Personal Items: Did You Knows Regarding 2023 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 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 you can savor. Florida Atlantic's Dusty May and UC Santa Barbara's Joe Pasternack - student managers under Indiana coach Bob Knight - are among the following 2023 playoff mentors:
ALABAMA: Detroit-area prep coach Nate Oats joined Bobby Hurley's Buffalo 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.
ARIZONA: Tommy Lloyd's son, Liam, averaged 1.5 ppg for Grand Canyon the previous two seasons before transferring to Northern Arizona and averaging 6 ppg plus 2.2 apg as a starter. During the construction of their home in Spokane while Gonzaga's associate head coach, his family lived in the childhood residence of Zags legend and Hall of Famer John Stockton. Lloyd, known for his international recruiting, spent several months backpacking on several continents before commencing his coaching career in the late 1990s.
ARIZONA STATE: Bobby Hurley appeared in the 1994 feature film Blue Chips, where he played for the Indiana team under coach Bob Knight. Hurley was a Duke teammate of Northwestern coach Chris Collins in 1992-93.
ARKANSAS: 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. Musselman played on same high school team as former NBA player Scott Roth and former NFL Pro Bowl punter Tom Tupa. Musselman's wife, Danyelle, is a former on-air personality and anchor for ESPN, FOX Sports, and the NFL Network. He and his father, Bill, were first father-son combination to both become NBA head coaches.
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 touring Croatia and Bosnia in the summer of 1997.
BOISE STATE: Leon Rice's son, Max, is the Broncos' runner-up in scoring this season with 13.9 ppg.
UC SANTA BARBARA: Joe Pasternack III was a student manager for Indiana under coach Bob Knight. Pasternack's brother-in-law, Roxy Bernstein, is a college basketball play-by-play announcer for ESPN.
COLGATE: Matt Langel played under coach Fran Dunphy with Penn before serving as an assistant coach under him at Penn and Temple. As a senior in 1999-00, Langel was the Quakers' runner-up in scoring and assists for an NCAA playoff team.
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON: One of Pat Kelsey's teammates with Wyoming as a freshman in 1993-94 was Theo Ratliff, who played 16 seasons in the NBA with nine different franchises. After transferring back home to Cincinnati to play with Xavier, one of his teammates was James Posey, who played 12 seasons in the NBA with seven different franchises.
CONNECTICUT: One of Dan Hurley's assistants at previous pitstops Wagner and Rhode Island was brother Bobby Hurley, an All-American guard for Duke's back-to-back NCAA titlists in 1991 and 1992 and current Arizona State coach.
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.
DRAKE: Darian DeVries' brother, Jared, played in the NFL with the Detroit Lions.
DUKE: Jon Scheyer was raised in his father's Jewish religion and became a Bar Mitzvah. Scheyer was known as the "Jewish Jordan" and his Illinois high school state championship squad (Glenbrook North; prep alma mater of Northwestern coach and fellow Blue Devils guard Chris Collins) is the nation's only one known to have included an all-Jewish starting lineup. He received a scholarship offer from then Marquette coach Tom Crean as an eighth-grader before playing in high school under former Illini coach Bruce Weber's brother.
FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON: Tobin Anderson's top two scorers - pint-sized Demetre Roberts and Grant Singleton - tagged along with him from St. Thomas Aquinas College NY after the Spartans finished their 2021-22 season as an NCAA Division II Tournament East Region finalist.
FLORIDA ATLANTIC: Dusty May was hired by athletic director Brian White, the brother of then-Florida coach and May's boss Mike White. May's assistant coach Todd Abernethy is the son of Tom Abernethy, a starting forward for the nation's last undefeated team (Indiana in 1975-76).
FURMAN: Bob Richey has won more than 20 games five times in his six seasons with the Paladins.
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.
GRAND CANYON: Bryce Drew's brother-in-law is Casey Shaw, a second-round draft choice by the Philadelphia 76ers in 1998 out of Toledo.
