 |
| |
|
 |
 |
|
|
|||||||||||
|
Wedding bells For Williams, Boeheim, bridesmaid days may be overPosted: Monday March 31, 2003 11:19 AMUpdated: Monday March 31, 2003 1:24 PM
For college basketball coaches, there’s no club more exclusive than the Final Four, and yet there are no restrictions to its criteria. Young or old, robust or thin, newly employed or firmly entrenched, membership is yours for the mere cost of four NCAA tournament victories. And so will the fraternity welcome two new pledges this weekend in New Orleans. There they will be greeted by two of the brotherhood’s most esteemed elders, who, if history serves, will wind up teaching them a lesson. Since 1990, only three coaches -- UCLA’s Jim Harrick, Kentucky’s Tubby Smith and Connecticut’s Jim Calhoun -- have won the national title the same year as their first Final Four, and Smith did it in a field with three other newbies. Obviously, that means little to Texas’ Rick Barnes and Marquette’s Tom Crean, two fine gentlemen who have single-handedly resurrected proud programs in a short amount of time and have now with this milestone forever elevated their profile from mere coaches to icons. But both Roy Williams and Jim Boeheim achieved such status long ago. For Williams, this is Final Four No. 4, Boeheim No. 3. They are the ultimate bridesmaids, winning hundreds of games but never the ultimate one. Williams reached his first title game so quickly, in his third year at Kansas, one thought for sure it would have come by now. Boeheim was one Keith Smart jumper away in ’87. Sixteen years and another title loss later, karma has yet to return the favor. No disrespect to Barnes or Crean, but at 48 and 37, respectively, it’s hard to believe they won’t get more chances. Either could wind up being the next Mike Krzyzewski or Lute Olson. This year, it should finally be Williams or Boeheim’s moment. It seems only fair. It also seems favorable, based on the circumstances. For Williams, it’s almost as if he needed a season like this one. After years of being unable to fulfill massive expectations, he was able to enter March without the usual pressure. No one in their right mind thought this team was as dominant as its Final Four predecessor, and yet it managed to win the Big 12 title, then beat both Duke and Arizona in the same regional. He also has a coach’s dream with the duo of Nick Collison and Kirk Hinrich, two players who Williams flat out says rejuvenated his career after it hit a crossroads in the late ‘90s. They, like Maryland’s Juan Dixon and Lonny Baxter last year or Michigan State’s Mateen Cleaves and Morris Peterson before them, carry with them the motivating taste of getting there before but falling short. How fitting it would be if the same duo that helped keep Williams in Lawrence three years earlier also helped deliver him his first national title? Syracuse’s Boeheim, it could be argued, had also hit a rut from which he is now being rescued. After years as the Big East’s preeminent power, the Orangemen had been eclipsed in recent years by Connecticut and even Pittsburgh, failing to reach the NCAAs last year for only the third time since 1983. Some wondered whether the 58-year-old had passed his prime. But this is a 58-year-old with the looks and energy of a 38-year-old, one who attacked the recruiting scene harder than ever the past couple years to land a core of youngsters -- Carmelo Anthony, Gerry McNamara, Hakim Warrick and Billy Edelin -- who, though they may not stick together for a run quite like Collison and Hinrich’s, have already recaptured the magic. For two of the game’s most accomplished coaches, that one remaining elusive achievement may be only a week away. Unfortunately, it can only happen for one. In a tournament where experience is always a virtue, both have it on their side. But only one, Williams, also has it at power forward and shooting guard. The bridesmaid is about to get married. Stewart Mandel covers college sports for SI.com. Got a comment, question or scoop for Stewart? Click here. |
|
|||||||||
| |||||||||||
