Much is being made of the unbeaten teams now. After Indiana's loss to Michigan State and Louisville's loss to Georgetown, there are only four left -- Syracuse, Baylor, Missouri and Murray State. That's right -- Murray State! It has been 36 year since Indiana went undefeated during the 1976 season. That year Indiana won all 32 games they played -- having Kent Benson, Tom Abernethy and Scott May selected to the all tournament team. May averaged 22.6 points per game that season and Bobby Knight won his first national championship.
What follows is a list of the last team to lose and it's record to open the season:
Year Team__________Opening Record________Notes_______________________________
1949 Western Kentucky 14-0
1950 Holy Cross 24-0
1951 Columbia 22-0 Columbia 1st loss in 1st Rd. of NCAA Tourney vs Ill
1952 Duquense 17-0 Texas State opened 24-0, but not considered a major
1953 Seton Hall 26-0
1954 Kentucky 26-0 Rupp wins playoff against LSU declines NCAA
Tournament Invitation as their three top players are
ineligible
1955 Kentucky 7-0
1956 San Francisco 29-0 USF is first team to go undefeated and win NCAA's
1957 North Carolina 32-0 UNC finishes undefeated beats Kanasas in Triple OT
1958 West Virginia 14-0
1959 Auburn 18-0
1960 Cincinnati 12-0
1961 Ohio State 27-0 Ohio State first loss in NCAA Final vs. Cinncinati
1962 Ohio State 21-0
1963 Loyola (Chicago) 20-0
1964 UCLA 30-0 Won NCAA Tournament
1965 Providence 19-0
1966 Texas Western 23-0 Haskins knocks out UK NCAA Final, Texas Western's
Kentucky 23-0 first and only loss was against Seattle U.
1967 UCLA 30-0 Won NCAA Tournament
1968 Houston 32-0 Houston's first loss in National Seminfinal vs. UCLA
St. Bonaventure 23-0 Bonnies finish regular season undefeated lose in NCAA
2nd round against North Carolina
1969 UCLA 25-0 UCLA first loss against USC in final game of regular season is
Bruins first loss ever at Pauley Pavilion
1970 UCLA 20-0
1971 Marquette 28-0 First loss in NCAA Tournament vs. Ohio State
Penn 29-0 First loss in NCAA Tournament vs. Villanova
1972 UCLA 30-0 Wins NCAA Tournament
1973 UCLA 30-0 Wins NCAA Tournament
NC State 27-0 Also undefeated in ineligible for NCAA Tournament
1974 Maryland Eastern Shore 19-0
1975 Indiana 30-0
1976 Indiana 32-0 Undefeated wins NCAA Tournament
Rutgers 32-0 First loss in NCAA Semifinal against Michigan
1977 San Francisco 29-0
1978 Kentucky 14-0
1979 Indiana State 34-0 First loss in NCAA final against Michigan State
1980 DePaul 25-0
1981 Oregon State 25-0
1982 Missouri 18-0
1983 UNLV 24-0
1984 North Carolina 24-0
1985 Georgetown 17-0
1986 North Carolina 21-0
1987 Iowa, Clemson 16-0
1988 BYU 15-0
1989 Illinois 17-0
1990 Kansas 18-0
1991 UNLV 34-0 First loss in NCAA Semifinal vs. Duke
1992 Oklahoma State 20-0
1993 Virginia 11-0
1994 UCLA 13-0
1995 UConn 14-0
1996 UMass 25-0
1997 Kansas 22-0
1998 Stanford 18-0
1999 UConn 19-0
2000 Syracuse 19-0
2001 Stanford 19-0
2002 Miami (FL), Butler 13-0
2003 Duke 11-0
2004 St. Joseph's 27-0 Rose to #1 in Rankings
2005 Illinois 28-0
2006 Duke, Florida 16-0
2007 UCLA 13-0
2008 Memphis 25-0
2009 Wake Forest 16-0
2010 Kentucky 19-0
2011 Ohio State 24-0
A couple of caveats. First I only have research available for when a poll is released accordingly, if a team opened the season 21-0 and was ranked and then was 22-1 the next week I can't tell if they lost before the 22nd victory. Accordingly, a couple of times I have included two undefeated teams, not knowing which lost first. See Miami (FL) and Butler in 2002. Also, if a team was undefeated and not ranked they are not included as the rankings are the source of the information. This was probably more so true when the small colleges were separated into a separate division. See Texas State in 1952 (although Texas State did get ranked, there may be numerous times these schools were not ranked).
Other interesting notes. Everyone will talk about Indiana's 1976 team, but Rutgers was also undefeated during the regular season that year -- losing in the National Semifinal to Michigan. In 1954, Kentucky actually finished undefeated, not losing all season, but three players were ruled ineligible and Rupp chose not to participate in the NCAA tournament. Similarly, in 1973 NC State finished undefeated, but the NCAA ruled that the Wolfpack was ineligible for the NCAA Tournament due to a recruiting violation involving David Thompson.
Murray State's run this season is notable because we really have not seen a midmajor or below the "Red Line" school put together an undefeated start exceeding the Racer's start since St. Joseph's 27-0 run to start the 2004 season.
Hopefully, I have not missed something.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Rick Majerus
I'm the kid who stood on the fringes of the playground courts waiting to get picked . . . and waiting . . . and waiting some more, until there was no one left but me. I'm the teenager who got cut from the high school team. I'm the guy who walked home heartbroken after being ignored in the CYO open gym night games. I'm the college sophomore who got dumped from the team. I'm the fifty-year old University of Utah coach who would think about chucking it all if I could be the last guy on Jazz bench. Just let me wear a uniform and be part of the team. Rick Majerus in My Life on a Napkin his autobiography written after his University of Utah team went to the Final Four in 1998.
Majerus started his coaching career at his alma mater Marquette. There he succeeded legendary Al McGuire whom he had worked for as an assistant coach. But Majerus did not do particularly well in his first head coaching stop. His team averaged 19 wins over his three years there, but the expectations following McGuire were higher. McGuire had led the Warriors to the 1977 NCAA Championship. A shocking victory that the alumni felt should be accomplished again. Majerus recalls feeling that coaching at his alma mater and a school that he had been a student, player, assistant coach and now head coach was not a good situation. It placed both too much pressure on him and he became frustrated with many of the expectations fans, administrators and the Marquette staff had of him. Majerus differed from his mentor McGuire in that McGuire used the mantra, "If they have grass in front of their home, we're not going to recruite them."
