The commentators were bad mouthing Butler and its coach. Butler better be careful because they were in danger of being blown away. Florida's coach Billy Donovan was outthinking his much younger opponent Butler's Brad Stevens. It was fortuitous that a Butler player had fouled out so that another from Florida could come in and help motivate Butler.
Of all the things of greatest importance, it sounded throughout the game that Butler was not likely to win. To hear it on TV without any picture, the game was almost hopeless.
Of course, this was fiction. Butler had everything well in hand, even after they failed to score and win in regulation. One CBS commentator absurdly claimed that Florida's loss had something to do with Billy Donovan's failure in the waning seconds of the game to get the ball inside to the "big horses." The fact is that it took a three-pointer to tie the game. So they should go for two points to lose the game?
But perhaps the most important issue is that despite his clearly better credentials than almost any coach other than Donovan, and the fact that he has now won more games than any other coach in the NCAA tournament over the past two years, Stevens is still somehow too young to be considered among the best coaches in college basketball.
That title goes only to those sages who have paid their dues over decades. Even Donovan with a championship does not yet entirely fit the bill.
And for those who are at major powers, who necessarily garner the most attention.
When picking the best college basketball coaches, it is difficult to pick those who are untested, whose history is still to be written and who fail the test of longevity like Jim Calhoun, Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski. In the scheme of things, even Sean Miller is far too young to make a meaningful game the same as great seasons over time.
Some coaches never reach the Final Four. Most do not win NCAA Division I basketball championships. Yet, if you want real credentials, you just are not the best until you win a championship.
Of course, the NCAA basketball tournament has broken many hearts of those fans whose coaches and teams were great. Injuries figure heavily in some years. Luck is also a factor. And any hot team can beat almost any other team any given day.
Yet, we tend to give deference to those teams whose coaches are grey, and whose lives show continuing excellence.
If we looked back in time, Bobby Knight was already great when he won his national championship at 35. He had coached for several years and had a reputation of putting together great team defense and very controlled offenses. His arsenal was a coterie of very famous basketball coaches from whom he learned and passed on to his players who became coaches the wisdom of the game.
Funny thing about mentors. When they are still young, they are not given enough credit. In some ways, you have to assume that as much as Dean Smith was great, his assistants were almost as great. Same with Bobby Knight, although none have as developed as many coaches as UNC's Dean Smith.
We have two coaches left in the tournament who could soon wear the mantel of "one of the best." Stevens is clearly one. If he does win the title this year, Stevens has to be considered one of the best. It is a long shot. But it could happen.
The other coach, VCU's Shaka Smart, was an assistant under Donovan. And he may be even better than Stevens.
Stevens has a seasoned group playing this year. Some played in the final game last year. Largely with only one player, his point guard Gonzales, Smart has his team poised to get into the Final Four for the first time.
While neither is likely to make it all the way, Stevens surely has already arrived. You can make any arguments you want about experience. Yet, if Knight could get his credentials as early as he could, surely so can Stevens.
In the end, it is going to take some time for most to decide who is ranked as the best today. To many, the answer is already clear. Both Stevens and Smart are already in the top ranks. Exactly where is not clear. But they could easily sport better pedigrees than any other coach in history by the time they are as old as they are.
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