Starting Block: UNO and NKU See Marks Trending South in Division I Debuts

June 25th, 2012 - 22:06

What's in store for new Summit League member Nebraska-Omaha as the Mavericks brace for their inaugural season at the NCAA Division I level? Ditto for new Atlantic Sun member Northern Kentucky. Only five of the first 28 schools moving up to compete at DI in the 21st Century posted a winning record in their debut campaign. The average first-year mark for the last 28 newcomers is 9-19.

In 2008-09, South Dakota became the only school to reach the 20-win plateau in its first DI season since Stephen F. Austin achieved the feat in 1986-87. Eight of the nine best first-year seasons occurred in the 1970s when 40 of the 70 institutions elevating their programs to DI during the decade promptly posted winning records.

In 1971-72, Southwestern Louisiana, now known as Louisiana-Lafayette, became the only school ever to finish in the Top 10 of the final DI rankings the year after finishing in the Top 10 of the final Division II poll. But it wasn't long before USL was prohibited from fielding a formal team for two seasons (1973-74 and 1974-75) as part of an NCAA probation.

Alabama State (22-6 in 1982-83) is the only school since the 1970s to win more than three-fourths of its games in its DI debut campaign. Following is a first-year summary of schools moving up to the major-college ranks after the initial season of NCAA classification in 1947-48:

School Moving Up to DI Season W. L. Pct.
Maryland-Eastern Shore 1973-74 27 2 .931
Oral Roberts (Okla.) 1971-72 26 2 .929
Southwestern Louisiana 1971-72 23 3 .885
Seattle 1952-53 29 4 .879
Old Dominion (Va.) 1976-77 25 4 .862
Long Beach State 1969-70 24 5 .828
Hawaii 1970-71 23 5 .821
Southern (La.) 1977-78 23 5 .821
McNeese State (La.) 1973-74 20 5 .800
Jackson State (Miss.) 1977-78 19 5 .792
Alabama State 1982-83 22 6 .786
Alcorn State (Miss.) 1977-78 22 7 .759
Idaho State 1958-59 21 7 .750
Memphis State 1955-56 20 7 .741
Air Force 1957-58 17 6 .739
Stephen F. Austin (Tex.) 1986-87 22 8 .733
Georgia Southern 1973-74 19 7 .731
Northeastern (Mass.) 1972-73 19 7 .731
Virginia Commonwealth 1973-74 17 7 .708
College of Charleston (S.C.) 1991-92 19 8 .704
Miami (Fla.) 1948-49 19 8 .704
New Orleans 1975-76 18 8 .692
South Dakota 2008-09 20 9 .690
George Mason (Va.) 1978-79 17 8 .680
Weber State (Utah) 1963-64 17 8 .680
American (D.C.) 1966-67 16 8 .667
Fairfield (Conn.) 1964-65 14 7 .667
Florida A&M 1978-79 18 9 .667
Mercer (Ga.) 1973-74 16 8 .667
Tennessee Tech 1955-56 14 7 .667
Morehead State (Ky.) 1955-56 19 10 .655
James Madison (Va.) 1976-77 17 9 .654
Northwestern State (La.) 1976-77 17 9 .654
UNLV 1969-70 17 9 .654
Abilene Christian (Tex.) 1970-71 15 9 .625
Arkansas State 1970-71 15 9 .625
Drexel (Pa.) 1973-74 15 9 .625
Lamar (Tex.) 1969-70 15 9 .625
Massachusetts 1961-62 15 9 .625
Northern Colorado 1973-74 15 9 .625
UC Santa Barbara 1963-64 18 11 .621
Delaware State 1973-74 18 11 .621
Illinois State 1971-72 16 10 .615
North Carolina A&T 1973-74 16 10 .615
UNC-Wilmington 1976-77 16 10 .615
Northeast Louisiana 1973-74 16 10 .615
Texas Southern 1977-78 16 10 .615
Austin Peay (Tenn.) 1963-64 14 9 .609
Southern Mississippi 1968-69 15 10 .600
Chattanooga 1977-78 16 11 .593
Chicago State 1984-85 16 11 .593
Wright State (Ohio) 1987-88 16 11 .593
Loyola (La.) 1951-52 20 14 .588
Los Angeles State 1970-71 15 11 .577
UNC Asheville 1986-87 15 11 .577
San Jose State 1952-53 15 11 .577
UAB 1978-79 15 11 .577
New Mexico State 1950-51 19 14 .576
Kentucky Wesleyan 1956-57 16 12 .571
North Dakota 2008-09 16 12 .571
North Dakota State 2005-06 16 12 .571
Radford (Va.) 1984-85 16 12 .571
Sam Houston State (Tex.) 1986-87 16 12 .571
Utah Valley 2004-05 16 12 .571
East Tennessee State 1958-59 13 10 .565
East Carolina 1964-65 12 10 .545
Cal State Fullerton 1974-75 13 11 .542
New Mexico 1950-51 13 11 .542
Southern Illinois 1967-68 13 11 .542
Boise State 1971-72 14 12 .538
Central Michigan 1973-74 14 12 .538
UNC Charlotte 1972-73 14 12 .538
West Texas 1950-51 14 12 .538
Wisconsin-Milwaukee 1973-74 14 12 .538
Oklahoma City 1950-51 16 14 .533
Iona (N.Y.) 1953-54 11 10 .524
Corpus Christi (Tex.) 1972-73 13 12 .520
Belmont (Tenn.) 1998-99 14 13 .519
Eastern Illinois 1981-82 14 13 .519
Illinois-Chicago 1981-82 14 13 .519
Southeastern Louisiana 1980-81 14 13 .519
Western Illinois 1981-82 14 13 .519
Wisconsin-Green Bay 1981-82 14 13 .519
Cal State Bakersfield 2006-07 15 14 .517
Gonzaga (Wash.) 1952-53 15 14 .517
Catholic (D.C.) 1976-77 13 13 .500
Centenary (La.) 1959-60 12 12 .500
Saint Peter's (N.J.) 1964-65 10 10 .500
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 1999-2000 13 13 .500
Texas Tech 1950-51 14 14 .500
Vermont 1961-62 12 12 .500
Murray State (Ky.) 1953-54 15 16 .484
Troy State (Ala.) 1993-94 13 14 .481
Hofstra (N.Y.) 1966-67 12 13 .480
Tennessee State 1977-78 11 12 .478
Regis (Colo.) 1961-62 10 11 .476
Bethune-Cookman (Fla.) 1980-81 13 15 .464
Hardin-Simmons (Tex.) 1950-51 13 15 .464
South Carolina State 1973-74 13 15 .464
Southwest Missouri State 1982-83 13 15 .464
Marist (N.Y.) 1981-82 12 14 .462
San Diego State 1970-71 12 14 .462
Maine 1961-62 11 13 .458
Fairleigh Dickinson (N.J.) 1967-68 10 12 .455
Mount St. Mary's (Md.) 1988-89 12 15 .444
Oakland (Mich.) 1998-99 12 15 .444
South Florida 1973-74 11 14 .440
Coastal Carolina (S.C.) 1986-87 12 16 .429
Maryland-Baltimore County 1986-87 12 16 .429
Southeast Missouri State 1991-92 12 16 .429
Howard (D.C.) 1973-74 11 15 .423
West Chester (Pa.) 1973-74 11 15 .423
Grambling (La.) 1977-78 10 14 .417
Northern Illinois 1967-68 10 14 .417
Saint Francis (Pa.) 1955-56 10 14 .417
Kennesaw State (Ga.) 2005-06 12 17 .414
Elon (N.C.) 1998-99 11 16 .407
IUPUI (Ind.) 1998-99 11 16 .407
Delaware 1957-58 8 12 .400
Texas-El Paso 1950-51 10 15 .400
Albany (N.Y.) 1999-2000 11 17 .393
UC Davis 2004-05 11 17 .393
Houston 1950-51 11 17 .393
Cleveland State 1972-73 9 14 .391
High Point (N.C.) 1998-99 10 16 .385
Louisiana Tech 1973-74 8 13 .381
Ball State (Ind.) 1971-72 9 15 .375
Campbell (N.C.) 1977-78 9 15 .375
Rider (N.J.) 1967-68 9 15 .375
Alabama A&M 1998-99 10 17 .370
Coppin State (Md.) 1985-86 10 17 .370
Jacksonville State (Ala.) 1995-96 10 17 .370
Liberty (Va.) 1988-89 10 17 .370
Central Florida 1984-85 10 18 .357
Southern Utah 1988-89 10 18 .357
Florida State 1956-57 9 17 .346
Fresno State 1955-56 9 17 .346
Hampton (Va.) 1995-96 9 17 .346
Loyola Marymount (Calif.) 1949-50 9 17 .346
Middle Tennessee State 1958-59 9 17 .346
Pacific (Calif.) 1953-54 9 17 .346
Towson State (Md.) 1979-80 9 17 .346
Central Arkansas 2006-07 10 20 .333
Missouri-Kansas City 1987-88 9 18 .333
Quinnipiac (Conn.) 1998-99 9 18 .333
SIU-Edwardsville 2008-09 10 20 .333
U.S. International (Calif.) 1981-82 9 18 .333
Western Carolina 1976-77 8 16 .333
Florida Gulf Coast 2007-08 10 21 .323
Binghamton (N.Y.) 2001-02 9 19 .321
Florida International 1987-88 9 19 .321
Portland State 1972-73 9 19 .321
UC Irvine 1977-78 8 17 .320
UC Riverside 2000-01 8 17 .320
Jacksonville (Fla.) 1966-67 8 17 .320
Texas-Pan American 1968-69 8 17 .320
Portland 1953-54 6 13 .316
South Dakota State 2005-06 9 20 .310
Eastern Michigan 1973-74 8 18 .308
Texas-Arlington 1968-69 8 18 .308
Arizona State 1950-51 8 19 .296
Northern Arizona 1950-51 8 19 .296
Northern Iowa 1980-81 8 19 .296
Texas-San Antonio 1981-82 8 19 .296
South Alabama 1971-72 7 17 .292
Augusta (Ga.) 1984-85 8 20 .286
Cal State Northridge 1990-91 8 20 .286
Winthrop (S.C.) 1986-87 8 20 .286
Central Connecticut State 1986-87 8 21 .276
Bryant (R.I.) 2001-02 7 19 .269
Providence 1948-49 7 19 .269
Robert Morris (Pa.) 1976-77 7 19 .269
Tennessee-Martin 1992-93 7 19 .269
Evansville (Ind.)* 1977-78 1 3 .250
Hartford (Conn.) 1984-85 7 21 .250
IUPU-Fort Wayne (Ind.) 2001-02 7 21 .250
UNC-Greensboro 1991-92 7 21 .250
Houston Baptist 1973-74 6 19 .240
Trinity (Tex.) 1970-71 5 16 .238
South Carolina Upstate 2007-08 7 23 .233
Arkansas-Little Rock 1978-79 6 20 .231
Southwest Texas State 1984-85 6 20 .231
Stetson (Fla.) 1971-72 6 20 .231
Lipscomb (Tenn.) 2001-02 6 21 .222
Monmouth (N.J.) 1983-84 6 21 .222
Norfolk State (Va.) 1997-98 6 21 .222
Armstrong State (Ga.) 1986-87 6 22 .214
Nicholls State (La.) 1980-81 6 22 .214
North Florida 2005-06 6 22 .214
Stony Brook (N.Y.) 1999-2000 6 23 .207
Appalachian State (N.C.) 1973-74 5 20 .200
Baptist (S.C.) 1974-75 4 16 .200
Buffalo 1973-74 5 20 .200
Samford (Ala.) 1972-73 5 20 .200
San Diego 1979-80 5 20 .200
Longwood (Va.) 2003-04 5 22 .185
New Jersey Institute of Tech 2006-07 5 24 .172
Winston-Salem State (N.C.) 2006-07 5 24 .172
Presbyterian (S.C.) 2007-08 5 25 .167
Baltimore 1978-79 4 21 .160
Savannah State (Ga.) 2000-01 4 21 .160
Eastern Washington 1983-84 4 22 .154
Utica (N.Y.) 1981-82 4 22 .154
Wofford (S.C.) 1995-96 4 22 .154
Arkansas-Pine Bluff 1997-98 4 23 .148
Cal State Sacramento 1991-92 4 24 .143
North Texas State 1957-58 3 18 .143
North Carolina Central 2007-08 4 26 .133
New Hampshire 1961-62 3 20 .130
Wagner (N.Y.) 1976-77 3 21 .125
Florida Atlantic 1993-94 3 24 .111
Mississippi Valley State 1979-80 3 24 .111
Morgan State (Md.) 1984-85 3 25 .107
Sacred Heart (Conn.) 1999-2000 3 25 .107
Prairie View A&M (Tex.) 1980-81 2 22 .083
Pepperdine (Calif.) 1955-56 2 24 .077
Northeastern Illinois 1990-91 2 25 .074
Georgia State 1973-74 1 25 .038
Cal Poly 1994-95 1 26 .037

*Evansville had an abbreviated schedule because of a plane crash.

The Graduates: Boeheim is Head of Class Among Coaches at Alma Maters

June 24th, 2012 - 18:39

No active major-college coach, or retired one for that matter, is anywhere close to Syracuse's Jim Boeheim (890) regarding most victories with their alma mater. After Charlie Coles (266) retired at Miami (OH), North Carolina's Roy Williams (257) passed Central Connecticut State's Howie Dickenman (249) to become a distant runner-up to Boeheim among active mentors in this category.

The runner-up among retired bench bosses in this distinctive department is Missouri's Norm Stewart (634), who was passed by Boeheim early in the 2002-03 campaign. Boeheim is atop the following list of coaches with at least as many Division I triumphs for their alma mater as Lew Andreas (355), who is one of Boeheim's predecessors at Syracuse:

Coach Alma Mater Coaching Career Summary at Alma Mater
Jim Boeheim Syracuse '66 890 victories since 1976-77
Norm Stewart Missouri '56 634 from 1967-68 through 1998-99
Slats Gill Oregon State '24 599 from 1928-29 through 1963-64
Guy Lewis Houston '47 592 from 1956-57 through 1985-86
Phog Allen Kansas '06 588 from 1919-20 through 1955-56
Lou Carnesecca St. John's '46 526 from 1965-66 through 1969-70 & 1973-74 through 1991-92
Gary Williams Maryland '67 461 from 1989-90 through 2010-11
Gale Catlett West Virginia '63 439 from 1978-79 through 2001-02
Don Donoher Dayton '54 437 from 1964-65 through 1988-89
Howard Cann New York University '20 409 from 1923-24 through 1957-58
Mike Vining Northeast Louisiana '67 401 from 1981-82 through 2004-05
Vadal Peterson Utah '20 386 from 1927-28 through 1952-53
Bob Nichols Toledo '53 377 from 1965-66 through 1986-87
Harry Litwack Temple '30 373 from 1952-53 through 1972-73
Stan Watts Brigham Young '38 371 from 1949-50 through 1971-72
Doc Carlson Pittsburgh '17 366 from 1922-23 through 1952-53
Branch McCracken Indiana '30 364 from 1938-39 through 1964-65
Eddie Sutton Oklahoma State '58 364 from 1990-91 through 2005-06
George Blaney Holy Cross '61 357 from 1972-73 through 1993-94
Lew Andreas Syracuse '21 355 from 1924-25 through 1949-50
Jim Snyder Ohio University '41 355 from 1949-50 through 1973-74

NOTE: Dave Bike (Sacred Heart '69) has 145 major-college wins since the Pioneers moved up to the DI level in 1999-2000 (519 overall).

Kings of the Hill: Few Have Made Their League Mark Like Gonzaga's Guru

June 23rd, 2012 - 23:10

Gonzaga's Mark Few is expected to extend his stunning string of 13 consecutive NCAA playoff appearances in as many seasons as coach of a mid-major school. But what's equally impressive is his domination of the West Coast Conference not only in regular-season competition (167-21) but also in league tournament action (25-4).

Jerry Tarkanian is the only coach in NCAA Division I history to win more than 90% of his assignments for a school in a single conference including both regular season and postseason league tourney (229-19 mark in PCAA/Big West with UNLV in 10-year span from 1982-83 through 1991-92). Brad Stevens won 80.8% of Butler's Horizon League games in the last five seasons but fell just short of meeting the minimum of 100 decisions in conference competition. Few ranks third among the following coaches who have won more than 75% of their games in a single conference including participation in league tourney play:

Coach School Conference Seasons Regular-Season League Tourney Overall Pct.
Jerry Tarkanian UNLV PCAA/Big West 1983-92 205-17 24-2 229-19 .923
Everett Case North Carolina State Southern 1947-53 87-11 20-1 107-12 .899
Mark Few Gonzaga West Coast 2000-12 167-21 25-4 192-25 .885
Adolph Rupp Kentucky SEC 1933-72 397-75 57-6 454-81 .849
Bill Self Kansas Big 12 2004-12 123-23 18-4 145-27 .843
Roy Williams Kansas Big 12 1997-2003 94-18 14-4 108-22 .831
Gregg Marshall Winthrop Big South 1999-2007 104-24 19-2 123-26 .826
John Calipari Memphis C-USA 2001-09 117-25 17-5 134-30 .817
Rick Majerus Utah Western Athletic 1991-99 118-30 15-6 133-36 .787
Eddie Sutton Arkansas Southwest 1975-85 139-35 13-7 152-42 .784
Bob Huggins Cincinnati C-USA 1996-2005 123-33 16-6 139-39 .781
Pete Gillen Xavier Midwestern Collegiate 1986-94 83-25 17-4 100-29 .775
Vic Bubas Duke ACC 1960-69 106-32 22-6 128-38 .771
Stew Morrill Utah State Big West 1999-2005 91-28 13-3 104-31 .770
Charlie Spoonhour SW Missouri State Mid-Continent 1984-90 73-21 9-4 82-25 .766
Lute Olson Arizona Pacific-10 1984-2007 328-102 16-6 344-108 .761
Joe Williams Furman Southern 1971-78 67-25 18-3 85-28 .752
Denny Crum Louisville Metro 1977-95 173-59 33-9 206-68 .752

NOTES: Calipari (Kentucky), Huggins (West Virginia), Majerus (Saint Louis), Marshall (Wichita State) and Williams (North Carolina) are active coaches now at other schools. . . . UCLA's John Wooden won 81% of his games in the PCC/AAWU/Pacific-8 from 1949-75 but none of those contests included conference tournament competition.

