Top Coaches

These college basketball coaches have done a good to exceptional job this year. They are in order, beginning with who I feel has done the best job.

Deserving of "Every Damn Penny!"
Bill Self - Self has done a remarkable job with his Kansas squad this year. Until last year, many of his Kansas teams were noted for their underachievments. However, after losing Kahn, Robinson, Chalmers, Rush, Arthur, and Jackson after their National Championship season, this year's Jayhawks are right back in the hunt for a number one seed and playing their best basketball of the season heading into the postseason. They lost roughly 85 percent of their scoring from last year, and 87 percent of their rebounding. Self's work this year may be his most impressive coaching effort. His name should be in the top 3 considered for National Coach of the Year.

Jeff Capel - The Sooners are one of the more fun teams to watch in all of college basketball. They have the Player of the Year, potential Freshman of the Year and Coach of the Year. The emergence of Juan Patillo has given Capel an incredibly athletic team. Oklahoma recently dropped two without their star big man, Blake Griffin, but this will be a very dangerous team as either a one or two seed. Capel should be applauded for his development of Willie Warren, a guy I didn't think was much more than an athlete coming out of high school.

Trent Johnson - Besides an unexplainable loss at Utah, LSU's season has been quite remarkable. Johnson inherited a team of misfits, egos, and underachievers, saddled with the early departure of Anthony Randolph. He has turned them into a great defensive team with an excellent scoring tandem of Mitchell and Thornton (not the balding one). He's recruited a freshman named Storm Warren, and if that's any indication, Johnson and the hotbed of Louisiana recruits will maintain a hold of power in the SEC West.

Mike Anderson - Mizzou's 40 minutes of hell is wreaking havoc in the Big 12. Anderson has brought national attention to the program again, but this time it's not for vioalations by a smirking ex-Dukie. Did anyone realize Snyder coached Missouri until 2006? I thought he was out of there by at least 2004. Anyway, Mike Anderson brought in five freshman and two transfers this year to bring up the talent level and it appears everyone is fitting in nicely. They are a fun team to watch.

Dino Guadio - Though their conference play has been less than steller, with losses to Georgia Tech and NC State, they also have huge wins over UNC, Duke, Clemson, and Florida State. Many people forget Wake is a young team, maybe explaining their inconsistent play, with most of their production coming from sophomores and freshman. Jeff Teague is an all-world point guard and Aminu has developed into a sensational freshman. With such a young team, Guadio has done an outstanding job to put the Deacons in a position to gain a 2 or 3 seed.

Rick Pitino - Louisville finally looks like a team deserving of a preseason top five ranking. Pitino deserves the credit for this Louisville team's reemergance towards the latter part of this year. He has Preston Knowles and Andre McGee playing much better basketball, Terrence Williams has developed into a (would have won a lot of bets) complete player, and Terrence Jennings is providing defensive and, now offensive, energy from the bench. This Louisville team didn't start as a top five team, but they do look like one now. Surprisingly (to almost everyone who has watched Louisville the past three years), Williams is the heart, soul, and talent of this team. Without him, I sincerely doubt whether Louisville would be a ranked team at this point in the season.

Lorenzo Romar - Washington got off to a rough start, but Romar finally has the Huskies atop the Pac 10 standings. Winning against Washington State would clinch the Pac for the first time in Romar's seven year career. Washington has three guys averaging over 15 points a game, and a stud point guard in Isaiah Thomas. They are bringing in Abdul Gaddy, a top ranked high school guard, next year.

Deserving of Most of their Contract
Tom Izzo - Izzo fo Shizzo has developed a deep team in East Lansing. Kalin Lucas is the engine of this big slow PT Cruiser, but it has a lot of parts - parts that work well together. They play defense, rebound, and slow down every team they face (not a tall task in the Big 1o, but still). They force teams to play at their pace, but Lucas will burn the defense for easy baskets throughout the game. They are an extremely tough team, always seeming to make plays when they are needed. Typical of an Izzo team, the Spartans are poised to make some noise in March.

Roy Williams - Maybe a bit surprising to see Roy Williams and the second-ranked Tar Heels in the middle tier, but with the talent passing through Chapel Hill this year, it has not been one of Good Ole Roy's finest coaching jobs. They have one of the top point guards, top power forwards, and top shooting guards in the nation, but the Tar Heels sporadically commit themselves to defense. This might just be the new trend at UNC and Roy may have to practically go undefeated to be recognized as Coach of the Year.

