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No one can find a diamond in the rough as well as Buzz Williams, and now Marquette's fifth-year coach has the stats to back it up. (Photo courtesy of Casual Hoya)
Unless you were familiar with Marquette basketball in 2008, chances are you did not know who Brent Williams was. An assistant to former coach Tom Crean, the affable and fun-loving Texan affectionately known as "Buzz" became the coach of the Golden Eagles after Crean left the program to replace the embattled Kelvin Sampson at Indiana. While Crean has resurrected the Hoosiers and now has them in position to contend for a national championship in Bloomington, what his successor in Milwaukee has done with the former Warriors that Crean once guided into battle has also been nothing short of impressive.
Marquette has never been a school to sign McDonald's All-Americans or players who will blow you away with their gaudy statistics. Rather, the Golden Eagles are a true program; one built with the premise of finding players and coaching them into future stars who become tailor-made for a professional career, be it in the NBA or overseas. Buzz Williams' first four years at the helm have reflected this, with some of Marquette's best recruiting classes ever to serve as an influx of talent to a team that has now produced selections in the NBA Draft over each of the last three seasons, including two in the same year for the first time in the Williams regime after consecutive years of first-round picks out of Marquette.
What makes Buzz so successful, you might ask? Our friends over at Cracked Sidewalks (a portal for all things Marquette with stats and numbers whose value cannot be defined by a price tag, I suggest you take a look at the great work they turn out) outdid themselves once again in this piece that crunches the numbers to prove that Williams not only knows how to effectively recruit, but also knows how to make his team evolve over the years:
http://www.crackedsidewalks.com/2012/07/buzz-unmatched-in-turning-non-prospects.htmlMarquette's incoming class is just as solid this year, with Jamal Ferguson and Arizona State transfer Trent Lockett joining Steve Taylor, a power forward who Scout.com ranks as the No. 14 overall prospect at his position. Buzz is primed for an even bigger encore in 2013, as he has picked up verbal commitments from nationally regarded homegrown guards Duane Wilson and Deonte Burton, who will fit right into the rich tradition of the Marquette backcourt while proving that the Golden Eagles' leader; as unassuming as he is, is one of the best in the business at running a team and improving it with each passing day.
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Chicago prospect Jabari Parker continues to list DePaul among his final choices, and Blue Demons would not be only winners if he were to keep his talents in the Second City. (Photo courtesy of USA Today)
The city of Chicago has seen many great basketball prospects make a name for themselves within its boundaries over the last twenty years, a Who's Who of prep stars that have gone on to accomplish bigger and better at the collegiate and professional levels. Sadly for the United States' third-most populous city, none of these young men have stayed home, opting instead to take their talents elsewhere around the country on the road to the NBA.
Starting with Kevin Garnett, who played at Chicago's Farragut Academy before being selected fifth overall by Minnesota in the 1995 NBA Draft, no elite Windy City prospect has remained in the area, or even in the state for that matter. Michael Finley, taken in the same 1995 draft that produced Garnett, went to Wisconsin. Dwyane Wade, regarded to be arguably among the best players Chicago has turned out in recent memory, went up Interstate 94 to Marquette before spurning a potential NBA homecoming to remain in Miami. Most recently, the Second City has been victimized twice in the last five years by John Calipari, who lured Derrick Rose and Anthony Davis away from home to become one-and-dones at Memphis and Kentucky respectively before the two subsequently became No. 1 overall draft picks. Fortunately for Chicago fans, Rose returned home when he was drafted by the Bulls.
Enter a 17-year-old who has already been hyped by Sports Illustrated as the best high school prospect since the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player who just celebrated winning his first championship. Not even a senior in high school yet, he continues to keep a local school in play for his services among a national list of suitors that includes blueblood programs such as North Carolina, Duke and Kentucky. When you consider that it has been over three decades since one of Chicago's own opted to stay home for college, you will see monumental the hope around the city he calls home is for that honor to stay that way.