Can't We Get Along? Taylor Made Mistake Being in Wrong Place at Wrong Time

June 21st, 2012 - 19:51

Regrettably, memories of a murdered basketball player surfaced amid Rodney King's death last weekend. King drowned in his swimming pool from drug- and alcohol-induced delirium a little over a month after the 20th anniversary of the acquittal of four policemen accused in the videotaped beating of him. In the opening hours of south Los Angeles' riots, Dwight Taylor was in the wrong place at the wrong time while apparently stopping at a grocery store to pick up some milk for his family.

Taylor, a guard for Long Beach State's first two NCAA playoff teams in 1970 and 1971 under coach Jerry Tarkanian, was shot in a parking lot while en route to visiting his estranged wife and their children. Two bullets penetrated his neck and chest as he and two teenagers were the first of 53 people killed in the ensuing week of repulsive rioting and looting. Taylor, a teammate of All-American Ed Ratleff, was dubbed "Fishman" as an adult because of his trade cutting up fish at a neighborhood market.

Victory Lap: All-Time Winningest Coaches For NCAA Division I Schools

June 20th, 2012 - 21:43

After Jim Calhoun retired, a total of 28 active coaches have an opportunity to pad their lead, entering the 2012-13 campaign as the all-time winningest mentors for their schools after Phil Martelli (Saint Joseph's), Bo Ryan (Wisconsin) and Bob Williams (UC Santa Barbara) reached that milestone last season.

Among the individuals who could join the following list of school all-time winningest coaches next year are Mike Jarvis (Florida Atlantic), Andy Kennedy (Ole Miss), Tony Shaver (William & Mary) and Kevin Stallings (Vanderbilt):

School Coach (Years) Seasons Record Pct.
Air Force Bob Spear (15) 1957-71 177-175 .503
Akron Russell Beichly (19) 1941-59 288-142 .670
Alabama Winfrey "Wimp" Sanderson (12) 1981-92 267-119 .692
Alabama A&M **Vann Pettaway (25) 1987-2011 453-279 .619
Alabama State **C.J. Dunn (29) 1935-63 298-209 .588
Albany **Richard "Doc" Sauers (41) 1956-97 702-330 .680
Alcorn State Davey Whitney (27) 1970-89 & 1997-2003 510-292 .636
American *Jeff Jones (12) 2001-12 201-163 .552
Appalachian State **Bob Light (15) 1958-72 211-178 .542
Arizona Robert "Lute" Olson (24) 1984-2007 590-192 .754
Arizona State Ned Wulk (25) 1958-82 406-272 .599
Arkansas Nolan Richardson (17) 1986-2002 389-169 .697
Arkansas-Pine Bluff **H.O. Clemmons (21) 1956-76 296-217 .577
Arkansas State **John Rauth (14) 1950-63 191-150 .560
Army Leo Novak (13) 1927-39 126-61 .674
Auburn Joel Eaves (14) 1950-63 213-100 .681
Austin Peay State *Dave Loos (22) 1991-2012 363-310 .539
Ball State **Jim Hinga (14) 1955-68 154-169 .477
Baylor Bill Henderson (18) 1942-61 201-233 .463
Belmont **Rick Byrd (26) 1987-2012 545-286 .656
Bethune-Cookman Jack "Cy" McClairen (31) 1963-93 383-420 .477
Boise State Bobby Dye (12) 1984-95 213-133 .616
Boston College Al Skinner (13) 1998-2010 247-165 .600
Boston University Dennis Wolff (15) 1995-2009 247-197 .556
Bowling Green Harold Anderson (21) 1943-63 367-193 .655
Bradley A.J. Robertson (26) 1921-48 312-186 .627
Brigham Young Stan Watts (23) 1950-72 372-254 .594
Brown Stanley Ward (15) 1955-69 133-241 .356
Bryant **Tom Folliard (10) 1969-78 174-88 .664
Bucknell Charlie Woollum (19) 1976-94 318-221 .590
Buffalo **Len T. Serfustini (14) 1957-70 206-105 .662
Butler Paul "Tony" Hinkle (41) 1927-70 560-392 .588
California Clarence "Nibs" Price (30) 1925-54 449-294 .604
UC Davis **Bob Hamilton (22) 1968-89 301-291 .508
UC Irvine Pat Douglass (13) 1998-2010 197-191 .508
Cal Poly **Ernie Wheeler (14) 1973-86 254-138 .648
UC Riverside **John Masi (26) 1980-2005 462-269 .632
UC Santa Barbara *Bob Williams (14) 1999-2012 237-181 .567
Cal State Bakersfield **Pat Douglass (10) 1988-97 257-61 .808
Cal State Fullerton **Alex Omalev (12) 1961-72 138-177 .438
Cal State Northridge **Pete Cassidy (25) 1972-96 334-337 .498
Cal State Sacramento **Jack Heron (16) 1969-84 197-195 .503
Campbell Danny Roberts (15) 1969-83 234-179 .567
Canisius Nick Macarchuk (10) 1978-87 149-128 .538
Centenary Tommy Canterbury (12) 1978-89 150-180 .455
Central Arkansas **Don Dyer (14) 1980-93 285-145 .663
Central Connecticut **Bill Detrick (29) 1960-88 468-266 .638
Central Michigan **Ted Kjolhede (15) 1957-71 215-157 .578
Charleston Southern Gary Edwards (9) 1988-96 121-133 .476
Charlotte Bobby Lutz (12) 1999-2010 218-158 .580
Chattanooga Mack McCarthy (12) 1986-97 243-122 .666
Chicago State **Bob Hallberg (10) 1978-87 224-84 .727
Cincinnati Bob Huggins (16) 1990-2005 398-128 .757
The Citadel Pat Dennis (14) 1993-2006 157-233 .403
Clemson Cliff Ellis (10) 1985-94 177-128 .580
Cleveland State Ray Dieringer (14) 1970-83 151-209 .419
Coastal Carolina Russ Bergman (19) 1976-94 306-246 .554
Colgate Emmett Davis (13) 1999-2011 163-214 .432
College of Charleston John Kresse (23) 1980-2002 560-143 .797
Colorado Russell "Sox" Walseth (20) 1957-76 261-245 .516
Colorado State Jim Williams (26) 1955-80 352-283 .556
Columbia John "Jack" Rohan (18) 1962-74 & 1991-95 197-248 .443
Connecticut Jim Calhoun (26) 1987-2012 621-235 .725
Coppin State *Ron "Fang" Mitchell (26) 1987-2012 409-373 .523
Cornell Royner Greene (13) 1947-59 168-145 .537
Creighton Dana Altman (16) 1995-2010 327-176 .650
Dartmouth Alvin "Doggie" Julian (17) 1951-67 183-236 .437
Davidson *Bob McKillop (23) 1990-2012 426-271 .611
Dayton Don Donoher (26) 1964-89 437-275 .614
Delaware Steve Steinwedel (10) 1986-95 163-121 .574
Delaware State **Bennie George (22) 1950-71 201-219 .479
Denver **Dick Peth (12) 1986-97 221-123 .642
DePaul Ray Meyer (42) 1943-84 724-354 .671
Detroit Bob Calihan (21) 1949-69 306-237 .564
Drake Maury John (13) 1959-71 211-131 .617
Drexel Sam Cozen (16) 1953-68 213-94 .694
Duke *Mike Krzyzewski (32) 1981-2012 854-232 .786
Duquesne Charles "Chick" Davies (21) 1925-48 314-106 .748
East Carolina **Howard Porter (12) 1948-59 182-102 .641
Eastern Illinois Rick Samuels (25) 1981-2005 360-360 .500
Eastern Kentucky Paul McBrayer (16) 1947-62 219-144 .603
Eastern Michigan Ben Braun (11) 1986-96 184-134 .580
Eastern Washington **William "Red" Reese (31) 1931-42 & 1946-64 473-298 .613
East Tennessee State Madison Brooks (25) 1949-73 369-268 .579
Elon **Bill Miller (20) 1960-79 331-225 .595
Evansville **Arad McCutchan (31) 1947-77 514-314 .622
Fairfield Fred Barakat (11) 1971-81 160-128 .556
Fairleigh Dickinson Tom Green (26) 1984-2009 407-351 .537
Florida *Billy Donovan (16) 1997-2012 386-158 .710
Florida A&M Edward "Rockjaw" Ogelsby (21) 1951-70 & '72 386-138 .737
Florida Atlantic Tim Loomis (6) 1990-95 67-98 .406
Florida Gulf Coast Dave Balza (9) 2003-11 153-121 .558
Florida International Rich Walker (9) 1982-90 108-134 .446
Florida State J.K. "Bud" Kennedy (18) 1949-66 237-208 .532
Fordham John Bach (18) 1951-68 263-193 .576
Fresno State Boyd Grant (9) 1978-86 194-74 .724
Furman Lyles Alley (20) 1946-66 248-258 .490
Gardner-Webb **Jim Wiles (12) 1979-90 221-149 .597
Gardner-Webb Rick Scruggs (15) 1996-2010 221-219 .502
George Mason Jim Larranaga (13) 1998-2010 246-157 .610
Georgetown John Thompson Jr. (27) 1973-99 596-239 .714
George Washington Bill Reinhart (24) 1936-42 & 1950-66 316-237 .571
Georgia Hugh Durham (17) 1979-95 298-216 .580
Georgia Southern J.B. Scearce (23) 1948-67 & 1978-80 396-225 .638
Georgia State Bob Reinhart (9) 1986-94 107-148 .420
Georgia Tech Bobby Cremins (19) 1982-2000 354-237 .599
Gonzaga *Mark Few (13) 2000-12 342-90 .792
Grambling State **Fred Hobdy (27) 1960-86 572-288 .665
Green Bay **Dave Buss (13) 1970-82 271-94 .742
Hampton **Hank Ford (12) 1976-87 225-119 .654
Hartford **Gordon McCullough (14) 1963-76 201-117 .622
Harvard Frank Sullivan (16) 1992-2007 178-245 .421
Hawaii Riley Wallace (20) 1988-2007 334-265 .558
High Point **Jerry Steele (31) 1973-2003 470-424 .526
Hofstra Butch van Breda Kolff (13) 1956-62 & 1989-94 215-134 .616
Holy Cross George Blaney (22) 1973-94 357-276 .564
Houston Guy Lewis (30) 1957-86 592-279 .680
Houston Baptist Ron Cottrell (21) **1992-2012 403-275 .594
Howard A.B. Williamson (14) 1977-90 241-182 .570
Idaho Charles Finley (7) 1948-54 113-94 .546
Idaho State **Guy Wicks (10) 1932-41 168-71 .703
Illinois Lou Henson (21) 1976-96 421-226 .651
Illinois-Chicago Jimmy Collins (14) 1997-2010 210-197 .516
Illinois State **Joseph Cogdal (22) 1928-49 280-177 .613
Indiana Bob Knight (29) 1972-2000 659-242 .731
Indiana State **Duane Klueh (12) 1956-67 182-121 .602
IUPU Fort Wayne **Andy Piazza (9) 1988-96 140-108 .565
IUPUI Ron Hunter (17) 1995-2011 293-219 .572
Iona Jim McDermott (26) 1948-73 319-253 .558
Iowa Tom Davis (13) 1987-99 269-140 .658
Iowa State Johnny Orr (14) 1981-94 218-200 .522
Jackson State **Harrison B. Wilson (17) 1951-67 371-93 .800
Jacksonville Hugh Durham (8) 1998-2005 106-119 .471
Jacksonville State Bill Jones (24) 1975-98 449-210 .661
James Madison Lou Campanelli (13) 1973-85 238-118 .669
Kansas Forrest "Phog" Allen (39) 1908, '09 & 1920-56 590-219 .729
Kansas State Jack Hartman (16) 1971-86 295-169 .643
Kennesaw State **Phil Zenoni (11) 1986-96 162-156 .509
Kent State Jim McDonald (10) 1983-92 147-140 .512
Kentucky Adolph Rupp (41) 1931-72 875-190 .822
Lafayette Fran O'Hanlon (17) 1996-2012 238-261 .477
Lamar Jack Martin (25) 1952-76 334-283 .541
La Salle Bill "Speedy" Morris (15) 1987-2001 238-203 .540
Lehigh Tony Packer (16) 1951-66 112-213 .345
Liberty Jeff Meyer (16) 1982-97 259-206 .557
Lipscomb **Don Meyer (24) 1976-99 665-178 .789
Long Beach State Jerry Tarkanian (5) 1969-73 121-20 .858
Long Island Clair Bee (18) 1932-43 & 1946-51 359-80 .818
Longwood **Cal Luther (9) 1982-90 136-105 .564
Louisiana-Lafayette Beryl Shipley (16) 1958-73 296-129 .696
Louisiana-Monroe Mike Vining (24) 1982-2005 401-303 .570
Louisiana State Dale Brown (25) 1973-97 448-301 .598
Louisiana Tech **Cecil C. Crowley (21) 1941-64 269-221 .549
Louisville Denny Crum (30) 1972-2001 675-295 .696
Loyola Chicago George Ireland (24) 1952-75 321-255 .557
Loyola (Md.) **Emil "Lefty" Reitz (23) 1938-44 & 1946-61 349-228 .605
Loyola Marymount William Donovan (8) 1954-61 107-101 .514
Maine Tom "Skip" Chappelle (17) 1972-88 217-226 .490
Manhattan Kenneth Norton (22) 1947-68 310-205 .602
Marist Dave Magarity (18) 1987-2004 253-259 .494
Marquette Al McGuire (13) 1965-77 295-80 .787
Marshall Cam Henderson (20) 1936-55 361-160 .693
Maryland Gary Williams (22) 1990-2011 461-252 .647
Maryland-Baltimore County **Billy Jones (12) 1975-86 134-173 .436
Maryland-Eastern Shore **Nathaniel C. Taylor (10) 1955-64 145-74 .662
Massachusetts Jack Leaman (13) 1967-79 217-126 .632
McNeese State **Ralph Ward (19) 1953-71 272-194 .584
Memphis John Calipari (9) 2001-09 252-69 .785
Mercer Bill Bibb (15) 1975-89 222-194 .534
Miami (Fla.) Bruce Hale (13) 1955-67 220-112 .663
Miami (Ohio) Charlie Coles (16) 1997-2012 266-226 .541
Michigan Johnny Orr (12) 1969-80 209-113 .649
Michigan State *Tom Izzo (17) 1996-2012 412-169 .709
Middle Tennessee State Jimmy Earle (10) 1970-79 164-103 .614
Milwaukee **Guy Penwell (18) 1931-42 & 1947-52 186-145 .562
Minnesota Louis J. Cooke (27) 1898-1924 245-135-2 .644
Mississippi Bonnie Graham (13) 1950-62 144-168 .462
Mississippi State Rick Stansbury (14) 1999-2012 293-166 .638
Mississippi Valley State Lafayette Stribling (22) 1984-2005 315-318 .498
Missouri Norm Stewart (32) 1968-99 634-333 .656
Missouri-Kansas City **Darrell Corwin (8) 1972 & 1974-80 126-93 .575
Missouri State **Andrew McDonald (23) 1926-43 & 1946-50 301-166 .644
Monmouth **Bill Boylan (21) 1957-77 364-157 .699
Montana Jiggs Dahlberg (16) 1938-42 & 1945-55 222-224 .498
Montana State John "Brick" Breeden (17) 1936-47 & 1949-54 283-198 .588
Morehead State Ellis T. Johnson (15) 1936-43 & 1947-53 171-159 .518
Morgan State Nathaniel Frazier (11) 1972-77 & 1986-90 172-134 .562
Mount St. Mary's Jim Phelan (49) 1955-2003 830-524 .613
Murray State **Carlisle Cutchin (17) 1925-41 267-101 .726
Navy Ben Carnevale (20) 1947-66 257-160 .616
Nebraska Danny Nee (14) 1987-2000 254-190 .572
Nebraska-Omaha **Bob Hanson (25) 1970-94 382-313 .550
Nevada Glenn "Jake" Lawlor (15) 1943 & 1946-59 201-168 .545
New Hampshire Gerry Friel (20) 1970-89 200-335 .374
New Mexico Dave Bliss (11) 1989-99 246-108 .695
New Mexico State Lou Henson (17) 1967-75 & 1998-2005 309-176 .637
New Orleans **Ron Greene (8) 1970-77 146-65 .692
Niagara John "Taps" Gallagher (31) 1932-43 & 1947-65 465-261 .640
Nicholls State **Don Landry (13) 1967-79 173-156 .526
Norfolk State **Charles Christian (12) 1975-78 & 1983-90 319-95 .771
North Carolina Dean Smith (36) 1962-97 879-254 .776
UNC Asheville **Bob Hartman (15) 1965-79 223-209 .517
North Carolina A&T **Calvin Irvin (18) 1955-72 344-117 .746
North Carolina Central **Floyd H. Brown (18) 1953-70 249-191 .566
UNC Greensboro Mike Dement (11) 1992-95 & 2006-12 124-181 .407
North Carolina State Everett Case (19) 1947-65 377-134 .738
UNC Wilmington Mel Gibson (14) 1973-86 194-180 .519
North Dakota **Rich Glas (18) 1989-2006 335-194 .633
North Dakota State **Erv Inniger (14) 1979-92 244-150 .620
Northeastern Jim Calhoun (14) 1973-86 250-137 .646
Northern Arizona **Herb Gregg (24) 1951-74 290-288 .502
Northern Colorado **Thurm Wright (14) 1970-83 156-216 .419
Northern Illinois John McDougal (10) 1977-86 136-141 .491
Northern Iowa Eldon Miller (12) 1987-98 164-178 .480
North Florida **Matt Kilcullen (10) 2000-09 98-186 .345
North Texas **H.G. Shands (22) 1936-59 223-257 .465
Northwestern Arthur "Dutch" Lonborg (23) 1928-50 236-203-1 .538
Northwestern State **H. Lee Prather (36) 1913-50 473-169 .737
Notre Dame Richard "Digger" Phelps (20) 1972-91 393-197 .666
Oakland *Greg Kampe (28) 1985-2012 490-349 .584
Ohio University Jim Snyder (25) 1950-74 355-255 .581
Ohio State Fred Taylor (18) 1959-76 297-158 .653
Oklahoma Billy Tubbs (14) 1981-94 333-132 .716
Oklahoma State Hank Iba (36) 1935-70 655-316 .675
Old Dominion *Blaine Taylor (11) 2002-12 237-124 .657
Oral Roberts *Scott Sutton (13) 2000-12 250-162 .607
Oregon Ernie Kent (13) 1998-2010 235-173 .576
Oregon State Amory "Slats" Gill (36) 1929-64 599-392 .604
Pacific *Bob Thomason (24) 1989-2012 414-309 .573
Penn State John Egli (14) 1955-68 187-135 .581
Pennsylvania Fran Dunphy (17) 1990-2006 310-163 .655
Pepperdine Robert "Duck" Dowell (20) 1949-68 263-263 .500
Pittsburgh H.C. "Doc" Carlson (31) 1923-53 366-248 .596
Portland Jack Avina (17) 1971-87 222-243 .477
Portland State **Sharkey Nelson (12) 1954-65 162-156 .509
Prairie View Elwood Plummer (18) 1974-79 & 1991-2002 150-341 .305
Presbyterian **Gregg Nibert (23) 1990-2012 376-307 .551
Princeton Pete Carril (29) 1968-96 514-261 .663
Providence Joe Mullaney (18) 1956-69 & 1982-85 319-164 .660
Purdue Gene Keady (25) 1981-2005 512-270 .655
Quinnipiac **Burt Kahn (30) 1962-91 459-358 .562
Radford Ron Bradley (11) 1992-2002 192-124 .608
Rhode Island Frank Keaney (27) 1922-48 403-124 .765
Rice Willis Wilson (16) 1993-2008 218-247 .469
Richmond Dick Tarrant (12) 1982-93 239-126 .655
Rider John Carpenter (23) 1967-89 292-328 .471
Robert Morris Jarrett Durham (12) 1985-96 157-183 .462
Rutgers Tom Young (12) 1974-85 239-117 .671
Sacred Heart **Dave Bike (34) 1979-2012 519-480 .520
St. Bonaventure Larry Weise (12) 1962-73 202-90 .692
St. Francis (N.Y.) Daniel Lynch (21) 1949-69 282-237 .543
Saint Francis (Pa.) Dr. William "Skip" Hughes (21) 1946-66 293-206-1 .587
St. John's Lou Carnesecca (24) 1966-70 & 1974-92 526-200 .725
Saint Joseph's *Phil Martelli (17) 1996-2012 320-223 .589
Saint Louis Eddie Hickey (11) 1948-58 211-89 .703
Saint Mary's *Randy Bennett (11) 2002-12 235-118 .666
Saint Peter's Don Kennedy (22) 1951-72 323-195 .624
Samford Jimmy Tillette (15) 1998-2012 229-219 .511
Sam Houston State Bob Marlin (12) 1999-2010 225-131 .632
San Diego Brad Holland (13) 1995-2007 200-176 .532
San Diego State **George Ziegenfuss (21) 1949-69 316-229 .580
San Francisco Bob Gaillard (8) 1971-78 165-57 .743
San Jose State Walt McPherson (17) 1941, '42 & 1946-60 251-197 .560
Santa Clara Carroll Williams (22) 1971-92 341-277 .552
Savannah State **Russell Ellington (9) 1977-85 148-91 .619
Seattle H. Albert Brightman (8) 1949-56 180-68 .726
Seton Hall John "Honey" Russell (18) 1937-43 & 1950-60 295-129 .696
Siena Dan Cunha (21) 1942-65 246-225 .522
South Alabama *Ronnie Arrow (13) 1988-95 & 2008-12 206-156 .569
South Carolina Frank McGuire (16) 1965-80 283-142 .666
South Carolina State Cy Alexander (16) 1988-2003 277-200 .581
USC Upstate **Jerry Waters (17) 1981-97 364-133 .732
South Dakota **David Boots (24) 1989-2012 493-215 .696
South Dakota State **Scott Nagy (17) 1996-2012 316-196 .617
Southeastern Louisiana **Luther Marlar (20) 1948-67 223-254 .470
Southeast Missouri State Ron Shumate (16) 1982-97 306-171 .641
Southern (La.) Ben Jobe (12) 1987-96, '02 & '03 209-141 .597
Southern California Justin "Sam" Barry (17) 1930-41 & 1946-50 260-138 .653
Southern Illinois **William McAndrew (28) 1914-18 & 1921-43 303-210 .591
SIU-Edwardsville **Larry Graham (8) 1985-92 147-84 .636
Southern Methodist E.O. "Doc" Hayes (20) 1948-67 299-192 .609
Southern Mississippi M.K. Turk (20) 1977-96 300-267 .529
Southern Utah Bill Evans (16) 1992-2007 209-223 .484
South Florida Bobby Paschal (10) 1987-96 127-159 .443
Stanford Mike Montgomery (18) 1987-2004 392-168 .700
Stephen F. Austin **Marshall Brown (19) 1960-78 345-168 .672
Stetson Dr. Glenn Wilkes (36) 1958-93 551-436 .558
Stony Brook **Joe Castiglie (7) 1985-91 137-55 .714
Syracuse *Jim Boeheim (36) 1977-2012 890-304 .745
Temple John Chaney (24) 1983-2006 516-253 .671
Tennessee Ray Mears (15) 1963-77 278-112 .713
Tennessee-Martin **Floyd Burdette (19) 1953-71 199-200 .499
Tennessee State Ed Martin (17) 1969-85 284-154 .648
Tennessee Tech **Preston "Putty" Overall (23) 1925-47 170-151-1 .530
Texas *Rick Barnes (14) 1999-2012 342-137 .714
Texas A&M Shelby Metcalf (27) 1964-90 438-306 .589
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Ronnie Arrow (8) 2000-07 135-93 .592
Texas-Arlington Eddie McCarter (14) 1993-2006 179-211 .459
Texas Christian Byron "Buster" Brannon (19) 1949-67 205-259 .442
Texas-El Paso Don Haskins (38) 1962-99 719-353 .671
Texas-Pan American Sam Williams (15) 1959-73 247-151 .621
Texas-San Antonio Tim Carter (11) 1996-2006 160-152 .513
Texas Southern Robert Moreland (27) 1976-2001 & '08 406-377 .519
Texas State **Milton Jowers (15) 1947-61 287-106 .730
Texas Tech Gerald Myers (21) 1971-91 326-261 .555
Toledo Bob Nichols (22) 1966-87 377-211 .641
Towson Vince Angotti (16) 1967-78 & 1980-83 234-179 .567
Troy **Don Maestri (30) 1983-2012 490-381 .563
Tulane Clifford Wells (18) 1946-63 259-171 .602
Tulsa Clarence Iba (11) 1950-60 137-147 .482
UAB Gene Bartow (18) 1979-96 365-204 .641
UALR Mike Newell (6) 1985-90 133-60 .689
UCF Kirk Speraw (17) 1994-2010 279-231 .547
UCLA John Wooden (27) 1949-75 620-147 .808
UNLV Jerry Tarkanian (19) 1974-92 509-105 .829
Utah Vadal Peterson (26) 1928-53 384-224 .631
Utah State *Stew Morrill (14) 1999-2012 345-119 .744
Utah Valley *Dick Hunsaker (9) 2004-12 160-104 .606
Valparaiso Homer Drew (22) 1989-2002 & 2004-11 370-306 .547
Vanderbilt Roy Skinner (16) 1959 & 1962-76 278-135 .673
Vermont Tom Brennan (19) 1987-2005 264-276 .489
Villanova Alex Severance (25) 1937-61 413-201 .673
Virginia Terry Holland (16) 1975-90 326-173 .653
Virginia Commonwealth Charles "Sonny" Smith (9) 1990-98 136-127 .517
Virginia Military Wesley "Bart" Bellairs (11) 1995-2005 116-191 .378
Virginia Tech Charles Moir (11) 1977-87 213-119 .642
Wagner **Herb Sutter (27) 1938-65 352-251 .584
Wake Forest Murray Greason (23) 1934-57 288-243 .542
Washington Clarence "Hec" Edmundson (27) 1921-47 488-195 .714
Washington State Jack Friel (30) 1929-58 495-377 .568
Weber State Neil McCarthy (11) 1975-85 200-98 .671
Western Carolina **Jim Gudger (19) 1951-69 311-222 .583
Western Illinois **Leroy Morley (22) 1948-69 367-213 .622
Western Kentucky Ed Diddle (42) 1923-64 759-302 .715
Western Michigan Herbert "Buck" Read (27) 1923-49 351-171 .672
West Virginia Gale Catlett (24) 1979-2002 439-276 .614
Wichita State Ralph Miller (13) 1952-64 220-133 .623
William & Mary Bill Chambers (9) 1958-66 113-110 .507
Winthrop Gregg Marshall (9) 1999-2007 194-83 .700
Wisconsin *William "Bo" Ryan (11) 2002-12 268-101 .726
Wofford **Gene Alexander (19) 1959-77 283-265 .516
Wright State Ralph Underhill (18) 1979-96 356-162 .687
Wyoming Everett Shelton (19) 1940-59 328-201 .620
Xavier Pete Gillen (9) 1986-94 202-75 .729
Yale Joe Vancisin (19) 1957-75 206-242 .460
Youngstown State **Dom Roselli (38) 1941-82 591-388 .604

