Madness, Coaching Changes & Money
March 22, 2017 at 4:02 p.m.
By Roger Grossman-
I could write about any of them and they would be fine, but that wouldn’t do those other subjects any justice. So I am going to hit on them all. Think of it as a buffet.
It took 5 days to shave 68 NCAA teams down to 16 in this year’s version of March Madness. About a month ago I ranked the four major men’s college basketball teams from Indiana based on confidence level in their performance to that point and moving forward into the postseason.
How did I do?
Well I said Indiana University was No. 4 out of the four, and the Hoosiers did the college version of ‘tanking’ by giving away a home game in the NIT and then looking like they didn’t really want to be in Atlanta that night.
Athletic Director Fred Glass said, and logically so, that it would be unfair to the IU brand to host a home game while the school was on spring break. Seemed like a noble thing to do at the time. Of course, as we found out, he was simply trying to end a season of discontent in Hoosier country. He’d made up his mind what he was going to do (firing Tom Crean when the season ended) and he set out to make that happen as soon as possible.
IU fans were cheering and had already created a wish list of people who they had convinced themselves were just sitting around waiting for a phone call from Bloomington. For example, some IU fans are encouraging the facilities staff to create a name plate with STEVE ALFORD over top of HEAD COACH for the head coach’s door. Please note: Alford has been a coach for 20 years, and the IU job has been open before and he has distanced himself far from it.
Oh, and the Brad Stevens rumors must make him giggle out loud. Remember, the former Butler coach was destined to go and save the program at Indiana just like when he brought Butler to national prominence. But Stevens passed on any other college job to take the Celtics job. All he’s done is take them from the periphery of the Eastern Conference playoffs to the No. 2 seed if the season ended today. He’s not leaving to go to IU.
I ranked Purdue No. 3, but the Boilers have advanced on to the final 16 teams in this year’s tournament. You might remember that the theme in how I ranked the teams was based on their point guards and ball handling abilities in tight games. Purdue made me edgy all season because I just never felt comfortable with how they finished games, largely due to the shoot-first mentality of PJ Thompson.
Thompson looked pretty good in the first two games, but it only takes about three minutes of bad basketball to ruin a half, a tournament game and a season. Playing Kansas in Kansas City Thursday night will be the ultimate challenge for the Boilers’ composure.
I had the Irish second. Notre Dame is like the little girl with the curls on her forehead – when they are good they are very, very good, but when they are bad they are horrid. The Fighting Irish really tried hard against West Virginia but never gave you the feeling they were going to win. Too bad, because I really came to love this team and coach Mike Brey is as good as they come.
And then there is Butler. I had the Bulldogs as the top seed in the state based on their ability to handle pressure and stay composed in hostile situations is how you beat Villanova twice. I don’t see them winning Friday over North Carolina in Memphis, but if they have a lead late they are hard to come back on.
A lot of you have been asking me about the Warsaw girls basketball coaching job … specifically who is going to be the next coach. The process for hiring the boys and girls basketball coaches, football coach and volleyball coach are different than the other sports. Higher-profile sports with higher-paying coaching jobs mean more people involved than just Athletic Director Dave Anson.
It seems that none of the current assistants have any interest, which means the new coach will come from the outside. That’s not always the worst thing in the world. The bad part is that next year’s team will be so ‘green’, with six seniors – including all five starters – graduating from a 20-4 squad. Put them into a new system and it could be extra rough.
Down the hall, Doug Ogle announced on Tiger Talk Saturday that he would definitely be back for a 16th season. The boys program seems to be stacked with talent five or six years deep.
Speaking of the Tiger Den, it got a new name this week. Did you see that? Warsaw Community Schools sold the naming rights to Teachers Credit Union. That venue will be called the Tiger Den TCU Court. Don’t be shocked or too upset by that news. More and more schools are going to this kind of marketing plan to raise money in non-traditional ways. The good news is the Tigers have a significant town to call home where they could draw that kind of sponsor from. Triton and Whitko would struggle with that.
The NCCAA Tournaments at Grace College were a huge success again this year. Lots of good teams, lots of good players, a really nice draw of fans from the visiting schools to watch the games and a great show for Grace College, the Warsaw/Winona Lake metroplex and Kosciusko County.
Grace College Director of Athletics Chad Briscoe rocked it again this year and the community was all over it like never before. It was fun, and it’s coming back for three more years.
I have to admit it is kinda cool seeing kids from California stare into the sky as they see it snow for the first time. I can relate – I remember the first time I looked out at the ocean.
But I have to tell you something ... I am planning on spending the afternoon checking on and fixing up my fishing gear! Spring is coming … back … I think. Who knows.