Majerus' recruits were often projects (see Michael Doleac, Alex Jensen, Andrew Bogut, and Keith Van Horn). By no means bad players, but players who needed time to develop under the proper coach.
Majerus left after three years for the head coaching position at Ball State in Muncie, Indiana.
I first became acquainted with Majerus in 1989. I was only a freshman in college. Majerus had taken this obscure school in Muncie, Indiana to the NCAA Tournament with an impressive 28-2 record in only his second season at the school. His team appeared in the bracket as a number nine seed and opened the tournament by defeating Pitt 68-64. From that day forward, Majerus became something of a college basketball icon. Living a dream that I would never realize, but wished so badly I could. Majerus had started as a walk on at Marquette, eventually forming relationships with Al McGuire, Al Harris and basketball figures that would last his lifetime.
After his victory over Pittsburgh in 1989 Majerus' team lost in the second round to eventual Final Four participant Illinois. Majerus' success at Ball State led him to an appearance on Late Night with David Letterman. Letterman, a Ball State alum loved Majerus. But Majerus achieved a majority of his success at the University of Utah. After his successful season in Muncie, Majerus accepted the Utah head coaching position. He was phenomenally successful at the Utes head coach. Majerus spent fifteen seasons as the head coach of the Utes, winning 362 games and appearing in 11 NCAA Tournaments. It took Majerus only two years to take a Utah program that had gone 16-14 to 30-4 and a spot in the NCAA Sweet 16.
Majerus usually found players who were under recruited and developed them into All Americans. Alex Jensen was a solid recruit who played his high school basketball at Viewmont High School in Salt Lake City, his hard nosed play personified a Majerus team. In his senior season Jensen was Utah's leading scorer, averaging only thirteen points per game, but the teams he played on went to the NCAA Tournament all four years.
Majerus is a rotund figure, he doesn't look like a college basketball coach, "In a lot of ways, I'm just like you. I've got to watch my diet. I try to find two socks that match. I go to the dry cleaners. I worry about my mom. In some ways I think I represent everyman as a coach. I think people kind of relate to me. I think there's a catharsis there. They see themselves, they see me, they think 'this guy doesn't look like a coach.'"
Indeed the attraction of Majerus is that he is so ordinary. When I met Majerus, I had him sign my book, "To the guys, sorry I missed poker night." He seemed like the type of guy you'd want to sit around a poker table with. Not because he'd be a great player, but because he'd make the game more interesting, a great guy to drink beer with.
My favorite Rick Majerus story, however, never received much publicity and only the locals in Salt Lake City really heard it. As most everyone is aware, Majerus lived in a hotel room close to the University campus. He remained a batchelor and continues to be a batchelor to this day.
However, during a successful season an unwed youngster was pregnant. Not feeling that she could provide the baby a proper home upon her daughter's birth, she panicked and had no idea what to do with the child (or maybe she had the best idea). Knowing Majerus' pull within the Utah and Salt Lake City communities she dropped the child off at the door of his hotel room in a small rocker with a note that just indicated that she had heard a lot about Rick Majerus and she knew that with his connections he would find her new daughter a good home. Majerus picked up the child, called to the hotel lobby and asked for a warm bottle of milk.
When the adoption agency arrived they found the rotund Majerus sitting in his chair, nursing the baby with the bottle of warm milk in the babies' mouth, rocking it back and forth watching game film on his big screen television. Majerus did just as the mother had thought and through his connections with the Utah alumni found the daughter an excellent home. These are the type of stories not many people hear about Rick Majerus.
Majerus' best team went 30-4 and advanced all the way to the championship game. Losing to Kentucky by nine points in the final. His team pulled several shocking victories enroute to the championship game, beating North Carolina in the national semifinal, Arizona in the regional final, West Virginia and Arkansas as well. All top tier programs. His team shot over 50% from the field that season, played stout defense and seldom turned the ball over. His key player was point guard Andre Miller. In the title game, Jensen went 5 of 6 from the field and scored fourteen points.
St. Louis is Majerus' new home. He has the Billikens off to a 10-1 start and last week Majerus won his 500th career game. The Billikens are shooting 49.9% from the field, like the '98 Utah team they are lead by a steady point guard Kwaimane Mitchell, solid defense and physical and steady interior player - Brian Conklin. Interestingly, St Louis will host a regional in the NCAA Tournament this season. I can't help but think that if things break right, Majerus may be able to get his team out of the first two rounds and have a home court advantage in St. Louis, making another improbable run possible.
Majerus started his coaching career at his alma mater Marquette. There he succeeded legendary Al McGuire whom he had worked for as an assistant coach. But Majerus did not do particularly well in his first head coaching stop. His team averaged 19 wins over his three years there, but the expectations following McGuire were higher. McGuire had led the Warriors to the 1977 NCAA Championship. A shocking victory that the alumni felt should be accomplished again. Majerus recalls feeling that coaching at his alma mater and a school that he had been a student, player, assistant coach and now head coach was not a good situation. It placed both too much pressure on him and he became frustrated with many of the expectations fans, administrators and the Marquette staff had of him. Majerus differed from his mentor McGuire in that McGuire used the mantra, "If they have grass in front of their home, we're not going to recruite them."
Majerus' recruits were often projects (see Michael Doleac, Alex Jensen, Andrew Bogut, and Keith Van Horn). By no means bad players, but players who needed time to develop under the proper coach.
Majerus left after three years for the head coaching position at Ball State in Muncie, Indiana.
I first became acquainted with Majerus in 1989. I was only a freshman in college. Majerus had taken this obscure school in Muncie, Indiana to the NCAA Tournament with an impressive 28-2 record in only his second season at the school. His team appeared in the bracket as a number nine seed and opened the tournament by defeating Pitt 68-64. From that day forward, Majerus became something of a college basketball icon. Living a dream that I would never realize, but wished so badly I could. Majerus had started as a walk on at Marquette, eventually forming relationships with Al McGuire, Al Harris and basketball figures that would last his lifetime.
After his victory over Pittsburgh in 1989 Majerus' team lost in the second round to eventual Final Four participant Illinois. Majerus' success at Ball State led him to an appearance on Late Night with David Letterman. Letterman, a Ball State alum loved Majerus. But Majerus achieved a majority of his success at the University of Utah. After his successful season in Muncie, Majerus accepted the Utah head coaching position. He was phenomenally successful at the Utes head coach. Majerus spent fifteen seasons as the head coach of the Utes, winning 362 games and appearing in 11 NCAA Tournaments. It took Majerus only two years to take a Utah program that had gone 16-14 to 30-4 and a spot in the NCAA Sweet 16.
