How much is too much?
DePaul joins the Big East this season, as do Marquette, Cincinnati, Louisville and South Florida. That makes it a 16-team league, the deepest in the country, and that means league coaches already are fretting over how many of them can make the NCAA tournament. Never has any league received more than seven NCAA invitations.
“I’m not concerned about it,” conference Commissioner Mike Tranghese says. “I’ve sat on the [tournament selection] committee. I’ve chaired the committee. I know what the charge is. The charge is to take the best 34 at-large teams in the country.”
Big East
Cincinnati –NEW
Connecticut
DePaul–NEW
Georgetown
Louisville–NEW
Marquette–NEW
Notre Dame
Pittsburgh
Providence
Rutgers
St. John’s
Seton Hall
South Florida–NEW
Syracuse
West Virginia
Villanova
Dozen bites at Big Apple
Only 12 teams will be invited to the Big East’s own tournament at Madison Square Garden, a decision that hardly pleased the league’s coaches.
“Anytime you play there is special, and to have schools not coming is another reason coaches are going to face increasing pressure,” Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun says. “In a league of great pressure . . . we just increased it by one other barometer. To be successful is getting to New York now.”
This time, they mean it
Each new season brings new points of emphasis for referees. This year they have been ordered to call palming and to clean up rough play, such as illegal screens and hand-checking.
“There’s too much palming in the game right now, no doubt about it,” Maryland coach Gary Williams says. “When you’re a good player and you can do that, you’re unstoppable. I defy anyone to play defense against a guy who can put his hand under the ball and move it 4 or 5 feet before he takes his next dribble.”
On the second issue, Williams says: “It’s not golf, it’s basketball. If you can get away with holding a guy, you’re going to hold a guy. It’s just the way the game’s played.”
Checking in
Dave Leitao left DePaul at the end of last season to take over at Virginia, where the livin’ ain’t so easy.
“The questions I’ve had to answer in the six months I’ve been in Virginia is something I didn’t know would be at the level it’s at,” he says. “The other thing is Chicago’s so vast. Big city vs. small city. You’re one of many things that go on in Chicago, and here you’re the only thing that goes on in Charlottesville. That’s a big difference.”
Coming soon to an arena near you
His name is Marco Killingsworth. He is a 6-foot-8-inch, 270-pound transfer from Auburn. He is now a senior at Indiana and set to make his debut for the Hoosiers, whom he already has infused with his own special brand of toughness.
“I was like, `If you feel you’re the best out there, show me you’re the best,'” he said, referring to his new teammates. “I’d tell guys, `Go at it.’ Now guys are competing more. When I got here, guys were just letting me do what I wanted. Now guys aren’t having that. Before, they’d back off me. Now, they’re challenging me.”
The value of graybeards
Duke has a pair of outstanding seniors in J.J. Redick and Shelden Williams. Connecticut has four seniors and two juniors. Michigan State has seniors Paul Davis and Maurice Ager and junior Shannon Brown, who has started 55 games in his two seasons with the Spartans. Oklahoma has three seniors, and Texas has two seniors and two juniors. Unsurprisingly, each school is in everyone’s preseason Top 10.
That’s how much experience counts, and here’s one rarely discussed explanation.
“Seniors get to the point where they may not like practice, but they appreciate it,” Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson says. “Every week that goes by, every day that goes by, this time next year, they won’t be doing this.”
Maryland’s Gary Williams agrees.
“There’s a certain feeling when you’re a senior,” he says. “You know this is it. Let’s face it. For most players, that’s the end of the best part of their basketball career. You better enjoy that last year. My last game in college [at Maryland] was in the ACC tournament, and my next game was in the Camden YMCA.”
Shot at the big time
One of Oklahoma’s seniors is Kevin Bookout, a 6-8, 259-pound forward who has no aspirations to play in the NBA. He instead hopes to make the 2008 U.S. Olympic team as a shot putter.
Fathers know best
Bob Knight (left) is still at Texas Tech, but he will be succeeded by his son Pat. Eddie Sutton (right) is still at Oklahoma State, but he will be succeeded by his son Sean. How long until those successions take place is the only question.
“They both like it,” Sean Sutton says of his dad and Knight. “They both enjoy being around kids. I think they see themselves as teachers, and because of the number of years they’ve coached, they’ve seen the impact they’ve had on young kids’ lives.
“What means as much to them as anything is when one of their former players calls on the phone and tells him how his kids are doing. That’s very meaningful to any coach.”
They said it
Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan, on how much his team will lean on junior forward Alando Tucker:
“Have you seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa? We’re going to lean on Alando a lot.”
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Illinois coach Bruce Weber, on what he has told his team:
“I said, `Your target is so much bigger. What’s your record in the Big Ten over the last two years, guys? There are a lot of people who want to kick your butt.’ I think they have to realize that . . . there’s a lot of revenge with veteran teams.”
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DePaul coach Jerry Wainwright, on one of his philosophies:
“The only way I look like Robert Redford is if people keep drinking Jack Daniel’s. That’s just the way it is. My dad told me once, `If you’re giving someone a bad present, you have to wrap it well.’ So you have to emphasize your strengths, and I think one of the things good basketball teams do is concentrate on things they can do and not what they can’t.”
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Louisville coach Rick Pitino, on what advantages he might have re-entering the Big East after coaching at Providence in the mid-’80s:
“I know where to eat. That’s about it.”
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Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser, on 6-9 center Eric Williams, who last season led his team in scoring and who checks in at 280 pounds:
“He has some serious heft there. He’s a big guy. You have to pack a lunch to get around him sometimes.”
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Oklahoma State guard JamesOn Curry, on what the public doesn’t know about his coach, Eddie Sutton:
“He has the prettiest smile you’ve ever seen. You all probably never get to see it. But when coach smiles, you get a tingle.”