HOUSTON: Kelvin Sampson was a three-year baseball letterman for Pembroke (N.C.) State.
HOWARD UNIVERSITY: Kenny Blakeney co-founded a fashion accessory company named Sportin' Styles.
ILLINOIS: Brad Underwood, as a juco recruit, took a visit to Oklahoma State, where his player host at the time was current Kansas bench boss Bill Self. Underwood's son, Tyler, played sparingly under his father with OSU and the Illini.
INDIANA: Mike Woodson was head coach for Hoosiers Big Ten Player of the Year Jared Jeffries with the New York Knicks in 2011-12 (4.4 ppg and 3.9 rpg). Woodson's daughter, Alexis, played volleyball one season for IU. Woodson was an assistant coach for six different NBA franchises.
IONA: 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 led in assists by Pitino for the second straight season.
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 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: T.J. Otzelberger was an assistant coach with the Cyclones under his three predecessors - Greg McDermott, Fred Hoiberg and Steve Prohm. Otzelberger's wife, Alison Lacey, was a three-time All-Big 12 Conference selection for ISU women's basketball program.
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). San Antonio Spurs CEO R.C. Buford was a groomsman in Self's wedding.
KANSAS STATE: Jerome Tang earned his bachelor's degree via online learning with Charter Oak State College. His father is half Black and half Chinese and his mother is Indian.
KENNESAW STATE: One of Amir Abdur-Rahim's 13 siblings is Shareef Abdur-Rahim, an All-American forward with California as a freshman in 1995-96 when averaging 21.1 ppg and 8.4 rpg.
KENT STATE: Rob Senderoff is Jewish and a member of Temple Beth Shalom. He was a student assistant coach in college at Albany (N.Y.).
KENTUCKY: John Calipari lettered two years for UNC-Wilmington before transferring to Clarion (Pa.) State.
LOUISIANA: Bob Marlin won more than 20 games each of his five seasons as coach at Pensacola (Fla.) Junior College from 1990-91 through 1994-95, including a 31-5 record in 1993 for the NJCAA champion. One of his assistants during his J.C. stint was eventual UALR coach Steve Shields..
MARQUETTE: When Shaka Smart graduated, he was the career assists leader for Kenyon College, a liberal arts school in Ohio.
MARYLAND: Kevin Willard played under 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.
MEMPHIS: Penny Hardaway's son, Jayden, averaged 3.3 ppg for the Tigers the past four seasons. Hardaway's nickname stems from his grandmother calling him "Pretty" with a southern drawl, thus sounding like "Penny."
MIAMI (FLA.): Providence product Jim Larranaga spent one season as player-coach for a professional team in Belgium. He had six former assistants serving as a Division I head coach in 2005-06. Larranaga's high school teammates in New York City included eventual South Carolina All-American Kevin Joyce (two years ahead of him).
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 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.
MISSOURI: Dennis Gates' wife, Jocelyn, was the Senior Associate Athletic Director at Boston College. Unlike most of his colleagues, Gates continued to don a suit during coronavirus-impacted season and thereafter.
MONTANA STATE: Danny Sprinkle was Big Sky Conference Freshman of the Year with the Bobcats in 1995-96 (9.8 ppg and 43.7 3FG%) before earning all-league honors the next season (13.7 ppg and 48.8 3FG%).
NEVADA: Steve Alford amassed the fourth-best career free-throw percentage in Division I history at the time (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.).
UNC ASHEVILLE: In addition to being a three-year starter in basketball for Milligan (Tenn.), Mike Morrell was a two-time all-league selection in golf.
NORTH CAROLINA STATE: Kevin Keatts joined Rick Pitino's staff directly with George Mason transfer Luke Hancock in 2011. Hancock had played for him at Hargrave Military Academy (Va.). The next season, forward Montrezl Harrell aligned with the Cardinals after the Hargrave product de-committed from Virginia Tech following coach Seth Greenberg's firing.
NORTHERN KENTUCKY: Darrin Horn achieved the rare distinction of scoring his team's first points of the season four consecutive campaigns with the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers from 1991-92 through 1994-95.