Majerus usually found players who were under recruited and developed them into All Americans. Alex Jensen was a solid recruit who played his high school basketball at Viewmont High School in Salt Lake City, his hard nosed play personified a Majerus team. In his senior season Jensen was Utah's leading scorer, averaging only thirteen points per game, but the teams he played on went to the NCAA Tournament all four years.
Majerus is a rotund figure, he doesn't look like a college basketball coach, "In a lot of ways, I'm just like you. I've got to watch my diet. I try to find two socks that match. I go to the dry cleaners. I worry about my mom. In some ways I think I represent everyman as a coach. I think people kind of relate to me. I think there's a catharsis there. They see themselves, they see me, they think 'this guy doesn't look like a coach.'"
Indeed the attraction of Majerus is that he is so ordinary. When I met Majerus, I had him sign my book, "To the guys, sorry I missed poker night." He seemed like the type of guy you'd want to sit around a poker table with. Not because he'd be a great player, but because he'd make the game more interesting, a great guy to drink beer with.
My favorite Rick Majerus story, however, never received much publicity and only the locals in Salt Lake City really heard it. As most everyone is aware, Majerus lived in a hotel room close to the University campus. He remained a batchelor and continues to be a batchelor to this day.
However, during a successful season an unwed youngster was pregnant. Not feeling that she could provide the baby a proper home upon her daughter's birth, she panicked and had no idea what to do with the child (or maybe she had the best idea). Knowing Majerus' pull within the Utah and Salt Lake City communities she dropped the child off at the door of his hotel room in a small rocker with a note that just indicated that she had heard a lot about Rick Majerus and she knew that with his connections he would find her new daughter a good home. Majerus picked up the child, called to the hotel lobby and asked for a warm bottle of milk.
When the adoption agency arrived they found the rotund Majerus sitting in his chair, nursing the baby with the bottle of warm milk in the babies' mouth, rocking it back and forth watching game film on his big screen television. Majerus did just as the mother had thought and through his connections with the Utah alumni found the daughter an excellent home. These are the type of stories not many people hear about Rick Majerus.
Majerus' best team went 30-4 and advanced all the way to the championship game. Losing to Kentucky by nine points in the final. His team pulled several shocking victories enroute to the championship game, beating North Carolina in the national semifinal, Arizona in the regional final, West Virginia and Arkansas as well. All top tier programs. His team shot over 50% from the field that season, played stout defense and seldom turned the ball over. His key player was point guard Andre Miller. In the title game, Jensen went 5 of 6 from the field and scored fourteen points.
St. Louis is Majerus' new home. He has the Billikens off to a 10-1 start and last week Majerus won his 500th career game. The Billikens are shooting 49.9% from the field, like the '98 Utah team they are lead by a steady point guard Kwaimane Mitchell, solid defense and physical and steady interior player - Brian Conklin. Interestingly, St Louis will host a regional in the NCAA Tournament this season. I can't help but think that if things break right, Majerus may be able to get his team out of the first two rounds and have a home court advantage in St. Louis, making another improbable run possible.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Ranked Ivy League Teams
This past week, Harvard entered the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time in school history. The Associated Press reported the story with the following article on the team and several quotes from head coach Tommy Amaker. The article is attached
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/another-1st-for-unbeaten-harvard-a-spot-in-the-mens-top-25-for-1st-time-in-school-history/2011/12/06/gIQAggtnYO_story.html
The article quickly indicates that this was "only the third time since 1970 that an Ivy League team had been ranked."
The purpose of this blog is not to take anything away from the accomplishments of the Crimson or to somehow show up the Associated Press, however, upon reading the article, my mind quickly returned to several Princeton and Penn teams (Ivy League Teams) that were ranked. Quite honestly, throughout most of the 1970's and even into 1990 it was not that rare for an Ivy League school to be ranked.
First, let's not underestimate the accomplishments of Harvard and hopefully by writing this in some way I'm celebrating their recent accomplishment. As an Ivy League school Harvard, like all Ivy League schools does not give out financial awards after acceptance for anything other than family need. Ivy League coaches can, however, help student-athletes gain acceptance with academic qualifications that are much lower than the average applicant. Accordingly, the Ivy League schools are playing on a different field than the rest of college basketball. While high school student athletes across the country compete for athletic scholarships they will not get one from and Ivy League school.
Given these restrictions, remarkably, several Ivy League schools have found their way into the Associated Press, former United Press International and current ESPN/USA Today poll. Polls do offer a subjective element in that they are voted on, but they are an excellent barometer of the schools that are receiving exposure from the national media and television.
First and foremost, even the most novice follower of college basketball can remember Penn's run to the Final Four in 1979. The same year that most experts agree college basketball began its modern era. This was the season Bird played Magic in the final in Salt Lake City. Clearly, this was at team worthy of ranking and the Quakers entered the poll in the final rankings at 14th.
Prior to that magical season and throughout most of the early 1970's Penn was in fact ranked. In 1975 the Quakers entered the poll at number 20 in the preseason, moved up to 14, 13, 9, and dropped to 12 on December 31st. They reentered the poll at 20 on February 4th and moved up to 14, 12, 10, 10, 11, 15, and 17 before finally falling out. That same season (1975) Princeton was also ranked entering the poll at number 13 on March 25th and finishing at number 12 in the final poll.
In 1974, Penn was ranked 16th in the preseason, held that ranking for one week, moved to 11th in the December 11th poll before dropping out for the rest of the season a week later. In 1972-73, Penn again started the season with a number 9 ranking, remained ranked for seven weeks before dropping out until the final poll of the season where they reentered again at number 18. In 1971-72, Penn again was ranked for the entire season, finishing at number 3 in the final poll and reaching the Elite 8 of the NCAA Tournament. Their ranking that season never dropped below 14 and they spent most of the season in the top 10. That same season Princeton actually spent a week ranked at number 18 in the December 14 poll.
In 1970-71 Penn spent the last 13 weeks of the season in top 5, going undefeated 27-0 during the regular season before losing to Villanova in the Regional Final. In 1969-70 the Quakers again had a remarkable season going 25-1 before losing to Niagara in the first round and settling for a final ranking of 13th.