*Active coaches still at same school.
**Set record when school was classified as a small college during most or all of his tenure.

Let's Make a Deal: Four Coaches Boast Longest Defined Contracts Thru 2023

June 19th, 2012 - 11:24

Mike Brey has come a long way in college basketball since averaging 5 points per game with Northwestern State (Natchitoches, La.) in 1977-78 and 1978-79 when the NCAA Division I newcomer Demons compiled a 19-34 record while losing to Louisiana College three times and East Texas Baptist once.

It might not duplicate the lifetime contract of Brey's former mentor, Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, but his 10-year deal with Notre Dame matched Butler's Brad Stevens for longest defined coaching contract (through 2021-22 season) until West Virginia's Bob Huggins, New Mexico's Steve Alford, Pittsburgh's Jamie Dixon and Virginia Commonwealth's Shaka Smart surpassed them by one year. The length of Brey's pact certainly can be justified if he directs the Irish to its first NCAA Tournament championship game after Stevens achieved the feat in back-to-back years with the Bulldogs in 2010 and 2011. Akron's Keith Dambrot, Louisville's Rick Pitino and Kansas' Bill Self matched Brey and Stevens before the start of the 2012-13 season.

A shaky economy is not deterring universities from dishing out long-term agreements. Following is an alphabetical list of coaches with at least five years remaining on their contracts:

Coach School Length of Contract
Steve Alford New Mexico through 2022-23
Mike Anderson Arkansas through 2017-18
Randy Bennett Saint Mary's through 2020-21
Mike Brey Notre Dame through 2021-22
John Calipari Kentucky through 2018-19
Tom Crean Indiana through 2019-20
Keith Dambrot Akron through 2021-22
Jamie Dixon Pittsburgh through 2022-23
Scott Drew Baylor through 2017-18
Fran Dunphy Temple through 2017-18
Jim Ferry Duquesne through 2018-19
Mark Few Gonzaga through 2017-18
Travis Ford Oklahoma State through 2018-19
Mark Gottfried North Carolina State through 2017-18
Anthony Grant Alabama through 2018-19
Stan Heath South Florida through 2017-18
Fred Hoiberg Iowa State through 2020-21
Bob Huggins West Virginia through 2022-23
Danny Hurley Rhode Island through 2019-20
Tom Izzo Michigan State through 2018-19
Ben Jacobson Northern Iowa through 2019-20
Sydney Johnson Fairfield through 2018-19
Jim Larranaga Miami (FL) through 2018-19
Chris Mack Xavier through 2017-18
Gregg Marshall Wichita State through 2018-19
Frank Martin South Carolina through 2017-18
Thad Matta Ohio State through 2018-19
Jim McDermott Creighton through 2019-20
Fran McCaffery Iowa through 2018-19
Tim Miles Nebraska through 2018-19
Chris Mooney Richmond through 2020-21
Kevin Ollie Connecticut through 2017-18
Matt Painter Purdue through 2018-19
Richard Pitino Florida International through 2017-18
Rick Pitino Louisville through 2021-22
Lorenzo Romar Washington through 2019-20
Mark Schmidt St. Bonaventure through 2018-19
Bill Self Kansas through 2021-22
Shaka Smart Virginia Commonwealth through 2022-23
Brad Stevens Butler through 2021-22
Mark Turgeon Maryland through 2017-18
Gary Waters Cleveland State through 2018-19
Buzz Williams Marquette through 2017-18
Roy Williams North Carolina through 2017-18

Fatherly Advice: Activist Etan Thomas Writes Book About Fatherhood

June 18th, 2012 - 7:51

When former Syracuse All-American Etan Thomas twice led the Big East Conference in blocked shots before pacing the league in field-goal percentage as a senior in 1999-2000, no one thought at the time he would become a leader in parenting.

Thomas, after growing up in Tulsa without a father, has assembled a collection of essays from celebrities in a book called "Fatherhood: Rising to the Ultimate Challenge." And a formidable challenge it is inasmuch as nearly three-fourths of African-American kids are raised in single-parent households.

"The importance of parenting is something that men do not talk about," the nine-year NBA veteran told the Syracuse Post-Standard.

Talkative Thomas, also vocal in disapproving Georgia's immigration crackdown while playing for the Atlanta Hawks, is a peace activist who actively supported Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign and appeared with DNC chair Howard Dean on a bus tour to encourage voter registration drives. Hoopster-in-chief Obama, a JV player for Occidental College (CA) after growing up in a dysfunctional family, made a controversial policy change regarding young illegal immigrants last week because it was the "Left" thing to do.

Thomas, who averaged 5.7 ppg and 4.8 rpg with the Washington Wizards, Oklahoma City Thunder and Hawks in nine NBA seasons from 2001-02 through 2010-11, joined Obama among the ranks of hoopsters-turned-authors in 2005 when he released a 34-poem book "More Than an Athlete," which included a questionable-taste work dedicated to former Wizards coach Doug Collins entitled Haters.

Collins grew up in Benton, Ill., where his high school coach, Rich Herrin, never had an opportunity to coach an African-American player in his 29 small-town seasons of prep coaching until he was hired by Southern Illinois University after the 1984-85 campaign. But Collins became an All-American with Illinois State under Will Robinson, the first black head coach at a predominantly white Division I school.

Collins might have come from an environment deeming hip hop as spit slop and rap as crap, but there is no ample evidence of him being a stereotypical "hater" while coaching a long list of prominent professional players such as Bill Cartwright, Joe Dumars, Horace Grant, Richard Hamilton, Grant Hill, Allan Houston, Lindsey Hunter, Michael Jordan, Charles Oakley, Scottie Pippen and Jerry Stackhouse before turning around the young Philadelphia 76ers' fortunes the past two seasons.

Actually, Collins probably should have been included in Thomas' book in a favorable light featuring the Olympian's relationship with son Chris, a Duke assistant who was a significant player for the Blue Devils and likely will be an NCAA Division I head coach in the very near future.

Thomas, who said he loved ESPN's Fab 5 documentary denigrating Duke, seemed to take the simplistic approach that anytime you disagree with Obama, you can be branded a racist. In a CNN.com editorial in the spring of 2011, Thomas criticized Donald Trump, pulling out the race card saying the real estate magnate is a "Hey, what is that black guy doing here?' racist. He is the type of racist who wants black people to stay in their place." Thomas doesn't indicate whether or not a voting bloc going about 95% in one direction is racist.

In the editorial, Thomas described two incidents from his days at Syracuse, saying one professor questioned how he could get a B-minus on a test that most other students failed, and that another instructor wondered why Thomas was in his class and not in "remedial English or Rocks for Jocks?"

In a recent column for hoopshype.com, Thomas offered the stereotypical "college athletics is nothing more than a corrupt system focused on exploitation and greed." But even if a conservative might think Thomas' progressive politics are remedial appealling to the LCD, you have to hope his book ultimately succeeds with improving the state of fatherhood.