A guy can dream, can’t he?
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I could write about any of them and they would be fine, but that wouldn’t do those other subjects any justice. So I am going to hit on them all. Think of it as a buffet.
It took 5 days to shave 68 NCAA teams down to 16 in this year’s version of March Madness. About a month ago I ranked the four major men’s college basketball teams from Indiana based on confidence level in their performance to that point and moving forward into the postseason.
How did I do?
Well I said Indiana University was No. 4 out of the four, and the Hoosiers did the college version of ‘tanking’ by giving away a home game in the NIT and then looking like they didn’t really want to be in Atlanta that night.
Athletic Director Fred Glass said, and logically so, that it would be unfair to the IU brand to host a home game while the school was on spring break. Seemed like a noble thing to do at the time. Of course, as we found out, he was simply trying to end a season of discontent in Hoosier country. He’d made up his mind what he was going to do (firing Tom Crean when the season ended) and he set out to make that happen as soon as possible.
IU fans were cheering and had already created a wish list of people who they had convinced themselves were just sitting around waiting for a phone call from Bloomington. For example, some IU fans are encouraging the facilities staff to create a name plate with STEVE ALFORD over top of HEAD COACH for the head coach’s door. Please note: Alford has been a coach for 20 years, and the IU job has been open before and he has distanced himself far from it.
Oh, and the Brad Stevens rumors must make him giggle out loud. Remember, the former Butler coach was destined to go and save the program at Indiana just like when he brought Butler to national prominence. But Stevens passed on any other college job to take the Celtics job. All he’s done is take them from the periphery of the Eastern Conference playoffs to the No. 2 seed if the season ended today. He’s not leaving to go to IU.
I ranked Purdue No. 3, but the Boilers have advanced on to the final 16 teams in this year’s tournament. You might remember that the theme in how I ranked the teams was based on their point guards and ball handling abilities in tight games. Purdue made me edgy all season because I just never felt comfortable with how they finished games, largely due to the shoot-first mentality of PJ Thompson.
Thompson looked pretty good in the first two games, but it only takes about three minutes of bad basketball to ruin a half, a tournament game and a season. Playing Kansas in Kansas City Thursday night will be the ultimate challenge for the Boilers’ composure.
I had the Irish second. Notre Dame is like the little girl with the curls on her forehead – when they are good they are very, very good, but when they are bad they are horrid. The Fighting Irish really tried hard against West Virginia but never gave you the feeling they were going to win. Too bad, because I really came to love this team and coach Mike Brey is as good as they come.
And then there is Butler. I had the Bulldogs as the top seed in the state based on their ability to handle pressure and stay composed in hostile situations is how you beat Villanova twice. I don’t see them winning Friday over North Carolina in Memphis, but if they have a lead late they are hard to come back on.
A lot of you have been asking me about the Warsaw girls basketball coaching job … specifically who is going to be the next coach. The process for hiring the boys and girls basketball coaches, football coach and volleyball coach are different than the other sports. Higher-profile sports with higher-paying coaching jobs mean more people involved than just Athletic Director Dave Anson.
It seems that none of the current assistants have any interest, which means the new coach will come from the outside. That’s not always the worst thing in the world. The bad part is that next year’s team will be so ‘green’, with six seniors – including all five starters – graduating from a 20-4 squad. Put them into a new system and it could be extra rough.
Down the hall, Doug Ogle announced on Tiger Talk Saturday that he would definitely be back for a 16th season. The boys program seems to be stacked with talent five or six years deep.
Speaking of the Tiger Den, it got a new name this week. Did you see that? Warsaw Community Schools sold the naming rights to Teachers Credit Union. That venue will be called the Tiger Den TCU Court. Don’t be shocked or too upset by that news. More and more schools are going to this kind of marketing plan to raise money in non-traditional ways. The good news is the Tigers have a significant town to call home where they could draw that kind of sponsor from. Triton and Whitko would struggle with that.
The NCCAA Tournaments at Grace College were a huge success again this year. Lots of good teams, lots of good players, a really nice draw of fans from the visiting schools to watch the games and a great show for Grace College, the Warsaw/Winona Lake metroplex and Kosciusko County.
Grace College Director of Athletics Chad Briscoe rocked it again this year and the community was all over it like never before. It was fun, and it’s coming back for three more years.
I have to admit it is kinda cool seeing kids from California stare into the sky as they see it snow for the first time. I can relate – I remember the first time I looked out at the ocean.
But I have to tell you something ... I am planning on spending the afternoon checking on and fixing up my fishing gear! Spring is coming … back … I think. Who knows.
A guy can dream, can’t he?
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