Sharing Wealth: Niang Bound to Become A-A Under Two Different Coaches

January 2nd, 2016 - 18:15

Georges Niang is Gorgeous Georges to first-year Iowa State coach Steve Prohm as Niang appears bound to become a two-time All-American after Fred Hoiberg abandoned mayoral duties in Ames for old pro stomping grounds as bench boss for the NBA's Chicago Bulls. An average of 50 schools annually have new mentors but the chances are rare for a coach such as Prohm to inherit an All-American in an era of players departing early for the NBA if they generate any success at all. Prior to Niang, only two players since Navy's David Robinson (A-A center in 1986 and 1987) were All-Americans for two different coaches - North Carolina's Antawn Jamison (Dean Smith and Bill Guthridge in 1997 and 1998) and Notre Dame's Troy Murphy (Matt Doherty and Mike Brey in 2000 and 2001).

Yale's Tony Lavelli is the only player in NCAA history to become a major-college All-American under three different head coaches (Red Rolfe in 1946, Ivy Williamson in 1947 and Howard Hobson in 1948 and 1949). Ozzie Cowles and Buster Sheary were factors on both sides of the coaching an All-American equation (developing and inheriting). John Dromo had two A-As delivered to him on a silver platter at Louisville (Wes Unseld in 1968 and Butch Beard in 1969). Following is an alphabetical list of major-college players earning All-American accolades at the same DI school under multiple mentors:

Multiple-Year A-A Player DI School Coaches and All-American Seasons
Ernie Andres Indiana Everett Dean (1938) and Branch McCracken (1939)
Gene Banks Duke Bill E. Foster (1979) and Mike Krzyzewski (1981)
Alfred "Butch" Beard Louisville Peck Hickman (1967) and John Dromo (1969)
Larry Bird Indiana State Bob King (1977 and 1978) and Bill Hodges (1979)
Charley Brown Seattle John Castellani (1958) and Vince Cazzetta (1959)
Bill Cartwright San Francisco Bob Gaillard (1977 and 1978) and Dan Belluomini (1979)
Kresimir Cosic Brigham Young Stan Watts (1972) and Glenn Potter (1973)
Bob Cousy Holy Cross Doggie Julian (1948) and Buster Sheary (1949 and 1950)
John "Hook" Dillon North Carolina Ben Carnevale (1946) and Tom Scott (1947)
Rod Foster UCLA Larry Farmer (1981) and Larry Brown (1983)
Artis Gilmore Jacksonville Joe Williams (1970) and Tom Wasdin (1971)
Jack Gray Texas Ed Olle (1934) and Marty Kanow (1935)
Tom Heinsohn Holy Cross Buster Sheary (1955) and Roy Leenig (1956)
Antawn Jamison North Carolina Dean Smith (1997) and Bill Guthridge (1998)
Ron Johnson Minnesota Ozzie Cowles (1959) and John Kundla (1960)
Leo Klier Notre Dame Moose Krause (1944) and Elmer Ripley (1946)
Tony Lavelli Yale Red Rolfe (1946), Ivy Williamson (1947) and Howard Hobson (1948 and 1949)
Alfred "Butch" Lee Marquette Al McGuire (1977) and Hank Raymonds (1978)
Mike Maloy Davidson Lefty Driesell (1968 and 1969) and Terry Holland (1970)
Dick McGuire St. John's Joe Lapchick (1947) and Frank McGuire (1949)
Jim McIntyre Minnesota Dave McMillan (1948) and Ozzie Cowles (1949)
Calvin Murphy Niagara Jim Maloney (1968) and Frank Layden (1969 and 1970)
Troy Murphy Notre Dame Matt Doherty (2000) and Mike Brey (2001)
Eddie Phillips Alabama C.M. Newton (1980) and Wimp Sanderson (1982)
David Robinson Navy Paul Evans (1986) and Pete Herrmann (1987)
Dave Schellhase Purdue Ray Eddy (1965) and George King (1966)
Dave Stallworth Wichita Ralph Miller (1963 and 1964) and Gary Thompson (1965)
Wes Unseld Louisville Peck Hickman (1966 and 1967) and John Dromo (1968)
Kenny Walker Kentucky Joe B. Hall (1985) and Eddie Sutton (1986)
Bryan Warrick St. Joseph's Jim Lynam (1981) and Jim Boyle (1982)
Richard Washington UCLA John Wooden (1975) and Gene Bartow (1976)