It Happens To The Best Of Us

[guru]

To those of us in the coaching game, probably one of the hardest things is to rebuild after a few championship-level seasons. Eventually, kids graduate, and sometimes the cupboard is bare the following year. It's easy to get used to having a stable of thoroughbreds, until one year you just don't. Eventually we all go through it.

Including Pat Summitt.

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncw/recap?gameId=294000004

[Bruce Kritzler]

Yeh, probably only 10 hs All americans on the roster.

[Brian]

Re: It Happens To The Best Of Us

To those of us in the coaching game, probably one of the hardest things is to rebuild after a few championship-level seasons.

Whew! From the title, I thought this was going to be about ED.

;]

[Marlow]

Which is why 'Coach of the Year' honors are so bogus. For colleges it should be the 'Best Recruiter/People Manager" award, and for HS coaches, it's the "You Lucky B*stard" award!

[BillVol]

I've said for years that Pat Summitt is not even among the top ten tacticians in women's ball. Probably not even in the top 100. I posted this on one of the Lady Vol message boards a few years ago and the people there loved it. I had my life threatened on that board once -- no kidding.

Pat is a lot like Dean Smith in that neither is/was a great tactician, but they both have/had outstanding overall programs. Smith still keeps tabs on all of his former players, just like Pat. I don't know what Dean's graduation rate at UNC was, but I'll bet it was high. Pat's graduation rate is 100%, I believe. When you win big and produce solid citizens, it's hard to complain.

[bambam]

I've said for years that Pat Summitt is not even among the top ten tacticians in women's ball. Probably not even in the top 100. I posted this on one of the Lady Vol message boards a few years ago and the people there loved it. I had my life threatened on that board once -- no kidding.

Pat is a lot like Dean Smith in that neither is/was a great tactician, but they both have/had outstanding overall programs. Smith still keeps tabs on all of his former players, just like Pat. I don't know what Dean's graduation rate at UNC was, but I'll bet it was high. Pat's graduation rate is 100%, I believe. When you win big and produce solid citizens, it's hard to complain.

Now, you can't meet much more of a biased Dukie than me (3 degrees from the place), but I think Dean Smith was a great offensive tactician. And you're right - he ran a very clean program, his players graduated and they loved him. The guy was a class coach IMHO. From what I hear, Roy Williams has continued everything he did and is also a superb offensive coach. They're polar opposites of Coach K, who I have never thought was a great offensive coach, and I think he realizes that, but who wants to kill you with his defense. And I can also tell you that personally you can't meet a better guy than K.

[guru]

Traveling today, Tennessee has a two hour practice scheduled for tomorrow.

:shock:

[BillVol]

I've said for years that Pat Summitt is not even among the top ten tacticians in women's ball. Probably not even in the top 100. I posted this on one of the Lady Vol message boards a few years ago and the people there loved it. I had my life threatened on that board once -- no kidding.

Pat is a lot like Dean Smith in that neither is/was a great tactician, but they both have/had outstanding overall programs. Smith still keeps tabs on all of his former players, just like Pat. I don't know what Dean's graduation rate at UNC was, but I'll bet it was high. Pat's graduation rate is 100%, I believe. When you win big and produce solid citizens, it's hard to complain.

Now, you can't meet much more of a biased Dukie than me (3 degrees from the place), but I think Dean Smith was a great offensive tactician. And you're right - he ran a very clean program, his players graduated and they loved him. The guy was a class coach IMHO. From what I hear, Roy Williams has continued everything he did and is also a superb offensive coach. They're polar opposites of Coach K, who I have never thought was a great offensive coach, and I think he realizes that, but who wants to kill you with his defense. And I can also tell you that personally you can't meet a better guy than K.

I dunno, bam. Jordan, Worthy, Perkins, Black -- and the Heels lose in the NCAAs to Georgia in '83 and Indiana in '84? Worthy may have been gone by '84, but I'm not sure. But they still had Jordan, Perkins and Black, and others. Anyhow, running the four corners in the first place with the talent Dean had makes me wonder about him.

As for Coach K, whatever he does, it works. I can't say a thing bad about him. In his first year at Duke BTW, Tennessee beat the Devils. Duke had Gene Banks. We had Reggie Johnson. I think it was in the Cabrillo Classic. I remember listening to the game on radio late into the night. We'll take it! UT and Duke are tied 7-7 in the overall series. BTW, we are also tied in the football overall series. Duke has a great football tradition, although you have to go back a few years...