Notably, Columbia appeared in the rankings for eight weeks during the 1968-69 season, finishing 20-4. The prior season, Columbia went 22-4 and reached as high as number 6 in the AP poll.
Ivy League schools have also been ranked during the "modern era" of the game. Princeton, going 24-2, in 1990-91 entered the poll on February 12th at 25th and then moved up to 23, 21, 19, lost to Villanova in the first round and finished 18th in the final poll. Penn also was ranked in the 1993-94 poll at 24th on March 7th and then finishing at 25th in the final poll.
During the modern era of the game which would have been after Larry and Magic played in Salt Lake City in 1979, the best run by an Ivy League school was Princeton in 1997-98. During that remarkable season, the Tigers finished 27-2, losing to Michigan State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers first entered the poll at 25th on December 2nd rising as high as 8th on March 3rd and March 10th before falling to 16th after their loss to the Spartans in the tournament. The most impressive aspect of Princeton's 1998 season may have been that there were 314 schools playing division I college basketball that season. 306 of those schools offered scholarships to their athletes, the Tigers accomplished their lofty ranking without the benefit of scholarhsips.
Subsequent to my writing of this column and I am adding this paragraph after that article appeared for the sake of being more thorough, the New York Times published an intersting article by Bill Pennington. Pennington's piece is giving us a window into the future, it likely indicates that we will be seeing more ranked Ivy League teams and that this is likely only the beginning due to new financial aid standards and academic standards for athletes at those institutions. A link is :
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/23/sports/financial-aid-changes-game-as-sports-teams-in-ivies-rise.html?pagewanted=all
Pennington is basically saying what we are seeing with Harvard. If a kid can get to go to an Ivy League school for basically the same cost as a public institution they are going to take the Ivy education. It will be interesting to see how this plays out during the course of the future of college basketball.
Most fans will also remeber the recent run of Cornell only two years ago. The Big Red were ranked 22nd in the USA Today/ESPN poll at one point. This is probably a result of what Pennington writes about.
Finally, much was also made out of the fact that this was Harvard's first ranking ever. While it was the Crimson's first appearance in the Associated Press poll, the Crimson did enter the UPI poll, albeit briefly in 1971-72 where they appeared in the preseason rankings at number 19, they probably didn't receive near the publicity for that ranking as they have for their most recent ranking.
Unfortunately, our Harvard story does not have the happiest of endings, the Crimson lost to UConn 67-53 on Thursday, likely ending their one week run in the rankings. They do have fifteen more weeks left to regain a ranking.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/another-1st-for-unbeaten-harvard-a-spot-in-the-mens-top-25-for-1st-time-in-school-history/2011/12/06/gIQAggtnYO_story.html
The article quickly indicates that this was "only the third time since 1970 that an Ivy League team had been ranked."
The purpose of this blog is not to take anything away from the accomplishments of the Crimson or to somehow show up the Associated Press, however, upon reading the article, my mind quickly returned to several Princeton and Penn teams (Ivy League Teams) that were ranked. Quite honestly, throughout most of the 1970's and even into 1990 it was not that rare for an Ivy League school to be ranked.
First, let's not underestimate the accomplishments of Harvard and hopefully by writing this in some way I'm celebrating their recent accomplishment. As an Ivy League school Harvard, like all Ivy League schools does not give out financial awards after acceptance for anything other than family need. Ivy League coaches can, however, help student-athletes gain acceptance with academic qualifications that are much lower than the average applicant. Accordingly, the Ivy League schools are playing on a different field than the rest of college basketball. While high school student athletes across the country compete for athletic scholarships they will not get one from and Ivy League school.
Given these restrictions, remarkably, several Ivy League schools have found their way into the Associated Press, former United Press International and current ESPN/USA Today poll. Polls do offer a subjective element in that they are voted on, but they are an excellent barometer of the schools that are receiving exposure from the national media and television.
First and foremost, even the most novice follower of college basketball can remember Penn's run to the Final Four in 1979. The same year that most experts agree college basketball began its modern era. This was the season Bird played Magic in the final in Salt Lake City. Clearly, this was at team worthy of ranking and the Quakers entered the poll in the final rankings at 14th.
Prior to that magical season and throughout most of the early 1970's Penn was in fact ranked. In 1975 the Quakers entered the poll at number 20 in the preseason, moved up to 14, 13, 9, and dropped to 12 on December 31st. They reentered the poll at 20 on February 4th and moved up to 14, 12, 10, 10, 11, 15, and 17 before finally falling out. That same season (1975) Princeton was also ranked entering the poll at number 13 on March 25th and finishing at number 12 in the final poll.
In 1974, Penn was ranked 16th in the preseason, held that ranking for one week, moved to 11th in the December 11th poll before dropping out for the rest of the season a week later. In 1972-73, Penn again started the season with a number 9 ranking, remained ranked for seven weeks before dropping out until the final poll of the season where they reentered again at number 18. In 1971-72, Penn again was ranked for the entire season, finishing at number 3 in the final poll and reaching the Elite 8 of the NCAA Tournament. Their ranking that season never dropped below 14 and they spent most of the season in the top 10. That same season Princeton actually spent a week ranked at number 18 in the December 14 poll.
In 1970-71 Penn spent the last 13 weeks of the season in top 5, going undefeated 27-0 during the regular season before losing to Villanova in the Regional Final. In 1969-70 the Quakers again had a remarkable season going 25-1 before losing to Niagara in the first round and settling for a final ranking of 13th.
Notably, Columbia appeared in the rankings for eight weeks during the 1968-69 season, finishing 20-4. The prior season, Columbia went 22-4 and reached as high as number 6 in the AP poll.
Ivy League schools have also been ranked during the "modern era" of the game. Princeton, going 24-2, in 1990-91 entered the poll on February 12th at 25th and then moved up to 23, 21, 19, lost to Villanova in the first round and finished 18th in the final poll. Penn also was ranked in the 1993-94 poll at 24th on March 7th and then finishing at 25th in the final poll.
During the modern era of the game which would have been after Larry and Magic played in Salt Lake City in 1979, the best run by an Ivy League school was Princeton in 1997-98. During that remarkable season, the Tigers finished 27-2, losing to Michigan State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers first entered the poll at 25th on December 2nd rising as high as 8th on March 3rd and March 10th before falling to 16th after their loss to the Spartans in the tournament. The most impressive aspect of Princeton's 1998 season may have been that there were 314 schools playing division I college basketball that season. 306 of those schools offered scholarships to their athletes, the Tigers accomplished their lofty ranking without the benefit of scholarhsips.
