Because college basketball is just around the corner, I thought this would be a good assignment to get you thinking about college basketball and different coaching styles.
The article below is about 4 highly accomplished Division 1 colloge basketball coaches. Please read the article and answer the questions below. Please remember to put your name on your Blog so that I can give you credit.
John
Calipari and Rick Pitino
ESPN.com
It
ain't easy being John Calipari.
But
that doesn't mean it's easy.
In
fact, the advantages of Calipari's job can frequently double as its drawbacks.
That insane talent only raises expectations, expectations that create in fans
not hope but demands: win or else. Every move on this team is scrutinized by a
local media corps year-round, 24/7, 365. The position Calipari has put himself
in with this team is enviable, sure, but it is also tenuous; there is absolutely
no margin for error.
Which
only makes the coaching job he's done this season all the more impressive.
First, Calipari had to assemble this juggernaut. (Recruiting is often overlooked
in coach-of-the-year discussions, but why?) Then, he had to solder disparate
talented parts -- the kind of top-end AAU stars who might easily bristle against
diminished roles -- into a basketball team even better than the sum of its
parts. Then, he had to guide that team through the maelstrom that is basketball
season in Kentucky, particularly a basketball season in which nothing but a
national title can be considered a success.
The
Wildcats are very nearly there. Does Calipari have the best talent in the
country? No question. Are Calipari's problems of the high-class variety? Oh
yeah. But high-class problems are still problems, and no coach in the country --
through the media, through point-perfect long-view guidance, through in-season
adjustments designed to maximize each player's ability -- manages them better
than the governor of BBN.
Sure,
sure: Saying Calipari's job is hard is like saying driving a Maserati is too
stressful. But the driver still has to hit his turns, and Coach Cal hasn't
missed one.
--
Eamonn Brennan
Rick
Pitino insisted that, outside the birth of his three children, no day in his
life was better than this past Saturday, when Louisville topped Florida to make
it to the Final Four.
It
sounded like adrenaline-fueled hyperbole, but Pitino makes a valid point. On a
résumé dotted with impressive results, this season just might be the most
miraculous and magical, not to mention the best coaching job in Pitino's
illustrious career.
Louisville
is going to New Orleans despite a roster that read like an NFL injured reserve
list -- Mike Marra (done for the season, ACL injury), Rakeem Buckles (done for the season, ACL injury),
Stephan Van Treese (done for the season, patellar
injury), Wayne Blackshear (out 25 games, shoulder injury),
Peyton Siva (missed three games, ankle injury,
concussion), Kyle Kuric (missed three games, ankle injury), Jared Swopshire (missed two games, groin injury).
But
mostly Louisville is going to New Orleans because a would-be (should-be) Hall of
Fame coach pushed every right button at every critical juncture. When injuries
decimated his roster, Pitino slowed things down, and when everyone finally got
healthy, he went back to his roots, pushing the tempo and turning a team that is
short on offensive savvy into a defensive swarm.
No
one will even try to argue that this is among Pitino's top-five (top 10?)
talented teams, but what the Cards may lack in skill, they make up for in
gumption. They are relentless, a team that never seems to accept the fact that
it can't or shouldn't be able to come back.
In
a high-end Final Four, Louisville is the only real underdog, a team that limped
into the postseason, losing four of its final six regular-season
games.
Yet
Louisville is going to New Orleans because one of the most successful coaches in
the game did the best job of his career.
--
Dana O'Neil
Thad
Matta and Bill Self
ESPN.com
In
late February, Thad Matta curtailed the bravado of a talented Buckeyes squad by
kicking his team out of practice.
Ohio
State became a national title contender the moment that Jared Sullinger
fulfilled his promise to return for his sophomore season. Lost in that signature
development, however, was the team's reliance on youth and the leadership void
left by three graduating seniors.
The
Buckeyes endured a 2-3 stretch in February that warranted questions about the
way they'd end the season. Yes, they had weapons, but without the proper drive,
they'd never achieve what their abilities suggested they were capable of
accomplishing.
Enter
Matta.
His
elite coaching prowess has been proved by the development within his program.
Deshaun Thomas enters the Final Four as one of the most potent scorers in the
field. Aaron Craft's defensive fortitude has disrupted offense strategies all
season. Sullinger lost weight and added new offensive wrinkles to his game under
Matta's watch, too.
But
the head coach deserves just as much credit for his ability to mold this young
group mentally. Matta didn't have the veteran leaders who had led some of his
Buckeyes teams in recent years, and unlike his 2006-07 NCAA national runner-up
squad, he didn't have three first-round picks.
Matta's
tutelage, however, fueled a rapid maturation process that equipped the Buckeyes
with the proper mindset in March, even though they didn't appear to have it in
late February. Every time his youthful team moved off track, Matta brought it
back. Sometimes, he had to praise players after tough outings. On other
occasions, he had to humble them like the day he booted them from
practice.
But
in the best coaching performance of his career, Matta became Ohio State's
maestro.
And
that's why the Buckeyes are still making music.
--
Myron Medcalf
Back
in October, a few days after the start of official workouts, Bill Self
re-evaluated his expectations for this season's
squad.
Coaches
often downplay the potential of their team, but in this case, Self's concern
seemed genuine. The Jayhawks had lost four starters and six of the top eight
players from a roster that finished 35-3 the previous season. Only two returning
players -- point guard Tyshawn Taylor and forward Thomas Robinson -- averaged
more than four points per game in 2010-11.
When
Kansas defeated Ohio State at Allen Fieldhouse in December, Self was thrilled,
for reasons you may not expect.
"We
needed a feather in our cap," said Self, whose team had already lost to Kentucky
and Duke. "We needed to beat someone to get into the tournament. At that point
we hadn't done it."
Four
months later, Kansas is preparing to play Ohio State again -- in the Final Four.
It
happened because of Self, who has turned what was supposedly his worst team into
one of his best. This is the second Final Four appearance for Self, who has won
more games than any other college coach in America since his arrival at Kansas
in 2003-04. Self sparked KU to the NCAA title in 2008. As impressive as his
efforts were then, his excellence has been magnified more this season than in
any other in his career.
In
Robinson, Self took a player who averaged a little more than 14 minutes off the
bench last season and turned him into a Wooden Award candidate.
Taylor,
a third-team All-American, went from being one of the most criticized players in
KU history to one of the most loved. Self transformed role players such as Jeff
Withey, Elijah Johnson and Travis Releford -- all of whom averaged between two
and four points last season -- into solid players and
contributors.
Kansas
advanced to the Final Four by beating a North Carolina team that played six
McDonald's All-Americans. The Jayhawks don't have any. With Self on the
sideline, it didn't matter.
It
hasn't all season.
--
Jason King
2. Based on what you read, who is the best coach and why? Please give 2 reasons to support your answer.
3. When a team wins a championship, do you think that means that team had the best coach? Please give 2 reasons to support your answer.
