Coaches of March Madness

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) holds an annual spectacle in March, aptly named March Madness. In this tournament, sixty-four teams compete to win four regional brackets to arrive at the final four where the overall champion is crowned the winner of college basketball's national championship. Over the course of the last twenty-five years since the tournament expanded to include more teams, coaches from big and small schools have proven their mettle, winning the trophy as college basketball's best team.

But what about the coaches? This year we knew that Florida had a better team than Ohio State so it was no surprise that the Florida Gators won. But is Billy Donovan a better coach than Ohio State's Thad Matta? Or for that matter, is Billy Donovan, who has led Florida to two consecutive national championships better than his mentor Rick Pitino, who only has one. Is Dean Smith, the legion from Chapel Hill, NC's North Carolina Tar Heel program better than conference foe, Mike Krzyzewski? Is there a way for us to know?

If any team in America needed one win who would it call? It seems like an unreasonable question and it probably is. Consider Memphis' John Calipari for an example. He is a recruiting giant who will field arguably the most talented team in the nation when the season opens up this fall. Yet, you would be hard-pressed to find any national writers who would consider him the premiere basketball strategist of the day. The same goes for Bruce Pearl at Tennessee, whose high octane style of play is embraced by everyone but does not always translate well in a single game format.

If I had four coaches, who have risen to the top, as coaches with supreme minds to go along with their outlandish talent they would be, Coach K at Duke, Roy Williams at North Carolina, John Thompson at Georgetown, and UCLA's top man, Ben Howland. One could argue that other coaches were more deserving, including the aforementioned, Billy Donovan. However, given one game to win, Billy Donovan has yet to prove himself as a game strategist. This debate has more to do with Hubie Brown than Pat Riley, fantastic coaches but one with the real essence of the game and the other, the style of it.

While in the last two years, style and athleticism have won out and will conceivably continue to do so. For the purpose of this contrast, it is the substance of their coaching abilities and skills to construct a plan to defeat one opponent that makes the difference. So what of our final four? Is it even thinkable to try to put Ben Howland against John Thompson? What about Coach Krzyzewski against Roy Williams? The last two play in the same conference and their rivalry is as heated as is seen nationally as both teams compete for a national championship on a yearly basis.

The only real way to decide between the four is to judge on a merit point basis based on basketball coaching skills. They are motivation, game planning, game management, and end game coaching. Before you jump in crucifixion of my criteria let me explain. Regardless of what coach is on the bench, the first step to big game coaching is what happens in that locker room before the team comes out. That part is motivation. It is the ability to hype, encourage or inspire a team to achieve beyond its limitations. Secondly, game planning is critical because it is the ability of a coach to see weaknesses in its opponent while at the same time figuring out how his team can exploit them. In this game, a coach's ability to plan is critical because like the Florida football team proved in January, give a dynamic coach time to plan and they can make the better team look like a stepchild. The next criteria are game management. In a game like this, a coach will have to stem the uprising tide when the opposing team goes on a run. He will also have to handle the ins and outs of player rotation. This may sound simple, but in a game of this magnitude, rotation and conditioning are critical. Lastly, end game coaching is probably the most respected part of a coach's game. His ability to stabilize his team and get them to follow through on his plan for success is essential as teams compete at the highest level. So how does this shake out? If we separate Mike Krzyzewski and Roy Williams because of their conference affiliations, our bracket would pit Mike Krzyzewski against John Thompson and Roy Williams against Ben Howland.

A multiple winner of national championships, Mike Krzyzewski is poised to surpass his mentor Bob Knight and ultimately Dean Smith as the winningest coach in Division 1 college basketball history. From his start at West Point to his long tenure at Duke, Coach K has been the epitome of both coaching prowess and an iron-clad will that has allowed him to maintain the level of excellence his program has had for the last twenty years.

John Thompson is the newcomer on the block having only coached the last six years or so at Georgetown after his work at Princeton. Following in the footsteps of his dad who also coached at Georgetown, John Thompson is a staunch disciplinarian of the game, who champions intense defense and a system of offense that drives opposing teams mad.

Roy Williams is a former assistant at UNC before leaving to coach at Kansas and then returning home three seasons ago to bring the storied program back to national prominence. A disciple of Dean Smith's, Roy Williams proved his strength, winning the national championship in just his second season at North Carolina.

Ben Howland is about everything that is good about the game. With very little flash and a strong work ethic, Coach Howland, extends his nature to the court in his players by allowing them to play their game within the confines of a structure that is blue collar through and through.

So how does the competition shake out?

In the first semifinal, Coach K bests Coach Thompson three criteria to one. John Thompson and Coach K are both intense motivators whose players always rise to the occasion. However, over the last two seasons, John Thompson has exceeded Coach K to become the master motivator of college basketball. In the other areas, Coach K pummels John Thompson, with a mind as sophisticated as a military general, and a passion as driven as a Ferrari; Coach K is both a player's coach and a coach's coach. And he knocks out John Thompson quickly.

The other semifinal is more difficult to predict. In fact, it is a tie as Roy Williams gets the nod in motivation and game management. While Ben Howland gets the trophy in game planning and end game coaching. So what could the deciding factor be in this equation? Tenacity. Ben Howland is a pit bull waiting to fight whereas Roy Williams is a german shepherd looking to fight. The pit bull always wins. And Howland wins this fight as well.

So, Coach K against the hard-working Ben Howland. In one game, with one game to win, the coach America wants to be on the sidelines is, Mike Krzyzewski. Was it close? Not really. Why? Whether you love him or hate him, there is no other coach more feared and respected in the nation than Mike Krzyzewski. He is the one coach who has won with great talent and with decent talent. He recruits well. But more than that, he communicates better. He is a master motivator and gets his chomps off in every game.

Coach K, you are our guy. Now get out there and get us a W!