Subsequent to my writing of this column and I am adding this paragraph after that article appeared for the sake of being more thorough, the New York Times published an intersting article by Bill Pennington. Pennington's piece is giving us a window into the future, it likely indicates that we will be seeing more ranked Ivy League teams and that this is likely only the beginning due to new financial aid standards and academic standards for athletes at those institutions. A link is :
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/23/sports/financial-aid-changes-game-as-sports-teams-in-ivies-rise.html?pagewanted=all
Pennington is basically saying what we are seeing with Harvard. If a kid can get to go to an Ivy League school for basically the same cost as a public institution they are going to take the Ivy education. It will be interesting to see how this plays out during the course of the future of college basketball.
Most fans will also remeber the recent run of Cornell only two years ago. The Big Red were ranked 22nd in the USA Today/ESPN poll at one point. This is probably a result of what Pennington writes about.
Finally, much was also made out of the fact that this was Harvard's first ranking ever. While it was the Crimson's first appearance in the Associated Press poll, the Crimson did enter the UPI poll, albeit briefly in 1971-72 where they appeared in the preseason rankings at number 19, they probably didn't receive near the publicity for that ranking as they have for their most recent ranking.
Unfortunately, our Harvard story does not have the happiest of endings, the Crimson lost to UConn 67-53 on Thursday, likely ending their one week run in the rankings. They do have fifteen more weeks left to regain a ranking.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Jimmer, Bruce and Damian
The following was also posted on Kyle Whelliston's Midmajority Report:
Weber State has never won at the Marriott Center Utah schools will count towards the Oquirh Bucket – a traveling trophy awarded to the team with the best record against all other Utah Portland
The title “Nation’s Leading Scorer” is odd, it doesn’t mean you’re the best player in the country although sometimes it can be -- see Jimmer Fredette a year ago, and Stephen Curry of Davidson who led the nation in scoring in 2008 and 2009, each of which were at least in the discussion as the best player in the country as seniors. Also note the accomplishments of arguably the two greatest players in college basketball history, Pete Maravich who led the nation in scoring in 1968, 1969 and 1970 and Oscar Robertson who did the same in 1958, 1959 and 1960, each of which should come up on the greatest college players of all time list. Additionally, a player need not have a brilliant career, it only takes one season. One season of scoring more than anyone else. Sometimes, the players scoring can become larger than the game. Maravich was scoring over 40 points per game, still the only player on the list to average over 40 AND he did it three years in a row. His father Press was his coach, accordingly Pete shot often and shot a lot - some would argue at the expense of the team doing better.
The most intriguing account of how one player can dominate a team and a season can be found in Shooting Star, The Bevo Francis Story, a recap of Bevo Francis’ remarkable career at tiny Rio Grande College Rio Grande did step up and play schools like Providence , Villanova and North Carolina State
The complete list of the nation’s leading scorers for each year is shown below. Please note that prior to 1948, scoring statistics for regular season games was not available. I have included the leading scorers in the NCAA Tournament in the list for a few years for the sake of getting to 1943, the year the Wyoming Cowboys won the national championship.
Adam Morrison in 2006 and Glenn Robinson who put up 30.3 in 1994 also were probably the best player’s in the country during their senior seasons. More often though, following the list, the leading scorer in the nation is aided by his situation, a team that lacks other scorers and allows him to shoot more than other players at other schools – see Kevin Houston of Army who averaged 32.9 in 1987 and once remarked that he had been passed over being picked when eleven guys were organizing a pickup basketball game at West Point . The most obscure leading scorer was likely Greg Guy who led the nation in 1994, yet played on the team with the worst record. Texas Pan American went 2-20 that year.
With the advent of so many midmajor and lower level division I programs, leading scorers in the 1950’s, 1960’s and 70’s were more likely to be the best players in the country while more recent decades, it’s just a great player at a smaller program. I have spent time at both Pepperdine University where Bird Averitt worked his magic and Portland State University
Williams was a first round choice of the Utah Jazz who once score 83 points in a college game. Averitt’s coming out party was legendary. As a freshman he scored 43 and 44 points against a UCLA freshman team that included Bill Walton. Averitt went on to play for the San Antonio Spurs and for the Kentucky Colonels in the ABA where he played for one time Niagara standout Hubie Brown (see below for much more on Niagara and Hubie).
A year ago Jimmer Fredette led the nation in scoring while leading Brigham Young into the top 10, he scored 28.6 points per game. Tonight I sit in the building where Fredette scored a majority of those points watching his old teammates struggle to find scoring opportunities that he made look so easy a year ago in leading the Cougars to the Sweet 16. The Cougars opponent tonight, Weber State
Lillard’s play is not surprising, a year ago he received a medical redshirt and as a sophomore in 2009 he averaged 19.9 points per game and was named the Big Sky MVP. In 2008, as a freshman, Lillard put up 11.5 points per game. I have seen him play numerous times and Lillard strengths are his quickness combined with shooting. At times, his three point shooting can be unstoppable. Keep in mind, Lillard is only a junior, he’s likely to become the all time leading scorer in Weber State
I am not happy about this. Collins is from Rock Springs , Wyoming Rock Spring , Wyoming Rock Springs