A 6-8, 220-pound swingman, Jabari Parker has already received Mr. Basketball honors in the state of Illinois to go with more accomplishments than most boys his age can place in their resumes. Already regarded as the nation's best prospect in the class of 2013 by multiple outlets, Parker has narrowed his list down to ten.
As expected, the usual suspects for top prospects are there in the form of North Carolina, Duke, Kentucky and Michigan State, not to mention some other traditional powers such as Kansas, Georgetown and Florida. The other three schools on his list are unique in their own different ways. There is Stanford, which justifies Parker's standing as a true student-athlete, something you do not see often anymore. The 17-year-old carries a 3.63 grade point average into his final year at the prep level, which would certainly qualify him as an honor student that would have no problem getting into a school of high academic reputation such as Stanford.
There is also Brigham Young, a variable that could play a huge role in Parker's recruitment because Jabari is a true minority in this sense: He is not only biracial, but also a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. A Tongan and African-American blend, Parker is part of a scant three percent group of minorities of Mormon faith; something that is also very important to Parker, who still carries the Book of Mormon with him at practices, attends church services regularly, and may still undergo a two-year mission that is required of all Mormon men.
Finally, there is a third wild card, one that has fallen on hard times recently. One that has a proud and rich tradition and history. One whose fan base is equal parts eager and desperate to embrace a winner and one whose fan base are already showing mounds of support for a native son who would be their first highly regarded hometown hero since Mark Aguirre led the program to a Final Four in 1979. More importantly, one who needs this kid more than anyone.
DePaul University is still attempting to not only rebuild, but establish itself as a player in the powerhouse Big East Conference. Since leaving Conference USA in 2006, the Blue Demons enjoyed brief success in their first two years as a Big East institution, but have since endured four consecutive last-place finishes in league play after a 12th-place standing in 2007-08. Third-year coach Oliver Purnell has undertaken similar rebuilding efforts in the past at Dayton and Clemson, with NCAA Tournament appearances being the end result in each circumstance. Purnell has already built a solid foundation in Chicago with the recruitment and evolution of Cleveland Melvin and Brandon Young, and has help on the way with incoming freshman DeJuan Marrero. Parker's skills have already been compared to Grant Hill, and Jabari himself likes to consider his game a hybrid of Paul Pierce and Carmelo Anthony, a skill set that would augment DePaul both inside and outside while also making it difficult to guard him in a Big East that prides itself on true guard and forward matchups. DePaul has also gone six years since one of their own heard his name called in the NBA Draft, and Parker has already been thrown around as a potential No. 1 overall selection in 2014, a distinction that would help Blue Demon fans forget that it has felt like somewhat of an eternity since Wilson Chandler was drafted.
There are also two familiarity factors that will hopefully make DePaul intriguing and appealing to Parker. First is his relationship with assistant coach Billy Garrett, who has spent the last two years recruiting Jabari, and whose son Billy Jr. has already given the Blue Demons a verbal commitment for next year. Second is the prospect of a player opting to turn down bigger names to play in his hometown and help lead a revolution, something Maurice Harkless did to perfection this past season at St. John's. After turning down offers from schools such as Arizona, Baylor, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas and Maryland, the Queens native signed with Steve Lavin and the Red Storm, becoming the Big East Rookie of the Year and 15th overall selection in June's NBA Draft when Harkless was taken by the Philadelphia 76ers.
Finally, there is the sentimental factor, a human interest story of sorts. The Chicago basketball community is still recovering from the murder of Michael Haynes, one of their own who had recently signed with Iona College before being fatally shot a week ago tonight outside his home. Parker staying home would help ease the pain in a way, giving Chicago fans easy access to cheer one of their own frequently; not to mention it would go a long way toward giving DePaul and its own fan base a reason to believe that they can not only compete in the Big East, but on a national level as well.