Hoop Legacy: Celebrating Three Generations of Basketball on Father's Day

June 15th, 2012 - 20:12

"It is much easier to become a father than to be one." - Letters to My Son: Reflections on Becoming a Man

Undeniably, it is also much easier to talk about becoming a prominent player than putting in the man hours necessary to earn your spurs and have an impact at a single university like the Guokas clan at Saint Joseph's. Matt Sr. and Matt Jr. went on to become the first father-son tandem to win NBA championships as players before Matt III competed four seasons with the Hawks from 1988-89 through 1991-92.

Gifted by having a father and grandfather with hoop credentials is not a prerequisite for becoming a competent basketball player. Although some observers might think the last couple of generations in the following hoop families were groomed from birth, on-court excellence is earned by blood, sweat and tears; not inherited via blood being thicker than water.

Hoosier Hysteria's passion can't be denied when considering Indiana families including All-Americans Steve Alford, Eric Montross and Jack Parkinson plus significant DI contributors with last names such as Dakich, Neal, Plumlee and Shepherd. In deference to Father's Day, following are some of the most accomplished father-son-grandson basketball combinations with at least one of them playing for or coaching a school from a power conference or in national postseason competition:

Grandfather/Father Father/Son(s) Grandson(s)/Son(s)
Sam Alford (Franklin, IN '64) Steve Alford (Indiana '87) Kory Alford (UCLA '16) and Bryce Alford (UCLA '17)
Cleophus Banks (Southern, LA '67) Roman Banks (Northwestern State '92) Tre'lun Banks (Southern, LA '17)
Gary Bradds (Ohio State '64) David Bradds (Dayton '91) Evan Bradds (Belmont '17)
Tom Dakich (Bowling Green State '56) Dan Dakich (Indiana '85) Andrew Dakich (Michigan '17)
Lewis D'Antoni (Concord, WV '37) Dan D'Antoni (Marshall '69) Nick D'Antoni (William & Mary '05)
Don Gatens (Notre Dame '46) Mike Gatens (Iowa '76) Matt Gatens (Iowa '12)
Leroy "Spike" Gibson (Florida A&M '59) Isaac Brown Sr. (Florida A&M '82) Isaac Brown Jr. (Florida A&M '12)
Matt Guokas Sr. (St. Joseph's '38) Matt Guokas Jr. (St. Joseph's '66) Matt Guokas III (St. Joseph's '92)
Bill Hosket Sr. (Ohio State '33) Bill Hosket Jr. (Ohio State '68) Brad Hosket (Ohio State '00)
Lake Kelly (Georgia Tech '56) Brian Kelly (Morehead State '86) Drew Kelly (Morehead State '14)
Press Maravich (Davis & Elkins, WV '41) Pete Maravich (Louisiana State '70) Jaeson Maravich (Alabama, McNeese State and William Carey, MS '04) and Josh Maravich (Louisiana State '05)
Johnny McConathy (Northwestern State '51) Mike McConathy (Louisiana Tech '77) Michael McConathy (Northwestern State '10) and Logan McConathy (Northwestern State '11)
Stan Neal (Ball State '65) Craig Neal (Georgia Tech '88) and Shane Neal (Chattanooga '95) Cullen Neal (New Mexico '17)
Jack Parkinson (Kentucky '48) Bruce Parkinson (Purdue '77) Austin Parkinson (Purdue '04)
Don Parsons (Rutgers '50) Gary Parsons (Rollins, FL '77) Chandler Parsons (Florida '11)
Albert Schultz (Michigan Tech '44) Perky Plumlee (Tennessee Tech '83) Miles Plumlee (Duke '12), Mason Plumlee (Duke '13) and Marshall Plumlee (Duke '16)
Bill Reigel (Duquesne/Duke '53/McNeese State '56) Ernie Reigel (Davidson '80) Will Reigel (Davidson '12) and Rusty Reigel (Davidson '18)
Danny Schultz (Tennessee '64) Danny Schultz (Tennessee Tech '84) Dan Schultz (Tennessee '08)
Bill Shepherd Sr. (Butler '49) Billy Shepherd Jr. (Butler '72) Scott Shepherd (Florida State '96) and Jeff Shepherd (Huntington, IN '99)
John Townsend (Michigan '38) Scott Montross (Michigan '68) Eric Montross (North Carolina '94)

If ancestry and genealogy are hot-button hoop topics for you, here is some additional "family tradition" research by CollegeHoopedia.com that can embellish your Father's Day weekend:

Martin Doesn't Become Latest Ex-College Hoopster to Coach CWS Champion

June 13th, 2012 - 22:10

Florida State's Mike Martin squandered an opportunity to become the latest former college basketball player to coach a school to a College World Series championship. One of the all-time five winningest college baseball coaches, he boasts the highest winning percentage among NCAA Division I mentors, winning almost three-fourths of his games Martin, who has guided the Seminoles to the CWS a total of 15 times (1980-86-87-89-91-92-94-95-96-98-99-00-08-10-12), played basketball for Wingate (NC) in the mid-1960s before the institution became a four-year school. One of his junior college hoop teammates was Morris "Mo" McHone, who went on to coach the San Antonio Spurs in 1983-84. Martin coached basketball for Tallahassee (FL) Community College in the early 1970s.

Martin, runner-up in 1986 and 1999, isn't the only revered coach frustrated by not capturing a national title. Richard "Itchy" Jones, who averaged 8.9 ppg for Southern Illinois's basketball squad in 1956-57, established a baseball dynasty in 21-year coaching career at his alma mater before accepting a similar position with the Illini in Champaign in 1991. Jones compiled a 1,240-752-6 record before retiring in 2005. In 1971, his second year at Southern Illinois, Jones guided the Salukis to within one game of the national title, finishing second at the College World Series. In 1974 and 1977, Jones brought Southern Illinois back to the CWS, placing third both times. Buoyed by 22 eventual major leaguers, he became the 18th coach in NCAA Division I history to win 1,000 games.

Stanford's Everett Dean, compiling a 3-0 basketball tournament record in 1942, is the only unbeaten coach in NCAA playoff history. He is also the only NCAA basketball championship coach to win a College World Series baseball game for the same school as a coach (1953). Following is an alphabetical list of previous ex-college hoopsters like Martin, Jones and Dean who went the extra step and reached the milestone of coaching a CWS titlist:

JOHN "JACK" BARRY, Holy Cross
Infielder, primarily a shortstop, hit .243 with the Philadelphia Athletics and Boston Red Sox in 11 A.L. seasons from 1908 through 1919. Ranked fifth in the league in RBI in 1913 with 85 for the Athletics as a key component of Connie Mack's first dynasty. Participated in five World Series, four with the champion, in a six-year span from 1910 through 1915. Compiled a 90-62 managerial record with the Red Sox in 1917 before winning more than 80 percent of his games coaching his alma mater for 40 years (including capturing the 1952 College World Series). The 5-9 Barry was a basketball letterman for the Crusaders in 1908.

SAM BARRY, Wisconsin
Basketball Hall of Famer coached USC's 1948 baseball titlist. He is the Trojans' all-time winningest basketball coach.

RAY "PICK" FISHER, Middlebury (VT)
Righthander compiled a 100-94 record and 2.82 ERA with the New York Yankees and Cincinnati Reds in 10 years from 1910 through 1920. Ranked among the A.L. top 10 in ERA and complete games in back-to-back seasons (1914 and 1915). Started one World Series game for the Reds against the Chicago White Sox in 1919. Won 14 Big Ten Conference championships as baseball coach at Michigan for 38 years until the late 1950s (including 1953 College World Series title). Became a spring training pitching instructor for the Detroit Tigers after being blacklisted for almost 40 years because of salary disputes with Cincinnati's owners. Fisher played "class" basketball (1910 graduate) before becoming his alma mater's first full-time salaried member of the Physical Education Department.

MARTIN KAROW, Ohio State
Coach of his alma mater's 1966 College World Series winner after the Buckeyes finished runner-up the previous year. He was a basketball letterman in 1925.

JERRY KINDALL, Minnesota
Infielder hit .213 in nine seasons (1956 through 1958 and 1960 through 1965) with the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians and Minnesota Twins. Baseball coach at Arizona for more than 20 years, leading the Wildcats to three College World Series titles (1976, 1980 and 1986). He is the only player to hit for the cycle in the College World Series at Omaha (against Ole Miss on June 11, 1956). Kindall is the only individual to play for and coach CWS champions. The 6-2 1/2, 175-pounder played two seasons of varsity basketball for Minnesota under coach Ozzie Cowles, averaging 1.4 ppg as a sophomore in 1954-55 and 6.9 ppg as a junior in 1955-56. Excerpt from school guide: "Exceptionally quick reflexes and a good eye are his main attributes although he also has tremendous spring making him a good rebounder."

DON LUND, Michigan
Outfielder hit .240 in a seven-year career (1945, 1947 through 1949 and 1952 through 1954) with the Brooklyn Dodgers, St. Louis Browns and Detroit Tigers. His only season as a regular was 1953 when he was the Tigers' right fielder. Coached baseball at his alma mater, winning the national championship in 1962, before running the Tigers' farm system until 1970. First-round selection as a fullback/linebacker by the Chicago Bears in the 1945 NFL draft. Rejected $100 a game offer from the Bears and never played pro football. He was a 6-0, 200-pound starting guard as a junior for the Wolverines' basketball team and starting center as a senior. Averaged 4.4 ppg in 46 outings. In his history of Michigan basketball, Jeff Mortimer wrote of the school's World War II squads: "Lund, rejected for military service because of a trick knee, was the mainstay of these teams." Following his playing career, he served as baseball coach for his alma mater (won 1962 College World Series), farm system director for the Tigers and associate athletic director at his alma mater.

JOHN "HI" SIMMONS, Northeast Missouri State
Missouri's all-time winningest baseball coach (481-284 record in 34 years) captured the 1954 NCAA title in one of his six College World Series appearances. One of his winning pitchers at the CWS was Norm Stewart, who went on to become Mizzou's all-time winningest basketball coach. School's baseball stadium is named after Simmons. All- conference center was senior captain of 1927-28 basketball squad.

BOBBY WINKLES, Illinois Wesleyan
Coached Arizona State to College World Series titles in 1965, 1967 and 1969 before managing the California Angels in 1973 and through the first 74 games of 1974 (170-213 major league record). Reggie Jackson, Rick Monday and Sal Bando were among the more than 20 future major leaguers he coached at ASU. Winkles led Illinois Wesleyan in scoring as a senior in 1950-51 (12 ppg). The 5-9, 170-pound guard was a first-team selection in the College Conference of Illinois.

Deans of Coaches: Longest Tenures in DI Leagues Range From 5 to 34 Years

June 13th, 2012 - 21:56

Syracuse's Jim Boeheim and Duke's Mike Krzyzewski are among the list of only seven coaches who have been in the same conference the last 20 years. There has been so much coaching turnover and league realignment that the the dean of coaches in the C-USA is Ben Braun, who is entering just his fifth campaign with Rice.

Buffalo's Reggie Witherspoon is the new dean of coaches in the Mid-American Conference after Charlie Coles retired at Miami (OH). Following are the active coaches with the longest tenures in their present Division I conference:

Coach School Years in Conference
Jim Boeheim Syracuse 34 in Big East
Mike Krzyzewski Duke 33 in Atlantic Coast
Fang Mitchell Coppin State 27 in Mid-Eastern Athletic
Bob Thomason Pacific 25 in Big West
Dave Loos Austin Peay 21 in Ohio Valley
Billy Donovan Florida 21 in SEC
Bob McKillop Davidson 20 in Southern
Phil Martelli Saint Joseph's 18 in Atlantic 10
Mike McConathy Northwestern State 18 in Southland
Ronnie Arrow South Alabama 18 in Sun Belt
Tom Izzo Michigan State 17 in Big Ten
Fran O'Hanlon Lafayette 17 in Patriot League
Howie Dickenman Central Connecticut State 16 in Northeast
Eddie Biedenbach UNC Asheville 15 in Big South
Joe Mihalich Niagara 15 in MAAC
Lorenzo Romar Washington 15 in Pac-12
Rick Barnes Texas 14 in Big 12
James Jones Yale 14 in Ivy League
Reggie Witherspoon Buffalo 14 in Mid-American
Greg Kampe Oakland 14 in Summit League
Steve Fisher San Diego State 13 in Mountain West
Mark Few Gonzaga 13 in West Coast
Will Brown Albany 12 in America East
Bruiser Flint Drexel 12 in CAA
Blaine Taylor Old Dominion 12 in CAA
Scott Sanderson Lipscomb 10 in Atlantic Sun
Tevester Anderson Jackson State 10 in SWAC
Barry Hinson* Southern Illinois nine in Missouri Valley
Rob Jeter Milwaukee eight in Horizon League
Stew Morrill Utah State eight in Western Athletic
George Nessman San Jose State eight in Western Athletic
Brad Huse Montana State seven in Big Sky
Randy Rahe Weber State seven in Big Sky
Wayne Tinkle Montana seven in Big Sky
Ben Braun Rice five in C-USA

*Hinson's first nine seasons in MVC were with Missouri State.

Top Cop: AG Holder Faces Fast & Furious Pressing Issues Like Hoop Freshman

June 13th, 2012 - 21:34

In hoop parlance, it's the equivalent of triple-teaming as an unprecedented animosity appears to be escalating toward government unaccountability. Republican lawmakers, perceiving disregard for the Constitution and stonewalling their oversight by withholding documents, pursued a contempt citation in the House of Representatives against U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. The action stemmed from his failure to divulge sufficient information about the botched "Fast and Furious" ATF "gunwalking" operation selling 2,000 firearms to Mexican drug cartels. The nation's top cop, treating the DOJ as a partisan sanctuary community according to opponents, seemed to be shedding light on as much material regarding the controversial ATF topic as the number of FGM he had for Columbia's freshman basketball squad in 1969-70 (misfired on all four field-goal attempts).

Texas Senator John Cornyn, who served on the state Supreme Court, called for the resignation of Holder, one of several former college basketball players in the Obama Administration. Whether or not there is a cover-up or obstruction of justice, lost amid the juvenile freshman-like gamesmanship is the moral obligation to supply a full explanation to the distraught family of murdered border patrol agent Brian Terry that feels as if the government is hiding something. The House oversight committee leader for the Democrats said they "would not rest" until they found answers but some shameless folks on The Hill are more concerned with covering their side's back rather than discerning who shot Terry in the back. The uncompliant Holder, claiming he made an "extraordinary offer" (estimated mostly-redacted 7,600 of 80,000-plus subpoenaed documents) before requesting executive privilege from the White House, has been in hot water for a variety of issues, including his responses regarding other issues such as the New Black Panther Party, voter rights, enforcement of immigration laws and national security leaks. After the White House tried to protect Holder with executive privilege, House Republicans planned to file a civil suit against him.

(With)Holder, an Ivy League freshman the same year as Princeton's Brian Taylor and Harvard's James Brown, was confirmed as AG despite his outrageous pandering to leftist special interests in orchestrating a pardon for international fugitive Marc Rich and clemency for 16 members of a terrorist group (FALN). Obama, a backup JV basketball player for Occidental (CA), said as an Illinois Senator that the President is not the AG's client.

Months later, the feds were more concerned with detaining some obscure producer of an anti-Islamic film making light of the prophet Mohammed. Meanwhile, the stonewalling Obama Administration - either grossly incompetent or immersed in a corrupt cover-up - dealt with a terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, by standing in front of caskets at an airport hangar (plus the White House press corps, the U.N. and national politically-oriented shows) offering an orchestrated narrative claiming the nondescript video was responsible for a spontaneous murder of the American ambassador and three other Americans. Unbelievably, a Navy SEAL among the deceased violated stand-down orders to help save numerous individuals at the embassy and then fought the terrorists for seven hours while his pleas for backup at an annex were ignored by morally-bankrupt government officials real-time watching events unfold. Weeks later, the apologist-in-chief and cowardly cronies were still striving to supply a cogent response to their deflect-and-deny sacrificial inaction.

The father of slain SEAL Tyrone Woods said bombastic VP Joe Biden asked an incredibly inappropriate question: "Did your son always have balls the size of cue balls?" Countered Woods' father: "Better to die a hero than to live as a coward." If you're interested in political players, CollegeHoopedia.com has conducted extensive research on politicians and political appointees who were college hoopsters.

Name Game: North Dakota Fighting Over Sioux Coming to Misguided End

June 13th, 2012 - 11:34

North Dakota voters approved a ballot measure by a 2-to-1 margin allowing the University of North Dakota, an NCAA Division I newcomer, to discontinue using its controversial nickname - the Fighting Sioux. There are groups that will continue an exercise-in-futility fight for nickname retention. Thus angst over a new nickname and logo will simmer until early 2015, which is the earliest the current moniker will be jettisoned.

A rebranding process is necessary after the most recent furor stemming from the state Board of Higher Education yielding to the NCAA's meddling progressive policy police following a six-year battle over the nickname and logo allegedly being hostile to American Indians. The school chose to respect the state's referendum process and resumed using the nickname in mid-season after an intense debate spurred supporters to file petitions demanding a statewide vote on the issue. By season's end, the heavyhanded NCAA responded by saying the school risked forfeiting postseason games if it failed to "take measures to minimize or eliminate the presence of the imagery."

Previous schools failing to exhibit nearly as much spunk as North Dakota's citizenry and making politically-correct decisions by switching their supposedly demeaning and highly-insensitive nicknames were Arkansas State (changed from Indians to Red Wolves), Colgate (Red Raiders to Raiders), Eastern Michigan (Hurons to Eagles), Louisiana-Monroe (Indians to Warhawks), Marquette (Warriors to Golden Eagles), Miami of Ohio (Redskins to RedHawks), Oklahoma City (Chiefs to Stars), Quinnipiac (Braves to Bobcats), St. John's (Redmen to Red Storm), Seattle (Chieftains to Redhawks), Siena (Indians to Saints) and Southeast Missouri State (Indians to Redhawks).