Leading Scorers
Year Player School Points per Game
2011 Jimmer Fredette BYU 28.8
2010 Aubrey Coleman Houston
2009 Stephen Curry Davidson 28.6
2008 Stephen Curry Davidson 32.0
2007 Reggie Williams Virginia
2006 Adam Morrison Gonzaga 28.1
2005 Keyden Clark St.Peters 25.8
2004 Keyden Clark St.Peters 26.7
2003 Ruben Douglas New Mexico
2002 Jason Conley VMI 29.3
2001 Ronnie McCollum Centenary 29.1
2000 Courtney Alexander Fresno
1999 Alvin Young Niagara 25.1
1998 Charles Jones Long Island 29.0
1997 Charles Jones Long Island 30.1
1996 Kevin Granger Texas
1995 Kurt Thomas Texas
1994 Glenn Robinson Purdue 30.3
1993 Greg Guy Texas
1992 Brett Roberts Moreghead State
1991 Kevin Bradshaw U.S.
1990 Bo Kimble Loyola Marymount 35.3
1989 Hank Gathers Loyola Marymount 32.7
1988 Hersey Hawkins Bradley 36.3
1987 Kevin Houston Army 32.0
1986 Terrance Bailey Wagner 29.4
1985 Xavier McDaniel Wichita
1984 Joe Jakubick Akron
1983 Harry Kelly Texas
1982 Harry Kelly Texas
1981 Zam Frerick South Carolina
1980 Tony Murphy Southern University 32.1
1979 Lamar Butler Idaho
1978 Freeman Williams Portland
1977 Freeman Williams Portland
1976 Marshall Rogers Texas
1975 Bob McCardy Richmond
1974 Larry Fogle Canisius 33.4
1973 Bird Averitt Pepperdine 33.9
1972 Dweight Lamar Louisiana-Lafayette 36.3
1971 Johnny Neumann Mississippi
1970 Pete Maravich LSU 44.5
1969 Pete Maravich LSU 44.2
1968 Pete Maravich LSU 43.8
1967 Jimmy Walker Providence
1966 Dave Shellhase Purdue 32.5
1965 Ollie Johnson San Francisco
1964 Howard Komives Bowling Green 36.7
1963 Nick Werkman Seton Hall 29.5
1962 Billy McGill Utah
1961 Frank Burgess Gonzaga 32.4
1960 Oscar Robertson Cincinnati
1959 Oscar Robertson Cincinnati
1958 Oscar Robertson Cincinnati
1957 Grady Wallace South Carolina
1956 Darrell Floyd Furman 33.8
1955 Bob Patterson Tulsa
1954 Frank Selvy Furman 41.7
1953 Frank Selvy Furman 29.5
1952 Clyde Louvellette Kansas
1951 Bill Mikvy Temple
1950 Paul Arizin Villanova 25.3
1949 Tony Lavellie Yale 22.4
1948 Murray Wier Iowa
1947 George Kaftan Holly Cross 21.0*
1946 Bob Kurland Oklahoma
1945 Dickie Wilkins Oregon
1944 Nick Buzolich Pepperdine 22.5*
1943 John Hargis Texas
Damian Lillard wears number 1 for Weber State Weber State
The Marriott Center
Weber’s leading rebounder and a fellow Wyoming native – Kyle Bullinger – is apparently out with a dislocated elbow and he’s not in the starting lineup and does not play which is odd because he’s noted for being a tough hardnosed player who has started almost his entire career for the Wildcats, he gives them an element of toughness that makes them the Big Sky favorite.
Lillard misses his first attempt, a long three. Lillard Misses another long three and gets checked on a drive to the basket (the first time he has not gotten a whistle while attacking, but could have). Brock Zylstra of BYU scores ten early points and the Cougars open up a 22-15 lead at the ten minute mark.
At this point, someone in front of me points out that Jimmer Fredette is in attendance tonight. I’m surprised as I thought he would be in Sacramento
Weber State’s second leading scorer picks up two quick fouls and has to sit out, but BYU opens up a thirteen point lead and Weber coach Randy Rahe is forced to bring him back in with five minutes left in the first half. It doesn’t help that Lillard has only four points during the first fifteen minutes and has not hit an outside shot. Bullinger’s absence is felt as BYU controls the paint and is able to get the ball inside and gets multiple second chance opportunities. Lillard finally hits a long three at the three minute mark, but then gets called for a questionable travel shortly thereafter. He misses a long three at the end of the first half and is struggling to get into rhythm that the great scorers all seem to have. Yet at the half he still has nine points in a mediocre performance. BYU leads by thirteen at the half.
At the start of the second half, Charles Abouo hits two three pointers and the Cougars open up a twenty point lead and Weber is forced to take a time out. The only question is what the final score will be and can Damon Lillard hold onto his national scoring lead. Coming into the game Lillard led Boston University
Next up for the Cougars is a showdown in the Marriott Center against tenth ranked Baylor meanwhile I can tell Bruce Collins that his Weber State
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
The Smart Take From the Strong
I also published the following with Kyle Whelliston's midmajority.
Growing up easily the biggest cinderella and the team that played the most memorable first round games in the NCAA Tournament was always Princeton. Their most memorable game happened in 1989, when the Tigers narrowly upset top seeded Georgetown, losing by a point 50-49. Legendary Princeton coach Pete Carrill had a saying, "The smart take from the strong." That saying was epitomized in the way his team played. It was always smarter than the opponent.
Desciples of Carrill have been running the Princeton offense faster, but with equal effectiveness in the modern game. They include Northwestern's BIll Carmody who has the Wildcats at 6-0 headed for a showdown with Baylor on Sunday. They also include Denver University's Joe Scott. Tonight I witnessed how effective the Princeton offense can be.
Utah State entered their home game against Denver University with a 33 game home winning streatk. The Spectrum is one of the countries top home arena's averaging over ten thousand fans per contest. The Utah State University student body is among the best in the country. In fact outside of Creighton, I can't think of a better atmosphere at a midmajor. The last home loss for the Aggies happened on December 5th, 2007 against St. Mary's. Until Denver came in tonight and played smarter than the stronger Aggies.
The activites actually start with the Utah State mascot rappelling down from the scoreboard above the court, but from that moment forward the game is all about Denver's smarter play. Denver opens the game with a 25-12 blitz. This inspite of the fact that Utah State Coach Stew Morrill had indicated that star junior college transfer Kyisean Read would not play, yet Kyisean enters the game early in the first half. The Pioneers are also whistled for six fouls compared to the Aggies one during the first ten minutes of play. It doesn't matter, the Pioneers hit 53% of their field goal attempts in the first half. Denver only leads 34-29 at the half, but it seems like more because the loudest the USU student section has been able to cheer was at the start of the game when they did their traditional "I Believe We Will Win" chant.
Other than those opening moments the Denver execution and precision has effectively taken them out of the game. In fact the crowd only becomes more stunned as the second half unfolds. Denver receives balanced scoring as Rob Lewis and Chris Udofia who each score fifteen points. Standout point guard Chase Haslam plays almost the entire game, scoring twelve points without a turnover and administers the offense as if he were playing alongside Joe Scott and Bill Carmody years ago. The Aggies get thirteen points from Preston Medlin, but it's not close to enough. I have been to several Utah State games and have never seen them get handled quite this easily at home. The student section leaves with a little over four minutes to go.
Worrisome for the Aggies is the fact that next year this will be a conference game as the Pioneers are set to join the WAC next year. I can see Denver making a nice run in the Sun Belt this year and perhaps winning the league tournament and getting to their first NCAA tournament ever.