Being a broadcaster in New York and a St. John's alumnus, I got to see firsthand how positive of an effect Maurice Harkless staying home to play for St. John's had on his team despite playing with a six-man rotation for more than half the year. Harkless' commitment brought additional blue chip prospects to St. John's, including this year's class that is headlined by the likes of JaKarr Sampson and Chris Obekpa. It only takes one, and if his well-rounded persona is any indication, Jabari Parker is more than capable of starting a similar domino effect in Chicago.
Chicago already has great pizza, great tradition, and a great fan base. All they need now is a great player to stay in their backyard.
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After Jim Calhoun's unfortunate biking accident last night resulted in a fractured hip, UConn's coach may arguably have been better off retiring after winning national championship in 2011, but that was the last thing Calhoun should have done. (Photo courtesy of New Haven Register)
Some college basketball experts would argue that Jim Calhoun should have ridden off into the sunset sixteen months ago following the University of Connecticut's third national championship in the Hall of Fame coach's legendary tenure.
Calhoun was on top of the world, they would say. A coach whose season started off sensationally, crashed down to earth through a 9-9 campaign in Big East play, yet was resurrected in the postseason at the hands of a point guard who seemed to create a magical atmosphere whenever he touched the ball. For a coach who was one month away from celebrating his 69th birthday after a career filled with over 800 victories between UConn and his previous employment at Northeastern, the Huskies' Cinderella run seemed like the fitting finale for the blue-collar kid from the suburbs of Boston.
Only Jim Calhoun is impervious to the word "quit," even after his latest medical scare last night, a fractured hip suffered while biking before a charity game in which he was to coach. Rather than grace the bench, the coach was instead in a hospital, requiring surgery after the aforementioned bike accident.
Calhoun's hip injury is the most recent in a litany of medical problems that the gruff but affable UConn legend, three months removed from turning 70, has suffered in recent years. There was the well-documented battle with prostate cancer that the coach fought valiantly and emerged victorious from, then another bout with skin cancer, not to mention the spinal stenosis that kept Calhoun off the bench late last season during the Huskies' run to the NCAA Tournament, where he ultimately returned despite UConn losing to Iowa State. That does not include the numerous other extenuating circumstances that have taken their toll on Calhoun over the years despite not being related to his personal health, such as the allegations of laptop theft by guards Marcus Williams and A.J. Price, the recruiting scandal involving prospect Nate Miles and a former student manager, and the academic performance issues that currently leave the Huskies on the outside looking in when it comes to participating in postseason play for the upcoming season.
Yet through it all, Calhoun has done the only thing he really knows how to do other than coach: Fight. Those who know the coach personally expect nothing less from someone who had to put his education on the back burner to work an array of various jobs to support his family from the age of fifteen following the death of his father. "I can't even picture him retired," said Kemba Walker, the hero of the 2011 national championship team. "I can't see that at all," the Bronx native and current Charlotte Bobcat told the Hartford Courant.
Neither can this author.
In my numerous interactions with Calhoun over the years, I can tell you just by looking at him for mere seconds that the man lives for what he does. Coaching keeps him alive, and the chance to mold boys into men regardless of whether or not they become future superstars keeps him young to some degree. That zeal and passion for his life's work is undoubtedly one of the reasons why Calhoun remains far more active than some other septuagenarians, proving that the old adage "if you love what you do, it isn't work" to be correct. Naturally, Calhoun immediately reached out to longtime deputy George Blaney to inform him that he would be fine, a message that the associate head coach conveyed to fans in attendance at the UConn charity game Calhoun was slated to coach last night.
To suggest that Calhoun should have hung up the clipboard sixteen months ago is like suggesting that Joe Montana retire in the wake of the San Francisco 49ers' fourth Super Bowl win at the end of the 1989 season, even though he was only 33 and had several years of greatness left; like arguing that LeBron James call it a career following his NBA championship win and anticipated second consecutive Olympic gold medal despite being a mere 27 years old and in the prime of his life. Yes, the men in these scenarios are young enough to be Calhoun's children; or even grandchildren in today's society, but age truly is just a number. I myself will turn 26 in another seventeen days, and Jim Calhoun's lifestyle is far more active and energetic than that of my own, which I have no shame in admitting.
