SportProjections.com

Jun

19

Recruiting Makes the Man

Filed Under College Hoops | 

As I reviewed the college basketball teams and prepared for the upcoming season, I came to a realization….college basketball is all about the coach. In what other sport does a coach have such a profound effect on the game? College football coaches go through down years every so often as do professional football and basketball coaches, but in college basketball it always seems to be the same great coaches at the top. It doesn’t even matter what school they go to: those great coaches always win.

Let me give you an example of what I mean. John Calipari originally showed up as a winning coach at UMass. He turned some great recruiting and subsequently great coaching into a stint in the NBA. The UMass team he took over was not a great team when he arrived, and I don’t remember them being much since he left. After his stint in the NBA, which can be considered a failure, he took over as head coach at Memphis. Guess what happened? He turned this team into a perennial tourney favorite. Memphis is poised to spend a lot of time in the #1 poll spot this year.

Let’s take a quick look at a couple more examples. Rick Pitino has won at every stop he’s made in the NCAA. Louisville was no powerhouse when he arrived. How about Roy Williams? He left Kansas to return to his struggling alma mater; how long did it take him to win a championship? And look at Ben Howland. He left a good Pitt program and returned UCLA to national prominence. These are just a few examples.

The only explanation I have for this is that recruiting matters more in college basketball than any other sport. A big-name coach has an advantage over lesser-known coaches when it comes to drawing in the kids. Let me give you an example. A few years back when Marvin Williams was a senior in high school, he was wined and dined by every big-name coach there was. He eventually narrowed his choices to Duke (Coach K), North Carolina (Roy Williams) and Washington (Lorenzo Romar?). Did Lorenzo really have a chance? Not with Marvin, but the following year he and a group of determined players started winning. Lorenzo Romar has become one of the hottest young coaches in college and now consistently out-recruits big time coaches, including getting Spencer Hawes last year. I guess we can see the real reason big-name coaches win. It is all about recruiting.

Lonnie
Head Sports Writer
SportProjections.com

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