Mike Krzyzewski - Outside of dropping 4 of 7 during conference play, it's been a remarkable season for the Blue Devils. They had their flopping asses handed to them by North Carolina and Boston College, but rebounded well with four straight wins. It's a typical Duke team, but with excellent floor spacing (Or so I hear). Their travels are receiving some hype on youtube, and if you are a believer of good, I assume you are hoping for one to cost them the game against their first round matchup in the tournament. Despite all of that, Coach K has done a good job with these . . . uh . . . guys. Gerald Henderson has finally lived up to his billing coming out of high school and Jon Scheyer shoots the ball . . . uh . . . I can't do it. Duke's the worst, I hate them.

Bruce Weber - Although Illinois lost a game to Penn State earlier this year 38-33, Weber deserves a lot of credit for where the Fighting Illini are at this point in the season. Although, if playing in any other conference, even the SEC, I don't think this Illini team is .500 in conference play. They fit in well with the other Big 10 teams, and Weber has really overacheived with this group of guys. Prior to this year, I couldn't have told you a player on their team besides Alex Legion.

Jay Wright - Wright may have been included in the top tier if not for his loss at Georgetown over the weekend. The Wildcats returned virtually the same team from last year, where they were a 12 seed that reached the Sweet Sixteen, losing to eventual champ Kansas. Wright dresses well, is married to a former cheerleader, and has hair I deeply envy. For that he gets a handshake, but he has also done an impressive job this year.

Ben Howland - UCLA has somewhat underperformed during their conference play, but with their last two games at home should finish the season at 24-7. I doubt many are expecting UCLA to make a fourth final four appearance in five years, but this team has some experienced talented players and could possibly win the PAC 10 regular season title.

ACC Review

Boston College: As usual, Al Skinner will maximize his team's talents. Unfortunately, there's not much talent on the roster beyond Tyrese Rice and Rakim Sanders. Unless Sanders realizes more of his potential on the offensive end, a trip to the NIT is likely in store for the Eagles.

Clemson: Oliver Purnell can flat-out coach. His teams are greater than the sum of their parts, and selfless play is their defining characteristic. When (and if) the talent catches up to the coaching, the Tigers could be really scary. I'm expecting around a 5 or 6 seed for a Clemson team that's going to pick up a few more losses in a deep ACC. Still, look for the hard-nosed Tigers to make some noise in March.

Duke: Same story as last year for the Blue Devils. Excellent perimeter defenders. Patient offensively and even more dangerous with Nolan Smith speeding up the pace in place of put out to pasture Greg Paulus. As usual, though, Duke has absolutely no post presence, and that does not bode well for Duke's prospects come March.

Florida State: As I stated in a previous post Florida State is my sleeper team. I don't necessarily think the Seminoles are going to make a deep tourney run, but I do think they're going to continue to rack up wins in a tough ACC.

Georgia Tech: This program has become something of a joke. The Yellowjackets have finished with a losing record in two of the past three years, and it looks like it will be three of four after this campaign. Outside of Tech's surprising run to the National Championship game in 2004, there hasn't been much to be excited about during Paul Hewitt's tenure. Then again, Tech has become a popular stop for one-and-done superstars. Chris Bosh, Thaddeus Young, and Javaris Crittenton all spent two semesters at One-and-Done U. With the signing of high school star Derrick Favors, Yellowjackets fans can take solace in a trip to the NIT next March.

Maryland: The Terrapins will not be relevant on the national stage until they replace Gary Williams. They simply lack the talent possessed by their ACC foes, and I can't blame any high school athlete for not wanting to play for Williams. While the game may not have passed him by, the culture of today's athlete has. There won't be any dancing for the Terps in March.

Miami: The media probably liked Miami a little too much given the Canes' preseason ranking, but this is a tourney team. Miami's losses against Connecticut, Ohio State, Clemson, and North Carolina are nothing to be ashamed of. The only thing missing from Miami's resume is a marquee win, though the Kentucky win is looking more and more impressive. Things are looking up for the Frank Haith-piloted Hurricanes program.

North Carolina: The two surprising losses may be a blessing in disguise going forward. I think they're still the team to beat.

North Carolina State: Brandon Costner, Ben McCauley, and Courtney Fells are solid players, though I was wrong to think this would be the talented Fells' breakout season. In short, Sidney Lowe's squad has too much talent to be a non-factor in the ACC. Yet, that is exactly where we find the Wolf Pack.

Virgina: Freshman Sylven Landesburg has been a bright spot, but this is the least talented team in the ACC.