Growing up easily the biggest cinderella and the team that played the most memorable first round games in the NCAA Tournament was always Princeton. Their most memorable game happened in 1989, when the Tigers narrowly upset top seeded Georgetown, losing by a point 50-49. Legendary Princeton coach Pete Carrill had a saying, "The smart take from the strong." That saying was epitomized in the way his team played. It was always smarter than the opponent.
Desciples of Carrill have been running the Princeton offense faster, but with equal effectiveness in the modern game. They include Northwestern's BIll Carmody who has the Wildcats at 6-0 headed for a showdown with Baylor on Sunday. They also include Denver University's Joe Scott. Tonight I witnessed how effective the Princeton offense can be.
Utah State entered their home game against Denver University with a 33 game home winning streatk. The Spectrum is one of the countries top home arena's averaging over ten thousand fans per contest. The Utah State University student body is among the best in the country. In fact outside of Creighton, I can't think of a better atmosphere at a midmajor. The last home loss for the Aggies happened on December 5th, 2007 against St. Mary's. Until Denver came in tonight and played smarter than the stronger Aggies.
The activites actually start with the Utah State mascot rappelling down from the scoreboard above the court, but from that moment forward the game is all about Denver's smarter play. Denver opens the game with a 25-12 blitz. This inspite of the fact that Utah State Coach Stew Morrill had indicated that star junior college transfer Kyisean Read would not play, yet Kyisean enters the game early in the first half. The Pioneers are also whistled for six fouls compared to the Aggies one during the first ten minutes of play. It doesn't matter, the Pioneers hit 53% of their field goal attempts in the first half. Denver only leads 34-29 at the half, but it seems like more because the loudest the USU student section has been able to cheer was at the start of the game when they did their traditional "I Believe We Will Win" chant.
Other than those opening moments the Denver execution and precision has effectively taken them out of the game. In fact the crowd only becomes more stunned as the second half unfolds. Denver receives balanced scoring as Rob Lewis and Chris Udofia who each score fifteen points. Standout point guard Chase Haslam plays almost the entire game, scoring twelve points without a turnover and administers the offense as if he were playing alongside Joe Scott and Bill Carmody years ago. The Aggies get thirteen points from Preston Medlin, but it's not close to enough. I have been to several Utah State games and have never seen them get handled quite this easily at home. The student section leaves with a little over four minutes to go.
Worrisome for the Aggies is the fact that next year this will be a conference game as the Pioneers are set to join the WAC next year. I can see Denver making a nice run in the Sun Belt this year and perhaps winning the league tournament and getting to their first NCAA tournament ever.
Friday, November 11, 2011
"Coaches Live for the Applause"
In following college basketball and football over the past 30 years scandal's have become commonplace. However, picking out the most egregious was actually quite easy, until this week. Yes, there have been point shaving scandals, recruiting scandals, and criminal behaviors by players, but not one school or incident can compare to what Baylor University's program went through -- until now.
Dave Bliss's record and background prior to becoming the Baylor University basketball coach was impressive. He had received his undergraduate degree and MBA from Cornell University and after graduating was enshrined into the Cornell University Hall of Fame. He also gained membership in the prestigious Sphinx Head Society, which cites Cornell students for strength of character and dedication to leadership. His first coaching break came when he became an assistant to legendary Bobby Knight at the United States Military Academy. During three years at Army, Knight, with Bliss as his assistant and Mike Kryszewski as his point guard for the 1968 and 1969 seasons, Army put together the three best years of basketball in Army history, going 60-21 and finishing third in the NIT during the 1969-70 season and playing in the NIT in 1968 and 1969. They were a successful trio who seemed destined for greater things and the greater good of the game.
Like Kryzewski, Bliss revered his mentor Bobby Knight. This week, Kryzewski will likely pass Knight as the all time winningest coach in college basketball history. Joe Paterno holds this distiction in college football. Like Kryzewski, Bliss believed and preached Knight's way saying Knight was "the best there is." Bliss named his first son Robert in honor of Knight.
Ultimately, Knight was ousted by future NCAA President Miles Brand while coaching at Indiana. This didn't happen to Joe Paterno at Penn State because in 2004 then President Graham Spanier and Athletic Director Tim Curley tried to force Paterno out. He wouldn't let them. His revered status had made him bigger than them, bigger than the insitution at which he coached. Ultimately, the applause he was receiving was so great that he had a sense of entitlement.
And it didn't happen to Dave Bliss until it was too late.
Bliss compiled a record of 465-271 during head coaching stops at Oklahoma, New Mexico and SMU. Taking his Baylor record into account, Bliss's overall record was 526-368, only 276 wins shy of Knight. Had Bliss continued winning at his previous rate he likely would have been mentioned in the same breath as Kryzewski and Knight.
Bliss was hired as the Baylor University basketball coach in 1999, believing that his previous successful coaching stints would be the foundation and background that could lead the Baptist University to better results than his predecessor, Harry Miller's 56-87 previous five year record.
What followed was as disasterous a period as any basketball program has ever gone through.
On June 14 of 2003, Baylor forward Patrick Dennehey was shot and killed by fellow Baylor Bear player Carlton Dotson. The subsequent investigation revealed that Dotson and Dennehey had obtained guns and that Dotson had shot and killed Dennehey. The investigation also revealed that Bliss attempted to to persuade assistant coaches and players to depict Dennehy as a drug dealer who used drug money to help pay his tuition. Baylor's own investigation of the incident found that Bliss payed the tuition of two players (Dennehy was one), a drug-test coverup and assorted examples of players receiving "extra benefits" from Bliss and his staff. The school also was cited for "lack of institutional control." Both Bliss and Athletic Director Tom Stanton resigned on August 8, 2003.
Bliss, stated, "I messed up and I hurt a lot of people. I mean, I really messed up." Bliss himself stated that coaching at Baylor was more challenging than other programs and this led to his egregious behavior.
"When you don't coach at the great schools, you have to work harder and explore every opportunity to survive and improve. And a lot of that means (working in) gray areas, areas that aren't illegal but haven't been traversed very often. You try to create different advantages - not cheating, but pretty soon the gray area goes to the illegal area. And that's what happened to me."
