September 2008 - Posts
North Carolina’s all-time hoops roster reads like a who’s who in college basketball. Michael Jordan. Phil Ford. Walter Davis. Jerry Stackhouse. James Worthy. Bob McAdoo. Len Rosenbluth. Vince Carter. In Dean Smith, the Tar Heels have one of the game’s coaching icons.
And that’s just for starters.
After nearly 100 years of hoops, the Heels have had just 10 losing seasons (three came in their first five seasons). They’ve won titles (NCAA, ACC, NIT, Helms), produced NBA talent and been a NCAA tournament contender every decade. They’re the only school to play in the title game in the ‘40s, ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s and 2000s.
That lasting excellence and periods of dominance make Carolina No. 2 on the list of greatest programs.
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Rule of thumb when planning the fall months is to let the NFL, baseball playoffs and college football carry the load (fantasy football gets lumped into the NFL). NASCAR’s chase gets some attention, along with an occasional golf event, depending on who’s involved. Once the NBA begins, that works into the mix.
Those sports are the backbone to just about any site’s coverage. College basketball is usually secondary until the NFL season ends and Duke-North Carolina gets all the casual fans involved (we die-hards will be watching on Nov. 10 when Coaches Vs. Cancer tourney kicks off).
So imagine the die-hards’ glee at ESPN’s brilliant idea: A hoops marathon to give college basketball a proper season opener.
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If there’s a cradle of college basketball, it may be the University of Kansas.
James Naismith, the game’s inventor, coached there. As a coach, Phog Allen influenced two of the game’s winningest coaches, Dean Smith and Adolph Rupp, and was a driving force behind the NCAA tournament. Wilt Chamberlain was a Jayhawk. Few schools boast that kind of history.
Beyond the lore, Kansas is one of today’s preeminent programs. It’s one of six schools with at least 2 NCAA titles in the last 20 years, and no team has won more games since 1990.
That tradition, mixed with consistent excellence and modern prosperity makes Kansas No. 3 on the list of greatest programs.
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Midnight Madness is less than four weeks away (well, unless you’re a Kentucky fan). Are you up on your reading?
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Bill Self got himself a fat raise this year. So did Trent Johnson, John Beilein, Travis Ford and Jeff Capel, all first-timers into the millionaire coaches club. Billy Donovan, Bruce Pearl and Tony Bennett snagged huge pay bumps last season.
Though not quite in the same league as their football counterparts, college hoops coaches have been handsomely paid for some time, usually because of NCAA tournament success. (Average salary for a college football coach is about $1 million, according to USA Today. Average hoops coach makes $800,000.)
It made me wonder: Which coaches due for a big payday?
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No school can match UCLA’s 11 NCAA tournament titles and 18 Final Fours.
The Bruins won 10 of those championships between 1964 and 1975 and established one of sports’ most celebrated dynasties when John Wooden coached legendary players like Lew Alcindor, Bill Walton, Sidney Wicks and Gail Goodrich.
So a simple question remains: How did the celebrated Bruins only land at No. 4 on the list of greatest college basketball programs?
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Big ol’ bummer on Monday: We won’t be able to watch Kenny George this season.
UNC Asheville’s 7-foot-7 center had surgery on his right foot in his native Chicago this summer, but remains hospitalized. He’s not expected to return to school this semester.
Without George, who will be this season’s giant story?
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No matter what your feelings are about the Blue Devils, it’s impossible to ignore their success in every aspect: titles, Final Fours, wins, conference championships, NBA players, etc.
It’s all a huge reason why people love to hate Duke. The Devils are the envy of just about every program. Almost.
Duke may dominate the recent results, but it comes in at No. 5 on the list of greatest college programs.
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If you’re in sports, you’re lucky to have a nickname, let alone a cool one. Yet Don Haskins, the legendary ex-UTEP college basketball coach who died Sunday at the age of 78, had two: “the Bear,” and “the John Wayne of college basketball.”
OK, so “Bear” was much more common. Even my mom knew who “the Bear” was. That gruff scowling guy on the sidelines whose teams seemingly won the WAC every season was hard to miss.
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It’s time to hit the Friday links.
What's the gist? The Morris twins were cleared for Kansas, lots more on team schedules and some praise for Dickie V.
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Indiana has the tradition. It has the titles. It has legendary coaches, players and a fan base few teams can match.
What the Hoosiers don’t have is a recent résumé comparable to the rest of its storied history. Just one Final Four since 1993. One Big Ten title since 1994. NCAA tournament misses in 2004 and 2005, their first since the mid-80s.
Those kind of on-court struggles – complicated by their coaching issues since 2000 – are why the Hoosiers are No. 6 on the list of greatest college basketball programs.
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