It might be the NCAA's place to assert itself if the origin of some of the more clever nicknames were tinkered with and became too risque such as Flipu, Gamblers, Haters, Hell on Heels, Horny Frogs and Trenchcoat Flashes. But for those insensitive louts nonpulsed by this holier-than-thou victimization obsession, are they to feel shame at the extent of the alleged discrimination? Rather than bow to pressure, many traditional observers hope the following "Last of the Mohegans" remain steadfast and retain their time-honored monikers: Alcorn State (Braves), Bradley (Braves), Central Michigan (Chippewas), Florida State (Seminoles), Illinois (Fighting Illini), Utah (Utes) and William & Mary (Tribe).

If not, left-wing zealots from PETA (unless they are card-carrying members of the parallel universe People for Eating Tasty Animals) and the Bird Lovers International crowd could possibly be next, feeling empowered to capitalize on this catalyst for constructive social change by making it a heartless foul to have any nickname referencing a precious animal or fowl.

What was the cumulative cost, including personnel at the NCAA home office in Indianapolis, for nickname changes and how many mental midgets did it take at the NCAA to concoct this colossal caricature intervention? No wonder it's so easy to ridicule the governing body with a name-calling barrage. In the aftermath of authentic turmoil at Miami (FL), Ohio State, Penn State, Southern California and Syracuse, many think there are more significant issues in intercollegiate athletics requiring "fighting" or "suing" by the purulent NCAA rather than giving a selective outrage forum to pious pinheads manufacturing a mascot/nickname problem that really didn't exist at any meaningful degree.

When Should Coach Retire? Weep On It/Think On It/Sleep On It/Drink On It

June 11th, 2012 - 19:48

When is the proper time to leave via retirement for a legend such as Connecticut's Jim Calhoun? There are no hard-and-fast rules and discerning the right sequence to step aside is more elusive than one might think.

But what's patently clear is not every coach can depart like luminaries John Wooden, Al McGuire, Ray Meyer and Dean Smith when they bowed out in style. From 1964 to 1975 with Wooden at the helm, UCLA won an NCAA-record 10 national titles, including seven straight from 1967 through 1973. McGuire's goodbye in 1977 with an NCAA title marked Marquette's eighth straight season finishing among the Top 10 in a final wire-service poll. Meyer directed DePaul to a Top 6 finish in a final wire-service poll six times in his final seven seasons from 1978 through 1984. Smith won at least 28 games with North Carolina in four of his final five seasons from 1992-93 through 1996-97.

But those fond farewells are the exception, not the rule, in trying to cope with Father Time. How many school all-time winningest mentors such as Charlie Coles with Miami (OH) this past year rode off into the sunset donning at least a partial black rather than white hat? How much they may have tarnished their legacy is debatable but hanging around too long probably caused a few of the following celebrated coaches to lose some of their luster:

Big Shoes to Fill: Pitino Among 11 Legend Successors to Reach Final Four

June 9th, 2012 - 21:07

Much is made of the struggles for an individual when he succeeds a coaching legend such as active mentors Temple's Fran Dunphy (followed John Chaney), Louisville's Rick Pitino (Denny Crum), Purdue's Matt Painter (Gene Keady) and Maryland's Mark Turgeon (Gary Williams). But only eight of the successors on the following list posted losing marks during their tenures compared to twice as many of the predecessors.

Many times the celebrated coaches lay a solid foundation that can't possibly be messed up. Pitino joined Gene Bartow, John Brady, Mike Davis, Bill Guthridge, Joe B. Hall, Dick Harp, Jack Kraft, Pete Newell, John Oldham and Lou Rossini as coaches who took teams from the same institution to the Final Four after replacing an icon.

Naturally, it's not all peaches and cream inheriting a stable program. Before guiding South Florida to the NCAA playoffs this year, Stan Heath compiled a modest 82-71 record with Arkansas in five seasons from 2002-03 through 2006-07 after succeeding Nolan Richardson. Heath and Richardson (389-169 mark with the Hogs from 1986-2002) didn't quite make the following list regarding the level of success for successors of legends who won more than 400 games for a single school:

Coaching Legend School Record Tenure Successor Record Tenure
Phog Allen Kansas 588-218 1908, 09 & 20-56 Dick Harp 121-82 1957-64
Dale Brown Louisiana State 448-301 1973-97 John Brady 192-139 1998-2008
Howard Cann NYU 409-232 1924-58 Lou Rossini 185-137 1959-71
Lou Carnesecca St. John's 526-200 1966-70 & 74-92 Brian Mahoney 56-58 1993-96
Pete Carril Princeton 514-261 1968-96 Bill Carmody 92-25 1997-2000
Gale Catlett West Virginia 439-276 1979-2002 John Beilein 104-60 2003-07
John Chaney Temple 516-253 1983-2006 Fran Dunphy 134-65 2007-12
Denny Crum Louisville 675-295 1972-2001 Rick Pitino 273-105 2002-12
Ed Diddle Western Kentucky 759-302 1923-64 John Oldham 146-41 1965-71
Don Donoher Dayton 437-275 1964-89 Jim O'Brien 61-87 1990-94
Hec Edmundson Washington 488-195 1921-47 Art McLarney 53-36 1948-50
Fred Enke Arizona 511-318 1926-61 Bruce Larson 137-148 1962-72
Jack Friel Washington State 495-377 1929-58 Marv Harshman 155-181 1959-71
Taps Gallagher Niagara 465-261 1932-43 & 47-65 Jim Maloney 35-38 1966-68
Slats Gill Oregon State 599-392 1929-64 Paul Valenti 91-82 1960 & 65-70
Don Haskins Texas-El Paso 719-353 1962-99 Jason Rabedeaux 46-46 2000-02
Lou Henson Illinois 421-226 1976-96 Lon Kruger 81-48 1997-2000
Tony Hinkle Butler 549-384 1927-70 George Theofanis 79-105 1971-77
Nat Holman CCNY 423-190 1920-60 Dave Polansky* N/A N/A
Hank Iba Oklahoma State 655-316 1935-70 Sam Aubrey 18-60 1971-73
Gene Keady Purdue 512-270 1981-2005 Matt Painter 160-77 2006-12
Frank Keaney Rhode Island 403-124 1922-48 Robert "Red" Haire 57-42 1949-52
Bob Knight Indiana 659-242 1972-2000 Mike Davis 115-79 2001-06
Guy Lewis Houston 592-279 1957-86 Pat Foster 142-73 1987-93
Shelby Metcalf Texas A&M 438-306 1964-90 Kermit Davis Jr. 8-21 1991
Ray Meyer DePaul 724-354 1943-84 Joey Meyer 231-158 1985-97
Lute Olson Arizona 590-192 1984-2007 Kevin O'Neill 19-15 2008
Clarence "Nibs" Price California 449-294 1925-54 Pete Newell 119-44 1955-60
Adolph Rupp Kentucky 875-190 1931-72 Joe B. Hall 297-100 1973-85
Alex Severance Villanova 413-201 1937-61 Jack Kraft 238-95 1962-73
Dean Smith North Carolina 879-254 1962-97 Bill Guthridge 80-28 1998-2000
Norm Stewart Missouri 634-333 1968-99 Quin Snyder 126-91 2000-06
Jerry Tarkanian UNLV 509-105 1974-92 Rollie Massimino 36-21 1993 & '94
John Thompson Jr. Georgetown 596-239 1973-99 Craig Esherick 103-74 1999-2004
Gary Williams Maryland 461-252 1990-2011 Mark Turgeon 17-14 2012
John Wooden UCLA 620-147 1949-75 Gene Bartow 51-10 1976 & '77
Ned Wulk Arizona State 405-273 1958-82 Bob Weinhauer 44-45 1983-85

*CCNY de-emphasized its program after the 1952-53 season.

NOTE: Olson formally announced his retirement less than a month before the 2008-09 season when the Wildcats compiled a 21-14 record under Russ Pennell.

Groundbreaker: Blueblood Davis Becomes First Big Blue National Player of Year

June 8th, 2012 - 16:55

Duke has had eight different national player of the year winners, including seven of them in a 21-year span from 1986 through 2006. UCLA is runner-up with six individuals earning national POY acclaim. Incredibly, perennial power Kentucky never had a representative win one of the six principal national player of the year awards until freshman Anthony Davis achieved the feat this season.

Excluding specialty publications, there are five nationally-recognized Player of the Year awards. However, none of them comes anywhere close to being the equivalent to college football's undisputed most prestigious honor, the Heisman Trophy. The basketball stalemate stems from essentially the same people voting on the major awards (writers or coaches or a combination) and the announcements coming one after another right around the Final Four when the playoff games dominate the sports page.

United Press International, which was a sixth venue for major awards through 1996, got all of this back slapping started in 1955. Four years later, the United States Basketball Writers Association, having chosen All-American teams in each of the two previous seasons, added a Player of the Year award to its postseason honors. In recent years, the USBWA award was sponsored by Mercedes and then RCA.

The third oldest of the awards comes from the most dominant wire service, the Associated Press. Perhaps because of its vast network of media outlets, the AP award gets more print and broadcast attention than the other honors. The AP award started in 1961 before affiliating in 1972 with the Commonwealth Athletic Club of Lexington, Kentucky, which was looking for a way to honor Hall of Fame coach Adolph Rupp. The result of their merger is the Rupp Trophy.

The Atlanta Tipoff Club initially was associated with UPI before starting its own Naismith Award in 1969. Six years later, the National Association of Basketball Coaches initiated its award, which was sponsored from the outset by the Eastman Kodak Company. In 1977, the Los Angeles Athletic Club began honoring Hall of Fame UCLA coach John Wooden with the Wooden Award.

Davis enabled Kentucky to become the only SEC school other than Louisiana State to supply a national POY. Following is a look at the seven conferences with at least two different individuals capturing one of the six principal national player of the year awards since UPI's initial winner in 1955:

ACC (16) - Shane Battier (Duke), Elton Brand (Duke), Johnny Dawkins (Duke), Tim Duncan (Wake Forest), Danny Ferry (Duke), Phil Ford (North Carolina), Tyler Hansbrough (North Carolina), Art Heyman (Duke), Antawn Jamison (North Carolina), Michael Jordan (North Carolina), Christian Laettner (Duke), J.J. Redick (Duke), Ralph Sampson (Virginia), Joe Smith (Maryland), David Thompson (North Carolina State), Jason Williams (Duke)

Big Ten (11) - Gary Bradds (Ohio State), Dee Brown (Illinois), Calbert Cheaney (Indiana), Draymond Green (Michigan State), Jim Jackson (Ohio State), Jerry Lucas (Ohio State), Scott May (Indiana), Shawn Respert (Michigan State), Glenn Robinson Jr. (Purdue), Cazzie Russell (Michigan), Evan Turner (Ohio State)

Pac-12 (7) - Lew Alcindor (UCLA), Sean Elliott (Arizona), Walt Hazzard (UCLA), Marques Johnson (UCLA), Ed O'Bannon (UCLA), Bill Walton (UCLA), Sidney Wicks (UCLA)

Big East (4) - Ray Allen (Connecticut), Walter Berry (St. John's), Patrick Ewing (Georgetown), Chris Mullin (St. John's)

Big 12 (4) - Nick Collison (Kansas), Kevin Durant (Texas), T.J. Ford (Texas), Blake Griffin (Oklahoma)

Missouri Valley (3) - Larry Bird (Indiana State), Hersey Hawkins (Bradley), Oscar Robertson (Cincinnati)

SEC (3) - Anthony Davis (Kentucky), Pete Maravich (Louisiana State), Shaquille O'Neal (Louisiana State)

NOTE: Cincinnati joined the Big East in 2005-06.

Change of Scenery: From King of Hill to Looking Uphill at Small-School Level

June 6th, 2012 - 13:54

Butler's bench boss before Brad Stevens guided the mid-major Bulldogs to back-to-back NCAA Tournament championship games was Todd Lickliter, who earned national coach of the year acclaim in 2007 with his third season of more than 25 victories in his first six campaigns. After a shaky three-season stint with Iowa, Lickliter has resurfaced at the small-college level by becoming the new coach for Marian (IN).

Lickliter is one of only a handful of individuals named national coach of the year at the highest level before subsequently coaching a small school. Coincidentally, Marian is the alma mater of Bill Hodges, who directed Larry Bird-led Indiana State to the 1979 NCAA title contest.

Many observers might think Rollie Massimino, the coach at Northwood (FL) the previous six seasons after directing Villanova to the 1985 NCAA crown, is in this rare category. But Massimino is among high-profile mentors such as Denny Crum, Billy Donovan, Bo Ryan and Gary Williams never to receive one of the major national coach of the year awards (AP, NABC, Naismith, UPI, USBWA).

Lickliter and Hodges are among the following seven major-college national coaches of the year - two of them from San Francisco - who subsequently coached a small school:

National Coach of Year School (Award Season) Subsequent Small College Tenure
Bob Gaillard San Francisco (1976-77) Lewis & Clark (OR) 1989-90 through 2010-11
Bill Hodges Indiana State (1978-79) Georgia College 1986-87 through 1990-91
Ed Jucker Cincinnati (1962-63) Rollins (FL) 1972-73 through 1976-77
Abe Lemons Texas (1977-78) Oklahoma City* 1985-86 through 1989-90
Todd Lickliter Butler (2006-07) Marian (IN) since 2012-13
Jim O'Brien Ohio State (1998-99) Emerson (MA) 2011-12 and 2012-13
Phil Woolpert San Francisco (1954-55 and 1955-56) San Diego 1962-63 through 1968-69

*OCU was still a DI school in 1983-84 and 1984-85 during Lemons' second stint as coach.
NOTE: San Diego moved up to the NCAA DI level in 1979-80.

Family Feud: Zeigler or Reed Could Be Top Transfer After Dad's Dismissal

June 5th, 2012 - 10:50

If Trey Zeigler helps propel Pittsburgh back to the NCAA playoffs, the swingman might have the most impact of any player ever to transfer to another school after playing for his father before he was fired as coach. For some inexplicable reason, the NCAA granted a waiver allowing Trey to be immediately eligible with the Panthers in the aftermath of dad Ernie Zeigler's dismissal at Central Michigan.

Somewhat overlooked in this category because he sat out last season is Georgia Southern's Cliff Reed, who was the MEAC's Player of the Year in 2010-11 before his dad was axed by Bethune-Cookman. Reed was a redshirt at UCF before rejoining his father at GSU when he was hired as an assistant coach. The best player to date in this rare category probably is Joedy Gardner, who twice led Long Beach State in scoring in the mid-1980s after departing Northern Arizona.

Prominent playmaker sons of Sonny Allen (Southern Methodist to Nevada-Reno), Tubby Smith (Georgia to Kentucky), Gene Smithson (Illinois State to Wichita State), Eddie Sutton (Kentucky to Oklahoma State) and Ralph Willard (Western Kentucky to Pittsburgh) were transfers who sat out a redshirt season after their father voluntarily switched schools. A rare player who chose to stay put after his father was issued a pink slip was Canisius' Nick Macarchuk III in the late 1980s.

Billy Baron, who previously transferred from Virginia, was expected to be like Macarchuk at Rhode Island tagged along with his father after he was fired and wound up at Canisius. More than 100 NCAA Division I schools have had a father-son, coach-player combination. Following is a look at a handful of players who transferred to another DI school after his father was axed as coach:

Transfer Son Father/Coach Original College (Statistics) Transfer School (Statistics)
Brian Barone Tony Barone Sr. Texas A&M 97-98 (2.7 ppg, 4 apg) Marquette 00-01 (2.6 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 1.9 apg)
Joedy Gardner Jr. Joedy Gardner Sr. Northern Arizona 80-81 (9.3 ppg, 4.5 apg) Long Beach State 83-84 (15.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg)
Kevin Grawer Rich Grawer Saint Louis 92 (3 ppg) Tulsa 94-95 (1.4 ppg, 0.8 apg)
Joey Miller Mike Miller Eastern Illinois 12 (10.4 ppg, 2.9 apg) Illinois-Chicago 13 (TBD)
Logan Nutt Dickey Nutt Arkansas State 08 (1.6 ppg, 1.1 apg) SE Missouri State 12 (1 ppg, 1.4 apg)
Cliff Reed Clifford Reed Jr. Bethune-Cookman 09-11 (16.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 4.8 apg) UCF 13 (TBD)
Marcus Watkins Melvin Watkins Texas A&M 03-04 (2.5 ppg, 1.5 rpg) Missouri 06-07 (2.3 ppg, 1.2 rpg)
Trey Zeigler Ernie Zeigler Central Michigan 11-12 (16 ppg, 6.1 rpg) Pittsburgh 13 (TBD)

Card Game: Louisville Likely #1 Preseason Pick Because of High School Reunion

June 4th, 2012 - 21:38

Louisville, supplementing its already overstocked roster, likely assured itself a consensus preseason No. 1 national ranking after forward Montrezl Harrell hooked up with the Cardinals after de-committing from Virginia Tech following coach Seth Greenberg's dismissal by the Hokies. Harrell had played at Hargrave Military Academy (VA) under Kevin Keatts, who joined coach Rick Pitino's staff last year. Another Hargrave product at The Ville is guard Luke Hancock, who will be eligible the coming campaign after transferring from George Mason.