We all got to see just how important coaching can be to someone in the aftermath of the Jerry Sandusky saga, wherein Joe Paterno was fired from the Penn State head coaching position he had held since the Eisenhower administration only to die tragically a mere two months after being dismissed from the work that made him an institution in State College. Jim Calhoun will certainly not meet the same end Paterno did, but for him to leave what, in essence, is the only thing he knows, is something of which the sheer ramifications ensuing from such a life-changing decision cannot be fathomed at the present moment; just because it is hard to picture him bowing out permanently after all the triumphant and heroic returns he has made from far greater setbacks, especially when the coach is really 70 going on 30.
With two years remaining on his contract, the lingering questions surrounding Calhoun's future will once again resurface both around Storrs, and the nation as well. While some believe that this might be the time where the Hall of Fame coach thinks with his head and not his heart, it would not be the least bit surprising to see Jim Calhoun stick around even longer, perhaps signing a new agreement with the University of Connecticut.
After all, no part of his legacy can be tarnished, for the man has already taken a program acknowledged by few upon his arrival in 1986 and turned it into a national powerhouse; proving that he can still compete, recruit and coach with the best of them, some of whom are more than half his age. Besides, he still has something to prove.
In professional boxing, the biggest separation among older fighters is their competitive spirit. It is the most visible identifier between a punch-drunk has-been still hanging on for one last moment in the sun and a man who may be physically worn down, but whose heart lives and beats stronger than ever with each passing day.
Jim Calhoun is the latter, and will be until time; or some other factor beyond his control, proves otherwise. Until then, any sight of him away from the basketball court for a considerable amount of time would be inhuman.
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Despite two national championships at North Carolina and a stellar career at Kansas, Roy Williams inexplicably is considered most overrated coach in Division I by some of his colleagues. (Photo courtesy of Chicago Sun-Times)
He has been a head coach for parts of four decades at two perennial college basketball powers, winning over 600 games and appearing in the NCAA Tournament in all but two of his seasons as the man in charge of his program. He is also one of only four active coaches with two or more national championships, which automatically validates him as one of the all-time greats once he finally decides to hang up his whistle. However, while Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Calhoun and Billy Donovan; the other of the three coaches with multiple national championships, are not considered overrated, Roy Williams somehow is, according to a poll of his coaching colleagues released by CBS Sports earlier in the week.
It just doesn't make sense.
About to enter his tenth season at North Carolina, Williams has won his two national titles within the last eight years on the bench for the Tar Heels, continuing the tradition started by Frank McGuire and Dean Smith. After a stint at Kansas that featured many great teams and two national championship game appearances, but no wins, Williams was the Dan Marino of college coaches in that he had the credentials, yet lacked the testimonial.
If you want to talk about overrated, look no further than Williams' predecessor in Chapel Hill, one who committed the cardinal sin of going 8-20 at a program that had never had a season quite like that in its rich history. With only one NCAA Tournament appearance between his tenure at both North Carolina and Notre Dame, with a talented roster at each school to boot, Matt Doherty never did get the job done aside from recruiting Carolina's 2005 national championship team that Williams led to victory in St. Louis. Now, let's go back to Williams. Is he overrated just because the name of his program attracts elite players just as well as his own name and resume? Yes, North Carolina being North Carolina does help the cause, but you could put Roy Williams anywhere else and he would still not only win, but win big within a short period of time.
Take the University of Pittsburgh as an example. Pitt has been among the class of the Big East for the last decade, yet have never made it past a regional final under head coach Jamie Dixon, who has been at the helm of the Panthers just as long as Roy Williams has been in Chapel Hill. However, Dixon; who has managed to attract players that turn down better programs to play for Pitt, is not even among the top five overrated coaches when he in fact should be. If you switch the two coaches today, putting Roy Williams in charge of the Panthers and Jamie Dixon at the helm of the Tar Heels, Pittsburgh would be the bigger winner and better program, and with good; not great, players to boot. I'm not saying that Carolina would be unsuccessful, but the Dixon tradition of great regular season team and early postseason exit; kind of like the Philadelphia Eagles of college basketball, would carry on.
