNESOTA: Richard Pitino was manager of Providence's team under coach Tim Welsh.

MISSISSIPPI: The father of Kermit Davis Jr. directed Mississippi State to a 91-91 record in seven seasons from 1970-71 through 1976-77.

MISSISSIPPI STATE: Ben Howland's wife, Kim, is a former Weber State cheerleader. He was an assistant for Gonzaga in 1981-82 when future NBA assists king John Stockton was a sophomore with the Zags. "I played against him every day because our backup point guard quit," Howland said. "You didn't realize at the time how special it was until you look back and say, `Yeah, I used to get my butt kicked every day by the greatest point guard ever.'"

MONTANA: Travis DeCuire played for Chaminade (Hawaii) in 1990-91 before transferring to Montana.

MURRAY STATE: Matt McMahon played under Buzz Peterson at Appalachian State before serving as an assistant coach under him for a couple of universities (Tennessee and UNC Wilmington). His wife, Mary, played basketball for Furman.

NEVADA: Among Eric Musselman's teammates at San Diego was Mike Whitmarsh, who won a silver medal in beach volleyball at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

NEW MEXICO STATE: Chris Jans was head coach for three different junior colleges. Despite directing Bowling Green to a 20-win campaign on the heels of a 20-loss season, he was fired after one year with the Falcons after being caught on video drunk in a campus bar making inappropriate comments towards a young woman.

NORTH CAROLINA: Roy Williams' son, Scott, was a backup guard with the Tar Heels.

NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL: LeVelle Moton, known as "Poetry 'n Moton" when he played for NCCU in the mid-1990s, played four years professionally in Indonesia and Israel.

NORTH DAKOTA STATE: David Richman was the nation's winningest first-year coach at the NCAA Division I level with a 23-10 record in 2014-15.

NORTHEASTERN: Bill Coen spent three years working in the computer software industry before accepting his first coaching position. Coen played and coached under Tom Murphy, who won more than 600 games for Hamilton (N.Y.) College before becoming an assistant under his protege.

NORTHERN KENTUCKY: John Brannen led Marshall in scoring in 1996-97 when he was Southern Conference Tournament MVP.

OHIO STATE: One of Chris Holtmann's teammates with Taylor (Ind.) was Akron coach John Groce.

OKLAHOMA: Lon Kruger was selected in 12th round of 1970 MLB draft by the Houston Astros out of high school and in 21st round of 1974 MLB draft by the St. Louis Cardinals after graduating from Kansas State. He compiled a 1-6 pitching record in summer of '74 for St. Petersburg in Florida State League (Class A).

OLD DOMINION: Virginia's 1992 NIT title enabled Jeff Jones to become the only person to win NIT crowns as a player (Virginia guard in 1980) and as a coach. His father, Bob Jones, had been coach of Kentucky Wesleyan when it won the 1973 NCAA Division II championship. Jeff became the youngest head coach in ACC history (29) when he was appointed to the Cavaliers' position on April 16, 1990. He guided them to the nation's best start in 1992-93 (won first 11 outings) before they split their last 20 assignments.

OREGON: Dana Altman was the only coach in Creighton history to participate in at least five consecutive national postseason tournaments. The Bluejays appeared in either the NCAA playoffs or NIT in 12 consecutive years from 1998 through 2009.

PRAIRIE VIEW: Juco recruit Byron Smith was an All-SWC second-team selection with Houston as a junior and senior in the early 1990s before returning to his alma mater as an assistant coach under Clyde Drexler.

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

ST. JOHN'S: Chris Mullin, leading scorer for St. John's 1985 Final Four team as a senior, averaged 20.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg and 3.9 apg in 10 NCAA playoff games.

SAINT LOUIS: Travis Ford worked for a brokerage firm in Bowling Green, Ky., following his playing career with Kentucky after transferring from Missouri. His wife, Heather, was swimmer for the Wildcats. Ford's playing days ended in training camp with the Golden State Warriors, but his time in California landed him the role of Danny O'Grady in the movie "The Sixth Man."

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.

SETON HALL: Kevin Willard played for his father, Ralph, at Western Kentucky and Pittsburgh. Kevin went on to become a coaching intern with the Boston Celtics under Rick Pitino, who was Kentucky's coach in 1989-90 when Ralph was an assistant there with Billy Donovan, Herb Sendek and Tubby Smith.

SYRACUSE: Jim Boeheim, an avid golfer, served as varsity golf coach for the Orange from 1967 until the program 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. Boeheim made 13-of-19 field-goal attempts (68.4%) in two 1966 NCAA playoff games for East Regional runner-up. 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 (Fla.).

TENNESSEE: Texas' 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.

UTAH STATE: Craig Smith served as an assistant under Tim Miles at four colleges (Mayville State, North Dakota State, Colorado State and Nebraska).

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

VILLANOVA: Jay Wright worked as an administrative assistant with the Philadelphia Stars football franchise, which captured the 1983 United States Football League championship. He married a former Villanova cheerleader.

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

VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH: Mike Rhoades led Lebanon Valley (Pa.) to 1994 NCAA Division title and graduated as the college's all-time leading scorer.

VIRGINIA TECH: 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.

WASHINGTON: Mike Hopkins, a high school teammate of LeRon Ellis in Santa Ana, Calif., in the late 1980s, was instrumental in convincing Ellis to transfer from Kentucky to join him at Syracuse.

WISCONSIN: Greg Gard served as an assistant coach under Bo Ryan at three colleges (Wisconsin-Platteville, UW-Milwaukee and the Badgers).

WOFFORD: Mike Young directed the Terriers to road victories at North Carolina and South Carolina in the last two seasons.

YALE: James Jones has a brother, Joe, who was an assistant coach at Villanova before becoming bench boss at another Ivy League member (Columbia).