Oddly, new Virginia Tech coach James Johnson is one of six active Division I mentors who got their start in college coaching tagging along with a prep phenom. Keatts could become the next head coach in this category; especially since Pitino already has eight former assistants currently serving as a DI bench boss.

Will Harrell become another Louisville All-American after being part of a high school reunion? The school's top two career scorers - Darrell Griffith (Wade Houston) and DeJuan Wheat (Scott Davenport) - rejoined their high school coaches who became assistants under Denny Crum.

Pitino is well acquainted with this tried-and-true recruiting technique. Simeon Mars joined Pitino's Kentucky staff in 1996 directly with Jamaal Magloire, who went on to become the Wildcats' all-time leader in blocked shots. Pitino's initial exposure to the ploy probably was at his alma mater where all-time great Julius "Dr. J" Erving joined his high school coach with the Minutemen in the early 1970s just before Pitino arrived on Massachusetts' campus.

Ethical questions are always raised anytime the coach of a prize prospect is hired. But package deals are a longstanding practice. In 1989, Michigan was the 10th different school in a 20-year span to reach the Final Four with the help of a "coattail" franchise (assistant coach Perry Watson/starting guard Jalen Rose). There also were a total of 10 first- and second-team consensus All-Americans in that stretch stemming from such quid pro quo activity.

No Playing Pedigree: Some Coaches Didn't Don Jerseys Before Sideline Suits

June 2nd, 2012 - 22:13

You don't need to be a great player to be a great coach. In fact, you don't need to play at all. More than 10 percent of the active NCAA Division I coaches graduated from major universities where they didn't compete for the institution in basketball. A dozen of them in this category coached in the 2012 NCAA Tournament.

There is no textbook career path to becoming a coach. Just ask former All-American guards Mark Macon (Temple) and Isiah Thomas (Indiana) after they combined to win barely over one-fourth of their games the previous three seasons before being axed by Binghamton and Florida International, respectively.

Indiana's Branch McCracken is the only one of 46 All-Americans who became major-college mentors to compile a higher winning percentage as a coach than as a player (.588 as IU player from 1927-28 through 1929-30; .677 as Hoosiers coach in 24 seasons from 1938-39 to 1964-65). Proving you don't have to play to be successful as a bench boss, the following alphabetical list of active DI coaches -- including 11 of them with multiple schools - have guided teams to the NCAA playoffs despite not playing major-college basketball:

Active Coach Current School Alma Mater
Ben Braun Rice Wisconsin '75
Rick Byrd Belmont Tennessee '76
Tim Carter South Carolina State Kansas '79
Tom Crean Indiana Central Michigan '89
Mick Cronin Cincinnati Cincinnati '96
Keith Dambrot Akron Akron '82
Keno Davis Central Michigan Iowa '95
Ed DeChellis Navy Penn State '82
Scott Drew Baylor Butler '93
Cliff Ellis Coastal Carolina Florida State '68
Larry Eustachy Colorado State Long Beach State '79
Mark Few Gonzaga Oregon '87
Bill Grier San Diego Oregon '90
Steve Hawkins Western Michigan South Alabama '87
Larry Hunter Western Carolina Ohio University '71
Billy Kennedy Texas A&M Southeastern Louisiana '86
Rick Majerus Saint Louis Marquette '70
Bob Marlin Louisiana-Lafayette Mississippi State '81
Frank Martin South Carolina Florida International '93
Marvin Menzies New Mexico State UCLA '87
Dan Monson Long Beach State Idaho '85
Steve Prohm Murray State Alabama '97
Steve Shields UALR Baylor '88
John Shulman Chattanooga East Tennessee State '89
Bruce Weber Kansas State Wisconsin-Milwaukee '78
Bob Williams UC Santa Barbara San Jose State '76
Roy Williams North Carolina North Carolina '72

NOTE: Braun (Eastern Michigan and California), Carter (Texas-San Antonio), Crean (Marquette), Cronin (Murray State), Davis (Drake), DeChellis (East Tennessee State and Penn State), Ellis (South Alabama, Clemson and Auburn), Eustachy (Utah State, Iowa State and Southern Mississippi), Hunter (Ohio University), Kennedy (Southeastern Louisiana and Murray State), Majerus (Ball State and Utah), Marlin (Sam Houston State), Martin (Kansas State), Monson (Gonzaga and Minnesota), Weber (Southern Illinois and Illinois) and R. Williams (Kansas) coached other schools in the NCAA Tournament.

Dead Teams Walking: Brown, Colgate and UNH Never Have Won 20 Games

June 1st, 2012 - 22:50

The latest individual to be named coach of his alma mater is Mike Martin, a four-year Brown starter who was part of the winningest class in school history (63-45 record from 2000-01 through 2003-04). Martin, an assistant at his alma mater in 2005-06 before tagging along with coach Glen Miller to Penn, helped the Bears' Class of 2004 compile a four-year 39-17 Ivy League mark - the best by a conference member other than Penn and Princeton since 1970.

But what Martin and any other Brown player never has achieved is be part of a 20-win season. After Harvard and Northwestern reached the 20-win plateau for the first time in school annals in 2009-10, Brown and the following two other Eastern schools - Colgate and New Hampshire - are the only institutions never to post a 20-win campaign despite being at the NCAA Division I level more than 50 years:

School Most Victories (Season/Coach) Sizing Up Longstanding Futility
Brown 19-10 (2007-08/Craig Robinson) one winning record in last eight years
Colgate 18-10 (1992-93/Jack Bruen) and 18-14 (2007-08/Emmett Davis) three winning records in last 17 years
New Hampshire 19-9 (1994-95/Gib Chapman) 17 consecutive losing seasons

Oh Davey! Oldest MLB Manager Johnson Oversees Nationals Young Stars

May 30th, 2012 - 22:47

Davey Johnson, MLB's oldest manager at 69, is generating major headlines with the first-place Washington Nationals overseeing the development of prodigies Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper. It shouldn't be that much of a surprise because Johnson finished first or second 11 times in his first 15 seasons as a big league skipper. But he had to dust off his managerial resume after being away from that role for about a dozen years. The A.L. Manager of the Year in 1997 with the Baltimore Orioles directed the New York Mets to victory over the Orioles in the 1986 World Series. His managerial record in 14 seasons with the Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets, Orioles and Los Angeles Dodgers was 1,148-888 (.564).

Overlooked in any review of Johnson's background is the fact he played college basketball for Texas A&M, averaging 1.7 ppg in his only varsity season (1961-62) with the Aggies before signing a pro baseball contract. The four-time All-Star hit .261 as an infielder in a 13-year career (1965 through 1975, 1977 and 1978) with the Orioles, Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs. He earned three straight A.L. Gold Gloves as a second baseman with the Orioles from 1969 through 1971 and slugged 43 (N.L. runner-up) of his 136 career homers for the Braves in 1973 after appearing in four World Series with the Orioles (1966, 1969, 1970 and 1971). Owns the distinction of being the only player to have hit behind both Hank Aaron and Japan's all-time home-run king, Sadaharu Oh.

Before hitting a home run monitoring Strasburg and Harper, Johnson had previous experience dealing with tumult surrounding the high expectations of some other first-round draft choices. Infielder Gregg Jeffries, a first-round pick in 1985, reached the bigs when Johnson was managing the Mets and went on to lead the N.L. in doubles with 40 in 1990 in Johnson's final year with them.

Moreover, what is little known about Johnson is that he also briefly managed Dan "The Sundown Kid" Thomas on a Miami Amigos team that was in first place when the Inter-American League folded after only three months in 1979 (five other franchises in Caracas, Panama, Puerto Rico, Maracaibo and Santo Domingo). Thomas had been a first-round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers in 1972 (sixth pick overall) ahead of eventual All-Stars Dick Ruthven, Dave Chalk, Scott McGregor and Chet Lemon. Thomas, despite not playing from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday observing the holy day for the religious sect he joined (Worldwide Church of God) to try to cope with depression, was the Brewers' cleanup hitter in 1977 until their frustration with a less-than-fulltime player led them to demote and subsequently release him. Thomas, after winning the triple crown in the Eastern League in 1976, drove in Aaron for his first major-league RBI during a September call-up. Commissioner Bud Selig was Milwaukee's president at the time.

Thomas had high school and college coaches who were former college basketball players like Johnson. Thomas' baseball coach with Southern Illinois, Itchy Jones, the 18th individual in NCAA Division I history to win 1,000 games, averaged 8.9 ppg for the Salukis in 1956-57. Dan Radison, one of Thomas' teammates with SIU's 1971 College World Series squad, was fired as first-base coach by the Nationals when Johnson was hired the middle of last season.

Thomas' high school basketball coach in Dupo, Ill., a small railroad town just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, was Cal Neeman, a seven-year catcher who also played with the Cubs and Phillies among five clubs before ending his MLB career in Washington with the Senators in 1963. Neeman was Illinois Wesleyan's leading scorer in basketball as a freshman in 1947-48 with 12 ppg. The next year, he set a school single-season scoring record in helping the school compile a 19-6 record and capture the College Conference of Illinois championship. Three of the defeats were on the road against perennial powers DePaul, Duquesne and Seton Hall.

Yes, it's a small world after all. Rice center Kendall Rhine Sr., one of Johnson's fellow sophomore basketball opponents in the SWC, was also from Dupo. Rhine, an all-league second-team selection that season en route to leading the Owls in scoring and rebounding all three years before averaging 9 ppg and 11 rpg for the ABA's Houston Mavericks in 1968-69, had a 6-7 son with the same name play basketball for Georgia under Hugh Durham before being selected by the Houston Astros in the first round of the 1992 MLB June amateur draft (37th pick overall).

Additional former Aggie hoopsters pre-Johnson who played at least seven MLB seasons were outfielders Beau Bell and Wally Moon. Bell, a two-year basketball letterman in the early 1930s, hit .297 with the St. Louis Browns, Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians from 1935 through 1941. In 1936, he hit .344 with 123 RBI and 100 runs scored for the Browns. The next season, the All-Star led the A.L. in hits (218) and doubles (51) while hitting .340 with 117 RBI. He coached his alma mater to the 1951 College World Series in his first of eight campaigns from 1951 through 1958.

Moon, who averaged 4.3 ppg with the Aggies in 1948-49 and 1949-50, was a two-time All-Star who hit .289 with the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers in 12 N.L. seasons from 1954 through 1965. The lefthanded swinger homered in his first at-bat en route to earning N.L. Rookie of the Year acclaim over Aaron in 1954 when Moon led the league in plate appearances (716) and ranked among the top six in hits (193), triples (9), runs (106) and stolen bases (18). The Gold Glove left fielder in 1960 between participating in two World Series with the Dodgers (1959 and 1965) finished fourth in the 1959 MVP voting ahead of Willie Mays (6th), Frank Robinson (9th) and Ken Boyer (10th) when he led the league in triples with 11.

Johnson is one of only six living men to have won a World Series ring as a player and manager, joining Alvin Dark, Joe Girardi, Lou Piniella, Mike Scioscia and Red Schoendienst. Dark and Piniella are among the following alphabetical list of former MLB managers who were college basketball players:

JOE ADCOCK, Louisiana State
First baseman hit .277 with 336 home runs and 1,122 RBI in 17 seasons from 1950 through 1966 with the Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Braves, Cleveland Indians and the Los Angeles/California Angels. He hit four homers and a double for the Braves against the Brooklyn Dodgers on July 31, 1954, setting a major league record for most total bases in a game (18). Adcock was the Braves' regular first baseman on 1957 and 1958 National League champions. He failed to get an extra-base hit in nine World Series games against the Yankees, but his sixth-inning single accounted for Game Five's only run in 1957 when Lew Burdette outdueled Whitey Ford. Adcock, who blasted a career-high 38 homers in 1956 between injury-plagued seasons, was an All-Star in 1960 and managed the Indians in 1967.

He played three seasons from 1944-45 through 1946-47 for LSU as a 6-4, 190-pound center. Leading scorer with 18.6 ppg for the 1945-46 Tigers team that compiled an 18-3 record and lost against Kentucky in the Southeastern Conference Tournament final. Set SEC Tournament record with 15 field goals in a game against Tulane in 1946.

WALTER ALSTON, Miami (Ohio)
Member of Baseball Hall of Fame managed the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers for 23 seasons from 1954 through 1976, winning seven National League pennants and three World Series. His managerial record was 2,040-1,613 (.558) with 23 one-year contracts. In eight All-Star Game assignments, Alston was the winning manager a record seven times. He struck out in his only major league at-bat with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1936.

The 6-2, 195-pound Alston, a charter member of his alma mater's Athletic Hall of Fame, lettered in basketball from 1932-33 through 1934-35. He scored 10 of Miami's 15 points in a 32-15 defeat against Indiana in his senior season.

JOHN "JOEY" AMALFITANO, Loyola Marymount
Infielder, primarily a second baseman, hit .244 with the New York/San Francisco Giants, Houston Colt .45's and Chicago Cubs in 10 seasons (1954, 1955 and 1960 through 1967). He posted a career-high .277 bating average with the Giants in 1960. Traded by the Colt .45's back to the Giants for Dick LeMay and Manny Mota on November 30, 1962. Also registered a 66-116 record as manager of the Cubs from 1979 to 1981.

Collected six points and six rebounds in eight basketball games for the Lions in 1952-53.

JOHN "JACK" BARRY, Holy Cross
Infielder, primarily a shortstop, hit .243 with the Philadelphia Athletics and Boston Red Sox in 11 A.L. seasons from 1908 through 1919. Ranked fifth in the league in RBI in 1913 with 85 for the Athletics as a key component of Connie Mack's first dynasty. Participated in five World Series, four with the champion, in a six-year span from 1910 through 1915. Compiled a 90-62 managerial record with the Red Sox in 1917 before winning more than 80 percent of his games coaching his alma mater for 40 years (including capturing the 1952 College World Series).

The 5-9 Barry was a basketball letterman for the Crusaders in 1908.

LOU BOUDREAU, Illinois
Hall of Fame infielder hit .295 in 15 seasons from 1938 through 1952 with the Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox. Managed Indians, Red Sox, Kansas City Athletics and Chicago Cubs, starting his managerial career at the age of 24 in 1942. As player-manager in 1948, the shortstop led Cleveland to the A.L. title and earned MVP honors by hitting .355 with 116 RBI. He hit a modest .273 in the World Series. The seven-time All-Star led the A.L. with 45 doubles on three occasions (1941, 1944 and 1947) and paced the league in batting average in 1944 (.327). Ranked among the A.L. top 10 in batting average five times in a six-year span from 1943 through 1948.

Played two varsity basketball seasons for Illinois (1936-37 and 1937-38) under coach Doug Mills. As a 5-11 sophomore, Boudreau led the Illini in scoring with 8.7 ppg as the team shared the Big Ten Conference title. Compiled an 8.8 average the next year. After helping the Illini upset St. John's in a game at Madison Square Garden, the New York Daily News described him as "positively brilliant" and said he "set up countless plays in breathtaking fashion." Averaged 8.2 ppg for Hammond (Ind.) in the National Basketball League in 1938-39. He was one of three individuals to coach Hammond the next season, compiling a 1-4 record.

ALVIN DARK, Louisiana State/Louisiana-Lafayette
Three-time All-Star infielder hit .289 in 14 years (1946 and 1948 through 1960) with the Boston Braves, New York Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies. He hit a career-high .322 with the Braves in 1948 when he won the Rookie of the Year award. Dark led the N.L. in doubles with the Giants with 41 in 1951 and paced the league's shortstops three times each in putouts and double plays. Ranked among the N.L. top 10 in hits seven times in a 10-year stretch from 1948 through 1957. He hit .323 in three World Series ('48 with Braves; '51 and '54 with Giants). Dark compiled a 994-954 record in 13 years (1961-64, 1966-71, 1974, 1975, 1977) as manager of the Giants, Kansas City/Oakland A's, Cleveland Indians and San Diego Padres. He won the 1962 N.L. pennant with the Giants and 1974 World Series with Oakland.

As a sophomore in 1942, Dark was a 5-11, 160-pound tailback who led LSU in rushing (433 yards in 60 carries) and passing (completed 40 of 106 passes for 556 yards and five touchdowns). Third-round NFL draft choice by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1945 (25th pick overall). Member of LSU's 1942-43 basketball squad before entering military service (Marine Corps V-12 program) during World War II. Dark, known as the "Swamp Fox," was five-sport letterman at Southwestern Louisiana Institute (now Louisiana-Lafayette) during 1943-44 when he led the Bulldogs to an Oil Bowl victory over Arkansas A&M in Houston with a TD run, TD pass, field goal and three PATs.

LARRY DOBY, Virginia Union
Outfielder hit .283 with 253 home runs and 969 RBI in a 13-year career from 1947 through 1959 with the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox. The first black player in the American League twice led the A.L. in homers (32 in 1952 and 1954). He was the first African-American to lead a league in homers (1952 and 1954) and the first to participate in the World Series (1948). Hit 20 or more round-trippers eight consecutive seasons from 1949 through 1956 while finishing among the A.L. top nine in slugging percentage each year. The seven-time All-Star drove in 100 or more runs five times, leading the A.L. with 126 in 1954 when the Indians won 111 games before being swept by the New York Giants in the World Series. Appeared in 1948 and 1954 World Series with the Indians, winning Game 4 in '48 with a homer off Braves star Johnny Sain. Doby managed the White Sox for most of 1978 (37-50 record).

The 6-1, 180-pounder attended LIU on a basketball scholarship but transferred to Virginia Union prior to the start of the season after Uncle Sam summoned him for World War II service. Doby was told Virginia Union had a ROTC program and he could complete his freshman season before being drafted. He became eligible the second semester of the 1942-43 season and was a reserve guard on a team that won the CIAA title.