NORTHWESTERN: Chris Collins was a Duke teammate of Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley in 1992-93.
ORAL ROBERTS: Paul Mills is the son of a pastor in the Houston-area community of Aldine, Tex. After graduating from college, he got a job as a bond analyst with a bank, moonlighting as coach at a local Christian Academy.
PENN STATE: Micah Shrewsberry was an assistant under Brad Stevens for Butler's back-to-back NCAA playoff runner-ups in 2010 and 2011.
PITTSBURGH: Jeff Capel III, who played professionally in France, was the youngest head coach in Division I at 27 when he was appointed bench boss at Virginia Commonwealth in 2002-03.
PRINCETON: Mitch Henderson, a 1994 MLB draft choice in 29th round by the New York Yankees as an outfielder, was a research associate for Lendx Corporation in San Francisco before entering the coaching profession.
PROVIDENCE: Ed Cooley was a three-year team captain for Stonehill (Mass.).
PURDUE: Matt Painter's father attended Big Ten Conference rival Indiana.
RUTGERS: Steve Pikiell played with his brother, Tim, for Connecticut under coach Jim Calhoun in 1989-90 and 1990-91.
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: Brian Dutcher's contract buyout is only $1 million, not in the $6 million range for any other college, if he has a chance to coach his alma mater (Minnesota). His three sisters and wife also attended Minnesota, where his father, Jim, coached for 11 seasons from mid-1970s to mid-1980s and still resides.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE: Brad Korn (6-9) played for Southern Illinois in five NCAA Tournament games against power-conference opponents from 2002 through 2004 (playoff high of 15 points against Alabama as a senior).
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: Andy Enfield (Johns Hopkins MD '91) set the all-time NCAA career free-throw percentage record (92.5%; 431-of-466). His wife, Amanda Marcum, is a Maxim cover girl.
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.
TEXAS: Rodney Terry has coached for a total of seven different high schools and colleges in the Longhorn State.
TEXAS A&M: 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.
TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI: Steve Lutz played and coached in junior college.
TEXAS CHRISTIAN: Jamie Dixon, an All-SWC second-team selection as a senior with TCU, was a seventh-round NBA draft choice of the Washington Bullets in 1987. In 1983-84, he was a freshman teammate of former NBA guard and head coach Scott Brooks (coached Washington Wizards for five seasons from 2016-17 to 2020-21).
TEXAS SOUTHERN: Johnny Jones is the only individual in LSU history to play and coach with the Tigers at the Final Four. He achieved the feat in a six-year span. Jones averaged 3.3 ppg as a freshman guard for LSU's 31-5 team in 1981 and later was an assistant coach for the Tigers for 12 seasons (reached national semifinals in 1986). They were eliminated both years by the eventual national champion (Indiana in 1981 and Louisville in 1986). Jones was a high teammate in DeRidder, La., of ex-McNeese State coach Dave Simmons and former UCLA/11-year NBA player Mike Sanders.
UCLA: Mick Cronin's father, Harold "Hep" Cronin, compiled more than 400 victories as a high school coach in the greater Cincinnati area. Hep also scouted for the Atlanta Braves and was chiefly responsible for them selecting Cincy product Drew Denson as their No. 1 draftee in 1984 (19th overall pick).
UTAH STATE: Ryan Odom was a college teammate of Longwood coach Griff Aldrich at Hampden-Sydney (Va.)
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 former Indiana and Illinois State women's coach Kathi Bennett.
VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH: Mike Rhoades led Lebanon Valley (Pa.) to the 1994 NCAA Division III title and graduated as the college's all-time leading scorer.
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).
XAVIER: Sean Miller was Big East Conference Freshman of the Year in 1987-88 with Pittsburgh (9.3 ppg, 5.8 apg, 85.1 FT%). He has the only two single-season free-throw shooting figures higher than 90% in Pitt history (.914 in in 1988-89 and .905 in 1990-91).