Joe Paterno's situation comes to the forefront. Like Mike Kryzewski and Bobby Knight, Paterno was regarded as "the best there was." Yet, Paterno's path is all too similar to Dave Bliss's (Yet, don't forget, Bliss was on the same winning pace as Kryzewski and Paterno). A coverup, a failure to face truth, a failure to be honest. Up until last week Paterno was the Mike Kryzewski of college football -- above the fray, above the scandals and cheating, yet still the most successful.
What does it say about Mike Kryzewski, who like Dave Bliss was mentored by Bobby Knight and accordingly should have a similar character makeup. What makes Mike Kryzewski so much more special than Dave Bliss and now Joe Paterno that one could be the "best there was" while the others are branded as bringing out the "worst there is." Widely portrayed after the Baylor scandal as representing all that is insidious in sports, Bliss said he "started to analyze how I had changed, how I had gotten ambitious, how prideful I was, how I felt entitled."
Are there questions we don't want to ask about Mike Kryzewski, if he was faced with a nearly impossible rebuilding challenge or similar ethical dilemma as Joe Paterno or Dave Bliss would he too look to work "in the grey area" does he feel this same sense of entitlement as Bliss and Paterno must have felt.
Somehow, I can't help but think that all of these men share the same resolve, the same competitiveness - a refusal to lose, a refusal to be branded as anything short "perfect" in the public eye. The sense of entitlement that Dave Bliss speaks of above. Had Joe Paterno done the right thing ten years ago his program would have been less revered. It would have put a black eye on it. This is something that none of these men want nor will they accept it and ultimately, it results in actions that aren't always right.
"Coaches live for the applause," Dave Bliss said years later.
Dave Bliss's record and background prior to becoming the Baylor University basketball coach was impressive. He had received his undergraduate degree and MBA from Cornell University and after graduating was enshrined into the Cornell University Hall of Fame. He also gained membership in the prestigious Sphinx Head Society, which cites Cornell students for strength of character and dedication to leadership. His first coaching break came when he became an assistant to legendary Bobby Knight at the United States Military Academy. During three years at Army, Knight, with Bliss as his assistant and Mike Kryszewski as his point guard for the 1968 and 1969 seasons, Army put together the three best years of basketball in Army history, going 60-21 and finishing third in the NIT during the 1969-70 season and playing in the NIT in 1968 and 1969. They were a successful trio who seemed destined for greater things and the greater good of the game.
Like Kryzewski, Bliss revered his mentor Bobby Knight. This week, Kryzewski will likely pass Knight as the all time winningest coach in college basketball history. Joe Paterno holds this distiction in college football. Like Kryzewski, Bliss believed and preached Knight's way saying Knight was "the best there is." Bliss named his first son Robert in honor of Knight.
Ultimately, Knight was ousted by future NCAA President Miles Brand while coaching at Indiana. This didn't happen to Joe Paterno at Penn State because in 2004 then President Graham Spanier and Athletic Director Tim Curley tried to force Paterno out. He wouldn't let them. His revered status had made him bigger than them, bigger than the insitution at which he coached. Ultimately, the applause he was receiving was so great that he had a sense of entitlement.
And it didn't happen to Dave Bliss until it was too late.
Bliss compiled a record of 465-271 during head coaching stops at Oklahoma, New Mexico and SMU. Taking his Baylor record into account, Bliss's overall record was 526-368, only 276 wins shy of Knight. Had Bliss continued winning at his previous rate he likely would have been mentioned in the same breath as Kryzewski and Knight.
Bliss was hired as the Baylor University basketball coach in 1999, believing that his previous successful coaching stints would be the foundation and background that could lead the Baptist University to better results than his predecessor, Harry Miller's 56-87 previous five year record.
What followed was as disasterous a period as any basketball program has ever gone through.
On June 14 of 2003, Baylor forward Patrick Dennehey was shot and killed by fellow Baylor Bear player Carlton Dotson. The subsequent investigation revealed that Dotson and Dennehey had obtained guns and that Dotson had shot and killed Dennehey. The investigation also revealed that Bliss attempted to to persuade assistant coaches and players to depict Dennehy as a drug dealer who used drug money to help pay his tuition. Baylor's own investigation of the incident found that Bliss payed the tuition of two players (Dennehy was one), a drug-test coverup and assorted examples of players receiving "extra benefits" from Bliss and his staff. The school also was cited for "lack of institutional control." Both Bliss and Athletic Director Tom Stanton resigned on August 8, 2003.
Bliss, stated, "I messed up and I hurt a lot of people. I mean, I really messed up." Bliss himself stated that coaching at Baylor was more challenging than other programs and this led to his egregious behavior.
"When you don't coach at the great schools, you have to work harder and explore every opportunity to survive and improve. And a lot of that means (working in) gray areas, areas that aren't illegal but haven't been traversed very often. You try to create different advantages - not cheating, but pretty soon the gray area goes to the illegal area. And that's what happened to me."
Joe Paterno's situation comes to the forefront. Like Mike Kryzewski and Bobby Knight, Paterno was regarded as "the best there was." Yet, Paterno's path is all too similar to Dave Bliss's (Yet, don't forget, Bliss was on the same winning pace as Kryzewski and Paterno). A coverup, a failure to face truth, a failure to be honest. Up until last week Paterno was the Mike Kryzewski of college football -- above the fray, above the scandals and cheating, yet still the most successful.
What does it say about Mike Kryzewski, who like Dave Bliss was mentored by Bobby Knight and accordingly should have a similar character makeup. What makes Mike Kryzewski so much more special than Dave Bliss and now Joe Paterno that one could be the "best there was" while the others are branded as bringing out the "worst there is." Widely portrayed after the Baylor scandal as representing all that is insidious in sports, Bliss said he "started to analyze how I had changed, how I had gotten ambitious, how prideful I was, how I felt entitled."
Are there questions we don't want to ask about Mike Kryzewski, if he was faced with a nearly impossible rebuilding challenge or similar ethical dilemma as Joe Paterno or Dave Bliss would he too look to work "in the grey area" does he feel this same sense of entitlement as Bliss and Paterno must have felt.
Somehow, I can't help but think that all of these men share the same resolve, the same competitiveness - a refusal to lose, a refusal to be branded as anything short "perfect" in the public eye. The sense of entitlement that Dave Bliss speaks of above. Had Joe Paterno done the right thing ten years ago his program would have been less revered. It would have put a black eye on it. This is something that none of these men want nor will they accept it and ultimately, it results in actions that aren't always right.
"Coaches live for the applause," Dave Bliss said years later.
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