JIM FANNING, Buena Vista (Iowa)
Catcher hit .170 in 64 games with the Chicago Cubs in four years from 1954 through 1957. Long-time MLB executive managed the Montreal Expos to a 116-103 record in three years the first half of the 1980s. His biggest trades as general manager with the Expos involved Rusty Staub (acquired from Houston Astros and shipped to New York Mets).

He collected 25 points for Buena Vista in 1947-48 and 1948-49.

KERBY FARRELL, Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.)
First baseman hit .262 for the Boston Braves and Chicago White Sox in three seasons from 1943 through 1945. Three-time Minor League Manager of the Year (1954, 1956 and 1961) managed the Cleveland Indians to a 76-77 record in 1957.

Key player for a couple of strong FHC basketball squads in the mid-1930s.

FRANKIE FRISCH, Fordham
Hall of Famer compiled a run of 11 consecutive .300 seasons and set fielding records for chances and assists with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1927. As player-manager with the Cards, he instilled the rollicking all-out style of hardnosed play that prompted a team nickname of "The Gashouse Gang." His season strikeout total topped 20 only twice en route to a .316 average in his 19-year career, which also included a stint with the New York Giants. N.L. MVP in 1931 when he led the league in stolen bases for the third of three times.

According to his bio in Total Baseball, "The Fordham Flash" captained the Rams' basketball squad. In 1925, Frisch officiated the first-ever game played in the Rose Hill Gym (the oldest NCAA Division I facility in the nation).

DALLAS GREEN, Delaware
Compiled a 20-22 pitching record in eight seasons from 1960 through 1967 with the Philadelphia Phillies, Washington Senators and New York Mets. Managed the Phillies to victory over the Kansas City Royals in the 1980 World Series. Assembled a 395-406 managerial record with the Phillies and Mets.

Green played two seasons of varsity basketball for the Blue Hens, averaging 6.5 ppg and 5.3 rpg as a sophomore in 1953-54 and 12.1 ppg as a junior in 1954-55, when the 6-5 center was the school's second-leading scorer and rebounder (10.6 rpg).

MIKE HARGROVE, Northwestern Oklahoma State
First baseman hit .290 with the Texas Rangers, San Diego Padres and Cleveland Indians in 12 years from 1974 through 1985. Rookie of the Year when he posted a career-high .323 batting average (fifth in A.L.). Lefthander earned a spot on the A.L. All-Star team in 1975. Compiled a 1,188-1,173 managerial record for the Indians, Baltimore Orioles and Seattle Mariners in 16 A.L. seasons from 1991 through 2007, guiding Cleveland to five consecutive Central Division titles from 1995 through 1999.

The 6-0, 190-pounder (class of '72) is the school's last athlete to letter in all three major sports (including football).

GIL HODGES, St. Joseph's (Ind.)/Oakland City (Ind.)
Dead-pull hitter had a .273 batting average with 370 home runs and 1,274 RBI in an 18-year playing career with the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets. Became a three-time Gold Glove first baseman after being switched from catcher by manager Leo Durocher because of the emergence of Roy Campanella. Eight-time All-Star swatted four home runs against the Braves on August 31, 1950. The 6-1 1/2, 200-pounder drove in more than 100 runs seven consecutive seasons from 1949 through 1955 and hammered 20 or more homers 11 straight years from 1949 through 1959. Finished among the N.L. top three in homers four times in a five-year span from 1950 through 1954. Hodges, who hit 14 grand slams, achieved career highs in 1954 by hitting .304 with league runner-up totals of 42 homers and 130 RBI. He appeared in seven World Series. After a woeful 0-for-21 performance in a 1952 World Series loss to the Yankees, he led the Dodgers' regulars with a .364 World Series average the next year. Hodges homered in each of his last four World Series with the Dodgers, including blasts that won 1956's Game One vs. the Yanks and 1959's Game Four vs. the White Sox. Hodges hit the first homer in Mets history in 1962 before he was traded to the Senators for OF Jim Piersall the next year. Managed the "Miracle Mets" to the 1969 World Series championship, compiling a 660-753 record (.467) with the Senators and Mets in nine years from 1963 through 1971.

Gil and his brother (Bob), natives of Petersburg, Ind., enrolled at St. Joseph's (Ind.) in the fall of 1941. Gil, a Marine who spent 18 months in the Pacific with 80 of those days in combat on Okinawa, later attended Oakland City, where he played basketball in 1947 and 1948. Morris Klipsch, a Petersburg auto dealer, says Gil may have liked basketball as much as baseball. "I recall him saying one fall after the Dodgers season was over that he would like to join a pro basketball team," Klipsch said.

DON KESSINGER, Mississippi
Shortstop hit .252 in 16 seasons from 1964 through 1979 with the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago White Sox. Managed the White Sox in 1979 before becoming coach at his alma mater. Led N.L. shortstops in putouts three times, assists four times and double plays four times. The 6-1, 170-pound switch-hitter played in six All-Star Games in a seven-year span from 1968 through 1974. His best season was 1969 when he scored 109 runs (fourth in N.L.), had 181 hits (seventh), stroked 38 doubles (runner-up) and earned one of his two Gold Gloves.

Selected to the 10-man All-Southeastern Conference team all three of his varsity seasons from 1961-62 through 1963-64 while finishing among the nation's top 45 scorers each year. In scoring for all games, he ranked third in the SEC as a sophomore (21.4 ppg), second as a junior (21.8 ppg) and second as a senior (23.5 ppg). He scored 49 points on 22-of-28 field-goal shooting against Tulane on February 2, 1963, and exploded for 48 points at Tennessee 10 nights later. Excerpt from school guide: "One of the nation's most gifted athletes, he features every shot in the book but the specifics are one-handed push shots, usually a jumper, and driving layups." One of his sons, Keith, earned two basketball letters at Ole Miss before eventually reaching the major leagues as an infielder with the Cincinnati Reds.

HARVEY KUENN, Wisconsin
Infielder-outfielder hit .303 in 15 years from 1952 through 1966 with the Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Indians, San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies. In his career with the Tigers, he led the A.L. in batting average once (.353 in 1959), hits four times (209 in 1953 when he was rookie of the year, 201 in 1954, 196 in 1956 and 198 in 1959) and doubles on three occasions (38 in 1955, 39 in 1958 and 42 in 1959). Ranked among the A.L. top seven in batting average seven times (1953-54-55-56-58-59-60). He went 1 for 12 (.083) in 1962 World Series with the Giants. Kuenn compiled a 160-118 record as manager of the Milwaukee Brewers in 1982 and 1983, guiding them to the World Series in his first season.

Played in five games for Wisconsin's basketball team in the 1951-52 season. The 6-2, 185-pounder missed all eight of his field-goal attempts and hit three of seven free throws.

DAVEY LOPES, Iowa Wesleyan
Four-time All-Star second baseman hit .263 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Oakland A's, Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros in 16 seasons from 1972 through 1987. Led the N.L. in stolen bases in back-to-back campaigns in 1975 (77) and 1976 (63) after finishing runner-up in 1974 (59). Swiped five bases in a game on August 24, 1974, to tie a 70-year-old N.L. record before establishing a since-broken N.L. mark with 38 consecutive successful thefts the next year. Pilfered 47 bases at age 39. Appeared in four World Series with the Dodgers in an eight-year span from 1974 through 1981, swatting two homers in Game One of the 1978 World Series against the New York Yankees. Posted a .424 batting average in postseason competition with runners in scoring position. Compiled a 144-195 managerial record for the Milwaukee Brewers in three years from 2000 through 2002.

The 5-9 NAIA All-District 15 selection averaged 16.9 ppg and 3.4 rpg as a freshman in 1964-65 and 12.1 ppg as a sophomore in 1965-66 before transferring to Washburn (Kan.).

TED LYONS, Baylor
Member of Baseball Hall of Fame spent his entire 21-year career with the Chicago White Sox (1923 through 1942 and 1946) after never playing in the minors. Managed the White Sox from 1946 through 1948. Three-time 20-game winner compiled a 260-230 record and 3.67 ERA in 594 games, completing almost three-fourths of his 484 starts. Righthander pitched a no-hitter against the Boston Red Sox in 1926. In 1939, the All-Star hurled 42 consecutive innings without issuing a walk. Ranked among the A.L. top six in ERA nine times, including a league-best 2.10 mark in 1942.

Earned four basketball letters with Baylor from 1919-20 through 1922-23. Consensus first-team selection on All-Southwest Conference squad as a sophomore and senior.

MEL McGAHA, Arkansas
Former manager of the Cleveland Indians (1962) and Kansas City Athletics (June 11, 1964-May 14, 1965). Compiled a 123-173 record (.416).

The first player in Arkansas history to earn four letters in basketball (1943-44 through 1946-47). Played for the New York Knickerbockers of the Basketball Association of America in 1948-49.

SAM MELE, New York University
Major league outfielder for 10 years from 1947 through 1956 and manager of the Minnesota Twins for seven years from 1961 through 1967. Hit .267 in 1,046 games with the Boston Red Sox, Washington Senators, Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians. Played for two different teams in a single season four times in a seven-year span from 1949 through 1955. Led the A.L. with 36 doubles for the Senators in 1951 and drove in six runs in one inning in a 1952 game for the White Sox. Compiled a 524-436 managerial record from 1961 through 1967 with the Twins, winning the 1965 A.L. title with a 102-60 mark.

The 6-0, 180-pound guard played two seasons of varsity basketball before entering the military. Named to the first five on the All-Metropolitan New York team as a sophomore in 1942-43 when he was the Violets' leading scorer in the NCAA Tournament (losses against Georgetown and Dartmouth).

LOU PINIELLA, Tampa
Hit .291 with 102 homers and 766 RBI as an outfielder during 18 seasons (1964 and 1968 through 1984) with the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals and New York Yankees. Named A.L. Rookie of the Year in 1969 after hitting .282 for the Royals. All-Star in 1972 when he led the A.L. in doubles (33) and was runner-up in batting average (.312). Hit .319 in 22 World Series games with the Yankees in 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1981. Compiled a 1,835-1,713 managerial record in 23 years with the Yankees (1986 through 1988), Cincinnati Reds (1990 through 1992), Seattle Mariners (1993 through 2002), Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2003 through 2005) and Chicago Cubs (2007 to 2010). Led the Reds to a four-game sweep of the Oakland A's in the 1990 World Series.

Accepted a college basketball scholarship in 1961 after establishing a Tampa city single-season high school scoring record that stood until 1984. Less than a year after enrolling at UT, the 6-2 Piniella signed to play baseball with the Indians.

JIM RIGGLEMAN, Frostburg State (Md.)
Compiled a 662-824 managerial record (.445) in 12 years with the San Diego Padres (1992 to 1994), Chicago Cubs (1995 through 1999), Seattle Mariners (2008) and Washington Nationals (2009 to 2011). Resigned as the Nationals skipper in mid-season on the heels of them winning 11 of 12 games when the franchise failed to give him a contract extension.

Two-year basketball letterman averaged 7.2 ppg in early 1970s and was considered an outstanding ball-handling guard.

ROBERT "RED" ROLFE, Dartmouth
Third baseman hit .289 in 10 years with the New York Yankees. The four-time All-Star led the A.L. in triples with 15 in 1936 and paced the league in hits (213), doubles (46) and runs (139) in 1939. Rolfe appeared in six of the seven World Series from 1936 through his final season in 1942, hitting .400 against the New York Giants in '36. He compiled a 278-256 record in four years as manager of the Detroit Tigers from 1949 through 1952.

The 5-11 1/2, 170-pounder appeared in two basketball games for Dartmouth as a freshman in 1927-28 and four contests as a junior in 1929-30. He coached the Toronto Huskies of the Basketball Association of America for the last 44 games of the 1946-47 campaign after coaching Yale to a 48-28 record in four years from 1943-46. Rolfe has the highest winningest percentage (.632) of any individual who coached Yale more than two seasons.

GEORGE "BIRDIE" TEBBETTS, Providence
Four-time All-Star catcher hit .270 with the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians in 14 A.L. seasons from 1936 through 1942 and 1946 through 1952. Hitless in 11 at-bats in 1940 World Series with the Tigers against the Cincinnati Reds. Compiled a 748-705 managerial record (.515) with the Reds, Milwaukee Braves and Indians from 1954 through 1958 and 1961 through 1966.

Scored six points in four games for PC in 1932.

BILL VIRDON, Drury (Mo.)
Outfielder hit .267 with the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates in 12 N.L. seasons from 1955 through 1965 and 1968. N.L. Rookie of the Year with the Cardinals in 1955 after he was acquired from the New York Yankees in a deal involving Enos Slaughter. Lefthanded swinger was runner-up in the N.L. in batting average in 1956 with a .319 mark (.211 for the Cards and .334 for the Pirates). Led the N.L. in triples in 1962 with 10 after ranking among the top five three straight years from 1956 through 1958. Gold Glove center fielder in 1962 two years after helping the Pirates win the World Series over the Yankees with three doubles and five RBI. Compiled a 995-921 managerial record with the Pirates, Yankees, Houston Astros and Montreal Expos in 13 seasons from 1972 through 1984. Boasts the distinction of being named Manager of the Year in both the American League (Yankees in 1974) and National League (Astros in 1980).

The 6-0 Virdon played basketball for Drury in 1949.

BOBBY WINKLES, Illinois Wesleyan
Coached Arizona State to College World Series titles in 1965, 1967 and 1969 before managing the California Angels in 1973 and through the first 74 games of 1974 (170-213 major league record). Reggie Jackson, Rick Monday and Sal Bando were among the more than 20 future major leaguers he coached at ASU.

Led Illinois Wesleyan in scoring as a senior in 1950-51 (12 ppg). The 5-9, 170-pound guard was a first-team selection in the College Conference of Illinois.

The Thrill is Gone: Name Schools Go From NCAA Headlines to Heartaches

May 30th, 2012 - 8:03

A significant number of schools turn sheepish at the mention of recent NCAA Tournament success. Among Division I institutions making at least 10 NCAA playoff appearances, nine former Final Four participants - Holy Cross, Houston, Minnesota, New Mexico State, Oregon State, Princeton, San Francisco, Southern Methodist and Texas-El Paso - combined to go winless in the past 14 years.

DePaul, Oregon State and San Francisco each have won more than 20 NCAA tourney games but collaborated for only one win in the last 23 years (DePaul over Dayton in double overtime in 2004). Following is an alphabetical list of schools with at least 10 NCAA playoff appearances for which Sweet 16 is a distant memory:

School (Playoff Appearances) Recent NCAA Tournament Travails
Charlotte (11) no appearance last 7 years; winless last 11 years
Clemson (11) one victory last 15 years
Dayton (14) one victory last 22 years
DePaul (22) appeared once last 12 years; one victory last 23 years
George Washington (10) one victory last 18 years
Georgia (11) one victory last 16 years
Holy Cross (12) winless since 1953
Houston (19) winless last 28 years
Idaho State (11) winless last 35 years
Iowa (22) one victory last 13 years
La Salle (11) one victory last 29 years
Minnesota (11) winless last 15 years
New Mexico State (19) winless last 19 years
Old Dominion (11) one victory last 17 years
Oregon State (16) winless last 30 years
Penn (23) one victory last 32 years
Pepperdine (13) one victory last 30 years
Princeton (24) winless last 14 years
San Francisco (16) appeared once last 30 years
Santa Clara (11) no appearance last 16 years
Seattle (11) winless since 1964
Southern Methodist (10) no appearance last 19 years; winless last 24 years
Temple (30) one victory last 11 years
Texas-El Paso (17) winless last 20 years
Utah State (20) one victory last 42 years
Virginia (17) one victory last 17 years
Weber State (14) winless last 13 years
Wyoming (14) one victory last 25 years

Lost in the Shuffle: Legend's Limelight Totally Obscures Predecessor

May 27th, 2012 - 22:36

A total of 39 current NCAA Division I schools feature all-time winningest coaches boasting in excess of 400 triumphs. The length of tenure necessary to win so many games makes it almost impossible to remember their predecessors. Anyone who can name 1/3 of the mentors they succeeded goes straight to the Trivia Hall of Fame.

Lou Watson's passing away this year triggered a question as to what other individuals are completely overshadowed after being succeeded by a coaching legend such as Indiana's Bob Knight. Knight combined with fellow record holders Phog Allen, Dale Brown, Gale Catlett, Denny Crum, Ed Diddle, Hec Edmundson, Jack Friel, Don Haskins, Lou Henson, Hank Iba, Frank Keaney, Bob McKillop, Ray Meyer, Lute Olson, Alex Severance, Norm Stewart, Bob Thomason, John Thompson Jr., Gary Williams, John Wooden and Ned Wulk for more than 12,000 victories at their respective schools where they established new standards. Who would have thought such achievements were in store after their predecessors collaborated to go more than 300 games below .500 over a cumulative 92 seasons.

