Bob Huggins is 8-2 lifetime against coach John Calipari, with most of the games taking place when those two coaches were leading Cincinnati and Memphis. That was years ago. Now they are with West Virginia and Kentucky, and folks are wondering whether Huggins’ personal .800 winning percentage will have an impact on the game. I provided my answer to that question, along with telling my best Bob Huggins story (from back when I was an assistant under Pete Gillen at Xavier), in
Just as one key starter returns to the Houston Rockets after two-plus months away, another could soon be facing an injury of comparable intensity. Dwight Howard returned to the starting lineup on Wednesday for the first time since January 23. It’s just the 33rd game played this season for Howard, who has dealt with ongoing right knee problems since first suffering a bone bruise in training camp. Unfortunately for the Rockets, Howard’s return coincides with a new injury to starting point guard Pat
With the NCAA Tourament upon us, it seems like as good a time as any to remind everyone that there is a canyon between coaching in college and coaching in the NBA. There is more than a generation of evidence which clearly illustrates that any NBA team hiring a head coach directly from college is making a huge mistake. P.J. Carlesimo. Tim Floyd. Leonard Hamilton. Lon Kruger. Mike Montgomery. Jerry Tarkanian. Rick Pitino, who failed twice. Even John Calipari, who is
I once heard the statement in coaching, “if you are a great coach but a weak recruiter, you will get fired. But if you are a great recruiter and even a fair coach, you will survive.” Obviously, the goal is to be both. But it does explain the importance in college basketball of getting the best players. Ever since I started coaching, I have always been compared to John Calipari more than any other coach. I guess it’s because I made
As a veteran of the game, Kobe Bryant has seen his fair share of players adapt over the years. It’s easy to see how he’s picked up on traits from his peers and also rivals in his quest to becoming the great player that he is today. Having recently turned 36 years old, and coming off a season where he was limited to just six games, Bryant would be wise to take measures to revamp his style of play. [Read more…]
Free agent Shawn Marion is reportedly set to sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Reports have been coming in for days that Marion was leaning towards Cleveland. The four time all-star has been linked to other teams that have been attempting to acquire his services, including the Indiana Pacers. As an NBA veteran it makes sense that Marion was only interested in a contender, and signing with Cleveland will be an ideal situation for someone attempting to win another championship. The 36 year old
We almost got to hear Donald Sterling’s side of the story. Almost. TMZ.com is reporting that Sterling bailed out of a planned interview with ABC News and Barbara Walters, deciding he was not prepared, along with a second interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper. The woman at the center of the scandal surrounding him, V. Stiviano, kept up her side of the bargain and sat with the woman once called BabaWaWa. “I think he feels really alone, Now really supported by those around
So we close the door on the Mike D’Antoni era in Los Angeles. OK, we slam the door. At least that is what we would do if we were Lakers fans, whose hopes were astronomically high at the start of the D’Antoni era, and whose egos and now black and blue after the worst season in franchise history. The Lakers had nine non-sellouts, set a team record for losses (55), dropped a game against the Clippers by 48 points, and became second-class