Are there coaches out there who can recruit better than Williams? Absolutely. Look no further than another historic college basketball blue blood, UCLA. The Bruins have managed to stay relevant even after the retirement and passing of John Wooden, but have only managed one national championship since then. Since Jim Harrick was dismissed in 1996, Steve Lavin and current UCLA coach Ben Howland have attracted some of the nation's best recruiting classes to Westwood, but have had nothing to show for it.
Howland has brought in a massive amount of talent this year with Shabazz Muhammad, Kyle Anderson and Jordan Adams to make his Bruins one of the favorites in the Pac-12 this season, but his in-game coaching has always prevented the Bruins from reaching the top of the mountain despite three consecutive Final Four appearances. The same can be said for Lavin, who never made it out of the Elite Eight in Los Angeles, and now has signed his second consecutive top recruiting class at St. John's. As charismatic and engaging as Lavin is, he has unfortunately yet to prove he belongs on the level of Williams, Calhoun, Krzyzewski, Jim Boeheim and Tom Izzo, and this comes from a St. John's alumnus and broadcaster who has gotten to know the coach since he came to Queens in March of 2010. Considering Williams has won with less in the past, it would not be out of the ordinary to suggest he would be able to replicate his success if you hypothetically placed him in either of those two programs.
Here is a link to the CBS poll for those of you who have yet to see it. In it, Williams tells CBS' Gary Parrish that he considers himself good; not great, and goes on to say that he does not want to be in a situation where he has to determine whether or not he can win with average players, which explains his recruiting strategies.
http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/blog/eye-on-college-basketball/19753693/critical-coaches-who-is-the-most-overrated-coach-in-the-countryMaybe I may have lost touch with the whole "overrated" concept, but to paraphrase a line from the Adam Sandler movie "Billy Madison," if being overrated is cool, then call Roy Williams Miles Davis.
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Mike Aresco, a former executive vice president at CBS Sports, is new Big East commissioner. (Photo courtesy of Connecticut Post)
Three months after the near-three-year reign of John Marinatto came to a disappointing close, the Big East Conference this morning found his permanent replacement.
Mike Aresco, previously an executive at CBS Sports, will assume the position after being officially announced by the league office later today. Aresco becomes the fourth permanent commissioner in the Big East's 33-year history, and replaces interim commissioner Joe Bailey just several weeks before the start of football season. The network executive spent the last sixteen years with CBS, the final four of which were as the executive vice president of programming for the home of the NCAA Tournament. Most importantly for the Big East, Aresco is a proven commodity in negotiating broadcast rights, something the conference will begin next month since its contract with ESPN expires following next season. While at CBS, Aresco was not only a key figure in securing the renewal of CBS' coverage of both the NCAA Tournament and Southeastern Conference football/basketball, he also provided the early framework for the Mountain West and CBS Sports Networks to succeed and grow in their respective infancies. Prior to his CBS career, the Tufts University graduate worked at ESPN; helping the "Worldwide Leader in Sports" develop a diverse range of sports coverage as well as the development of college football "Bowl Week" in late December, featuring such games as the Holiday, Peach and Alamo Bowls. Aresco is also a private attorney, having practiced law in Hartford, Connecticut in the past.
Aresco was selected over a number of rumored candidates, including ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas, and already comes into the league office in Providence with mounds of praise from both colleagues and the media. Former Boston Globe columnist Mark Blaudschun, who now runs his own website, was first to report the hire this morning; and heralded his ability to "deal with people," calling him both "charming and tough at the same time." The hire comes one day after the conference trusted consultant Chris Bevilacqua to lead the league in its aforementioned broadcast rights negotiations.
Winning the hire is one thing. Now, the Big East must prove that they made the right choice. Mike Aresco seems like the right man for the job, and should make short work of whatever questions may be raised from his under-the-radar hire.