Virginia Tech: Another year and another scrappy Hokies squad. Seth Greenberg is one of the country's most underrated coaches. His teams can beat anybody on any given night, and that's becoming something of a constant in Blacksburg. With the exception of a trouncing at the hands of the Blue Devils and a 1-point loss at lowly Georgia, the Hokies' other losses have been respectable, despite the fact they occurred on their home court (1-point OT loss to Xavier, 4-point loss to a decent Seton Hall club, 2-point loss to Wisconsin). Since the Duke debacle, however, Virginia Tech has reeled off 4 wins, including a 7-point win at Wake Forest. Expect the Hokies to slip into the tournament.

Wake Forest: The young Demon Deacons have outplayed anyone's reasonable expectations. In fact, rather than hitting the proverbial wall, I predict Wake finishes the season solidly, does no worse than a 3 seed, and is a team no one wants to play heading into the tourney.

Player of the Year: Jeff Teague, Wake Forest
Runner-up: Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina
Hard not to pick the reigning National Player of the Year here, but Teague is more valuable to his team (and his play has been off the charts). The fiery Teague has gone from a relatively unknown talent to looking like the second coming of Gilbert Arenas.

Coach of the Year: Dino Guadio, Wake Forest
Runner-up: Oliver Purnell, Clemson
Everyone knew Wake had talent, but no one thought they'd be this good so soon. Guadio has done an extremely good job managing a diverse assortment of talent, and the Demon Deacons execute in the half-court. Despite the Tigers last two losses, I can't say enough about Purnell's job over the last few season's for formerly moribund Clemson.

Freshman of the Year: Al-Farouq Aminu, Wake Forest
Runner-up: Sylven Landesburg, Virginia
Landesburg puts up splashier numbers on a weak Cavaliers squad, but Aminu has been an integral part of Wake's resurgence. Plus, the versatile frosh is putting up some pretty good numbers in his own right (12.6 points and 8.6 boards per contest). Florida State's Chris Singleton also deserves a shout out for his play and incredible potential. Sadly, Leonard Hamilton's "coaching" ensures that Singleton will only experience marginal improvement during his stay in Tallahassee.

Defensive Player of the Year: Gerald Henderson, Duke
Runner-up: Trevor Booker, Clemson
I really toyed with the idea of giving this one to Booker. He's the steadier defender of the two. The Clemson junior plays great position defense, hits the boards, and averages an impressive 2.7 blocks and 1.4 steals per game. Henderson has more lapses on the defensive end. However, he's a lockdown defender and has a penchant for making the game-changing play.

1st Team All-ACC
Tywon Lawson, North Carolina
Tyrese Rice, Boston College
Jeff Teague, Wake Forest
Trevor Booker, Clemson
Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina
Teague and Hansbrough are getting the majority of the headlines, but Lawson has been masterful. His assist-to-turnover ratio in the Tar Heels' high octane secondary break offense is an impressive 3.7-to-1. He's also displayed an outside shooting touch that he did not possess earlier in his career.

2nd Team All-ACC
Jack McClinton, Miami
Toney Douglas, Florida State
Gerald Henderson, Duke
A.D. Vassallo, Virginia Tech
Kyle Singler, Duke
The most glaring omissions from the list are Gani Lawal, Greivis Vasquez, and Danny Green. Lawal is averaging a double-double on yet another disappointing Paul Hewitt-coached Yellowjackets team. Vasquez, Maryland's mercurial point guard, is putting up impressive numbers across the board, but he's too inconsistent as a floor general to merit a spot on the second team. Green's had a fine year thus far. He plays excellent defense and has moved ahead of Wayne Ellington to become UNC's third most indispensable player. But I guess that's the problem -- how does any team's third most important player make all-conference in a league with as much individual talent as the ACC?

All-ACC Defensive Team
Gerald Henderson, Duke
Danny Green, North Carolina
Jeff Allen, Virginia Tech
Trevor Booker, Clemson
Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina
UNC's weakness is its defense, but Tar Heels occupy two spots on the all-conference defensive team. Tar Heel Tywon Lawson and Dukies Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith narrowly miss the cut. Lawson averages 2.4 steals per game, but he was utterly dominated by Jeff Teague. I imagine scouts were cringing at Lawson's inability to handle an athlete with Teague's length. As for Singler, he plays solid defense, but I'm not sure he likes to bang in the post. Sophomore Smith does a great job of pressuring the ball but needs to work on his upper body strength.