One of the predecessor names in particular should surprise you. Incredibly, the only one of Kansas' 10 head coaches with a career losing record is the inventor of the sport (Dr. James Naismith). Naismith is among the following coaches who were succeeded by individuals posting more than 400 wins to become the all-time winningest mentor at the same institution:

School All-Time Winningest Coach Predecessor (W-L Record During Tenure)
Arizona Lute Olson (590 victories) Ben Lindsey (4-25 in 1983)
Arizona State Ned Wulk (405) Bill Kajikawa (88-137 from 1949-57)
Butler Tony Hinkle (549) Harlan O. "Pat" Page (94-29 from 1921-26)
California Clarence "Nibs" Price (449) Earl Wright (60-20 from 1921-24)
Connecticut Jim Calhoun (626) Dom Perno (139-114 from 1978-86)
Davidson Bob McKillop (426) Bobby Hussey (107-126 from 1982-89)
Dayton Don Donoher (437) Tom Blackburn (352-141 from 1948-64)
DePaul Ray Meyer (724) Bill Wendt (23-20 in 1941 & 1942)
Duke Mike Krzyzewski (854) Bill E. Foster (113-64 from 1975-80)
Georgetown John Thompson Jr. (596) Jack Magee (69-80 from 1967-72)
Houston Guy Lewis (592) Alden Pasche (135-116 from 1946-56)
Illinois Lou Henson (421) Gene Bartow (8-18 in 1975)
Indiana Bob Knight (659) Lou Watson (62-60 from 1966-69 & 1971)
Kansas Phog Allen (590) Dr. James Naismith (55-60 from 1899-1907)
Kentucky Adolph Rupp (875) John Mauer (40-14 from 1928-30)
Louisiana State Dale Brown (448) Press Maravich (76-86 from 1967-72)
Louisville Denny Crum (675) Howard Stacey (12-8 in 1971)
Maryland Gary Williams (461) Bob Wade (36-50 from 1987-89)
Missouri Norm Stewart (634) Bob Vanatta (42-80 from 1963-67)
Niagara Taps Gallagher (465) Bill McCarthy (44-35 from 1928-31)
North Carolina Dean Smith (879) Frank McGuire (164-58 from 1953-61)
Oklahoma State Hank Iba (655) Harold James (13-41 from 1932-34)
Oregon State Slats Gill (599) Robert Hager (115-53 from 1923-28)
Pacific Bob Thomason (414) Tom O'Neill (51-110 from 1983-88)
Princeton Pete Carril (514) Butch van Breda Kolff (103-31 from 1963-67)
Purdue Gene Keady (512) Lee Rose (50-18 in 1979 & 1980)
Rhode Island Frank Keaney (403) Fred Murray (9-8 in 1921)
St. John's Lou Carnesecca* (526) Frank Mulzoff (56-27 from 1971-73)
Syracuse Jim Boeheim (890) Roy Danforth (148-71 from 1969-76)
Temple John Chaney (516) Don Casey (151-94 from 1974-82)
Texas A&M Shelby Metcalf (438) Bobby Rogers (92-52 from 1958-63)
Texas-El Paso Don Haskins (719) Harold Davis (18-30 in 1960 & 1961)
UCLA John Wooden (620) Wilbur Johns (93-120 from 1940-48)
UNLV Jerry Tarkanian (509) John Bayer (44-36 from 1971-73)
Villanova Alex Severance (413) Doc Jacobs (62-56 from 1930-36)
Washington Hec Edmundson (488) Stub Allison (7-8 in 1920)
Washington State Jack Friel (495) Karl Schlademan (18-27 in 1927 & 1928)
West Virginia Gale Catlett (439) Joedy Gardner (59-53 from 1975-78)
Western Kentucky Ed Diddle (759) L.T. Smith (3-1 in 1922)

*Carnesecca succeeded Joe Lapchick when he served his first stint with St. John's from 1965-66 through 1969-70

Immortality and Honor: College Hoopdom's Contributions to Memorial Day

May 27th, 2012 - 21:51

At times, we freely recall the full spectrum of players ranging from knuckleheads to knuckle-down heads of corporations. A Memorial Day weekend generates sobering reminders of what is really important to our freedom. College basketball contributions include the following individuals:

Baylor had some "soft" players this past season who played with the fervor of a man holding his female companion's purse at the mall much of a shopping excursion afternoon. But Baylor is believed to be the only non- service academy in America to have two former athletes go on to win the Congressional Medal of Honor. Both men, Jack Lummus and John "Killer" Kane, earned the nation's highest military honor for heroics in World War II Lummus played football, basketball and baseball for the Bears from 1938 through 1941. He was an All-Southwest Conference center fielder before signing with the NFL's New York Giants.

After one year of pro football, Lummus joined the U.S. Marines and was a platoon leader in the initial days of fighting on Iwo Jima. While leading a charge on enemy positions, Lummus stepped on a land mine and lost both legs. Despite heavy bleeding, he led his platoon to knock out several pockets of Japanese fire, a vital part of the U.S. victory. Alas, Lummus died of his wounds shortly after the battle.

Kane, who also played football and basketball, was one of the survivors on Baylor's ill-fated 1927 basketball squad that lost 10 of its 21-member traveling party in a bus-train wreck en route to Austin, Tex. As a result of the "Immortal Ten" tragedy, the remainder of the first of coach Ralph Wolf's 15 seasons was cancelled, and the first highway overpass in Texas was constructed.

Kane joined the Army Air Corps in 1932 and soon became a bomber commander of legendary proportions. It was said he was the best pilot and toughest commander in the Air Corps. It was often debated who feared him more - the Germans or his own men.

On August 1, 1943, Kane led what at the time was the deadliest air battle in history - a low-level, long-range bombing raid on Hitler's oil-refining complex in Rumania. The site produced a major portion of the Axis' fuel and was one of the most heavily-guarded locations in history.

The heroism exhibited by ex-hoopsters doesn't stop there. Al Brown, Creighton's leading scorer in 1925-26, survived the infamous Bataan Death March in the Philippines. Ex-players warranting salutes for making the supreme sacrifice include:

  • Center Bill Menke, the third-leading scorer for Indiana's 1940 NCAA champion who supplied a team-high 10 points in the Hoosiers' national semifinal victory over Duquesne, later became a Navy pilot and served in World War II. In January 1945, he was declared missing in action (and presumed dead) when he didn't return from a flight in the Caribbean.

  • Thomas P. Hunter, a three-year letterman who was a sophomore member of Kansas' 1940 runner-up, was killed in action against the Japanese on Guam, July 21, 1944, while fighting with the Ninth Marines as a first lieutenant. Hunter was elected posthumously as captain of the Jayhawks' 1945-46 squad that compiled a 19-2 record.

  • All 11 regulars on Pittsburgh's 1941 Final Four team participated in World War II and one of them, guard Bob Artman, was killed in action.

  • Nile Kinnick, Iowa's Heisman Trophy winner as a quarterback-halfback in 1939, played basketball for the Hawkeyes during his sophomore year, averaging 6.1 ppg to finish as their second-leading scorer. After bypassing pro football to attend law school, he was killed in a plane crash in 1943 while serving in the Navy.

  • Curtis Popham, Texas' co-captain in 1943, was killed during WWII.

  • Carleton (MN) forward Wayne Sparks, a "Little All-American" in 1936-37, died in a bomber crash during WWII.

  • Four-time All-MCAU forward Eugene "Peaches" Westover, class of '38 for Drury (MO), was killed January 1, 1945, at the Battle of the Bulge.

  • Four-sport letterman Tommy Peters, who averaged 17.5 ppg to lead the southern Conference in scoring in 1942-43, died during WWII after only one season with Davidson.

Numerous standout players had their college playing careers sidetracked by WWII. Here is a list of All-Americans who had their college days interrupted in the mid-1940s while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces:

Air Force - Charles Black (Kansas) and Jack Parkinson (Kentucky).

Army - Don Barksdale (UCLA), Lew Beck (Oregon State), A.L. Bennett (Oklahoma A&M), Gale Bishop (Washington State), Vince Boryla (Notre Dame/Denver), Harry Boykoff (St. John's), Bob Brannum (Kentucky), Arnie Ferrin (Utah), Alex Groza (Kentucky), Ralph Hamilton (Indiana), Walt Kirk (Illinois), Allie Paine (Oklahoma), Don Rehfeldt (Wisconsin), Jack Smiley (Illinois), Odie Spears (Western Kentucky) and Gerry Tucker (Oklahoma).

Marine Corps - Aud Brindley (Dartmouth), John Hargis (Texas), Merlin Marty (Loras), Andy Phillip (Illinois), Gene Rock (southern California) and Kenny Sailors (Wyoming).

Navy - Bobby Cook (Wisconsin), Howie Dallmar (Stanford/Penn), Dick Dickey (North Carolina State), Bob Faught (Notre Dame), Harold Gensichen (Western Michigan), Wyndol Gray (Bowling Green State), Hal Haskins (Hamline), Leo Klier (Notre Dame), Dick McGuire (St. John's) and John Oldham (Western Kentucky).

In an incredible achievement, Phillip and Tucker returned to first-team All-American status in 1946-47 after missing three seasons while serving in the military. Black and Sailors also returned to All-American acclaim after missing two seasons. Meanwhile, Whitey Skoog served in the U.S. Navy before becoming a three-time All- American with Minnesota.

Fallen heroes also emerged post-WWII. Don Holleder, who averaged 9.3 ppg as a junior and 6.8 ppg as a senior for Army in the mid-1950s, was a major during the Vietnam War in October, 1967, when he was killed by a sniper's bullet in an ambush 40 miles from Saigon as he hurled himself into enemy fire attempting to rescue wounded comrades.

Among the military leaders over the years with a hoop background include:

ROBERT B. ADAMS, Canisius
Served in the U.S. Army for 31 years, retiring with the rank of Major General, before he was appointed Commissioner of the New York State Office of General Services by Governor Mario Cuomo. Listed in Who's Who in America and Who's Who of American Business Leaders. Third-leading scorer (9.2 points per game) as a senior for Canisius' first NCAA Tournament team in 1955.

MERT BAXTER, Nevada
Army General was in charge of San Francisco Presidio. He had a distinguished military career in Korea, Vietnam and Germany. Baxter was a four-year letterman (1950-53) who led the Wolf Pack in scoring as a sophomore and junior.

MAJ. GEN. ROBERT BROWN, Army
Assumed command of the U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning (GA) in early November 2010. The 6-5 Brown averaged 13.8 ppg for Army from 1977-78 through 1980-81, leading the Cadets in scoring as a junior (16.4 ppg) and senior (19 ppg) under coach Mike Krzyzewski.

JOHN DICK, Oregon
Retired with the rank of Admiral after 32 years of service in the U.S. Navy. Commanded the aircraft carrier Saratoga for two years and served as chief of staff for all carrier forces in the Western Pacific. Starting junior forward for the first NCAA Tournament champion in 1939 when he led the Ducks in scoring in three playoff games, including a game-high 15 points in the final against Ohio State. NCAA consensus first-team All-American the next season when he paced the Pacific Coast Conference Northern Division in scoring with 183 points in 16 games.

THOMAS J. HAMILTON, Navy
Rear admiral was executive officer of the famous carrier Enterprise and then commanded the escort carrier Savo Island at the end of World War II. Three-year letterman was senior captain of Navy's 15-2 basketball team in 1926-27. Also competed for the academy's undefeated national championship football squad in 1926, kicking the game-tying point that gave Navy a 21-21 come-from-behind tie with Army before the largest crowd ever to watch a football game (110,000 at Soldier's Field in Chicago). Named the 88th most influential student-athlete in 2006 when the NCAA celebrated its centennial anniversary.

BRUCE HARRIS, Tennessee Tech
Four-star general in the U.S. Army. Averaged 6.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per game for the Golden Eagles as a senior in 1954-55.

HARRY HILL, Navy
In September, 1943, during World War II in the South Pacific theater, he became Commander Amphibious Group Two, and in that capacity participated in the capture of Tarawa, and later in operations against the Gilberts, Marshalls, Marianas, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. He relieved the Commander Fifth Amphibious Force at Okinawa in April 1945, and commanded the support operations of that force until that island was secured at the end of June. A destroyer named after the admiral was decommissioned in May, 1998. Navy's first All-American (first-team selection by the Helms Foundation in 1911 when team went 10-1).

GEN. JIM JONES, Georgetown
Four-star general was designated in mid-August 1999 to serve as the Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps. His military decorations include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, and the Bronze Star, among others. The 6-4 reserve frontcourter collected four points and six rebounds in five games for the Hoyas in 1963-64.

WILLIAM P. LAWRENCE, Navy
Vice Admiral was awarded the Silver Star and Distinguished Service Medal. In 1958, he became the first naval aviator to fly twice the speed of sound in a Navy aircraft (the F8U-3 Crusader III). While Commanding Officer of Fighter Squadron 143, he was shot down over North Vietnam in June 1967 and held as a POW until March 1973. During his imprisonment, Lawrence composed a poem entitled "Oh Tennessee, My Tennessee," which was designated by the state legislature as the official poem of the State of Tennessee. Basketball letterman at the naval academy in 1948-49 when he averaged 2.9 ppg.

DICK LINTHICUM, UCLA
After eight years in the movie industry, he served 10 years in the U.S. Navy throughout the Pacific, then 16 years with the Central Intelligence Agency before retiring as USNR Commander. He was awarded the CIA Certificate of Merit as he ended his distinguished career of serving his country in many parts of the world. A 1931 and 1932 All-American, the first in any sport at UCLA, Linthicum was Bruins captain in 1932 and leader in Southern Division scoring in the Pacific Coast Conference over a three-year period. The forward was twice All-Southern Division forward and once All-PCC.

MIKE McRANEY, Mississippi State
Served as chief of information at the Pentagon before retiring from the U.S. Air Force as a brigadier general. He lettered in basketball as a sophomore and junior (1956-57 and 1957-58), averaging 1.2 points per game in his three-year varsity career.

ADMIRAL MIKE MULLEN, Navy
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the Obama Administration. In controversial battles within the Pentagon, Mullen was an activist taking unprecedented stands on matters of military doctrine - emphasizing troops over weapons systems and counterinsurgency over the use of overwhelming force. Played basketball for the plebes in 1964-65 but never competed at the varsity level.

Generally speaking, following is an alphabetical list of Air Force basketball players who went on to make the rank of general:

USAF Player (Graduation Year) Rank as General
Bob Beckel (1959) Lieutenant General
Anthony Burshnick (1960) Lieutenant General
Howell M. Estes III (1965) General
Ellwood P. Hinman III (1964) Brigadier General
Charles R. Holland (1968) Lieutenant General
Michael D. Pavich (1964) Major General
James P. Ulm (1961) Brigadier General
Henry Viccellio (1962) General

Key: Brigadier General (1 star); Major General (2 stars); Lieutenant General (3 stars); General (4 stars)

Growing Pains: Robinson and Green Started Slow But Finished Fast

May 26th, 2012 - 16:51

Neither Thomas Robinson (Kansas) nor Draymond Green (Michigan State) generated national headlines in their first two seasons before blossoming into NCAA unanimous first-team All-Americans.

Robinson, who was anything but one of the country's most dominant players when he scored 2.5 ppg as a freshman in 2009-10, improved as much as anyone during his college career and probably would have become consensus national player of the year except for the emergence of Kentucky freshman phenom Anthony Davis. If not for Davis, Robinson would have posted the lowest average for any national player of the year's first season at the major-college level since the initial award by UPI in 1955.

Admiration for Green's significant impact following a scoring average of 3.3 ppg as a freshman in 2008-09 won't end anytime soon, either. Green is a classic example of why fans shouldn't put too much stock in freshman statistics. Green flourished as a versatile performer although his field-goal shooting dropped nine percent his final two seasons from his first two campaigns.

Robinson, Green, Kris Joseph (3.4 ppg with Syracuse in 2008-09) and NCAA second-teamer Tyler Zeller (3.1 ppg with North Carolina in 2008-09) aren't the only All-Americans who endured growing pains. Robinson, forgoing his senior season after declaring for the NBA draft, joined the following alphabetical list of players who averaged fewer than three points per game as a freshman before eventually earning All-American acclaim:

Eventual All-American Pos. School Freshman Scoring Average
Cole Aldrich C Kansas 2.8 ppg in 2007-08
Lorenzo Charles F North Carolina State 2.2 ppg in 1981-82
Keith Edmonson G Purdue 1.3 ppg in 1978-79
Aaron Gray C Pittsburgh 1.7 ppg in 2003-04
Tom Gugliotta F North Carolina State 2.7 ppg in 1988-89
Roy Hamilton G UCLA 1.2 ppg in 1975-76
Jeff Jonas G Utah 2.8 ppg in 1973-74
Ted Kitchel F Indiana 1.7 ppg in 1979-80
Bob Kurland C Oklahoma A&M 2.5 ppg in 1942-43
Tom LaGarde C North Carolina 2.2 ppg in 1973-74
Kenyon Martin C Cincinnati 2.8 ppg in 1996-97
John Pilch G Wyoming 2.4 ppg in 1946-47
Thomas Robinson F Kansas 2.5 ppg in 2009-10
Steve Scheffler C Purdue 1.5 ppg in 1986-87
Earl Tatum G-F Marquette 1.5 ppg in 1972-73
Kurt Thomas F-C Texas Christian 0.8 ppg in 1990-91
Al Thornton F Florida State 2.8 ppg in 2003-04
B.J. Tyler* G DePaul 2.9 ppg in 1989-90

*Tyler became an All-American at Texas after transferring to his home state

NOTE: Oregon's Wally Borrevik (1.8 ppg in 1940-41), Wisconsin's Gene Englund (2.3 ppg in 1938-39), California's Darrall Imhoff (0.9 ppg in 1957-58), Kansas' Dean Kelley (0.8 in 1950-51), Purdue's Bob Kessler (2.3 ppg in 1933-34), Notre Dame's Leo Klier (2.7 in 1942-43), Oklahoma A&M's Gale McArthur (2.96 ppg in 1948-49), Notre Dame's Bob Rensberger (1.5 ppg in 1940-41) and Stanford's George Yardley (2.9 ppg in 1947-48) averaged fewer than three points per game as sophomores when freshmen weren't eligible to play varsity basketball before becoming All-Americans.

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