As important as it is to find solid coaching to back your college basketball bets steering clear of bad coaching might be just as critical.
There are some coaches out there who, despite their recognizable names and high-profile programs, are just plain hazardous to your bankroll. Poor clock and game management often can cost you a game, and examples of such miscues are easy to pinpoint.
But moreover, sometimes a team’s performance is defined by the character of its coach. One who flies off the handle easily and loses his composure is setting a poor example, albeit one his team is likely to follow. Also, when a big-name team fails to show up prepared for one of its biggest games, this indicates a coach who lacks necessary motivational skills.
John Calipari, Memphis: This former self-described Rick Pitino wannabe is fortunate that he is a good recruiter, because his Memphis clubs can roll through the weak Conference USA most of the time simply by out-talenting its opponent. No such luck when it comes to teams that are capable of fighting back.
We saw the most public and humiliating display of Calipari’s shortcomings in last year’s historic meltdown in the NCAA title game against Kansas. After publicly insisting all year that his team’s putrid free-throw shooting would never come back to haunt them, his superstars couldn’t make one when it counted most. Simply put, denial of his team’s weakness did not make it disappear.
He also botched the biggest sequence of his coaching career, allowing Mario Chalmers of Kansas to sink the tying three-pointer, then failing to call a timeout when his team would have had three full seconds to get off a final shot. Calipari’s post-game excuses rang hollow; he claimed he instructed Derrick Rose to foul on the final play, though replays showed Rose backed off clearly to avoid contact.
With as much talent as he has somehow convinced to attend Memphis, there’s no doubt Calipari has underachieved with just one Final Four berth during his run with the Tigers.
Billy Gillespie, Kentucky: Billy Gillespie seems like a decent-natured guy who is just a tad shell-shocked by the constant limelight at Kentucky. He appears better suited for the lower-profile job he had at Texas A&M, but he ended up with the Wildcats because, well, you just don’t say no when the Kentucky comes calling and you are Billy Gillespie.
Maybe at some point he will get things turned around, but the early signs aren’t encouraging. He pulled the team out of disaster just time to reach the NCAA Tournament by going 12-4 in last year’s weak SEC, but the respectable finish didn’t wash away a poor season that included home losses to clubs such as Gardner Webb and San Diego. The Wildcats continued this “tradition” with a home loss to VMI earlier this season. Gillespie’s team often looks unprepared and particularly confused on offense, when his players often give the illusion that they are running around with ankle weights strapped tightly around their socks.
Jim Boeheim, Syracuse: Boeheim is fond of saying that winning a national title a few years back didn’t make him a better coach. No argument here. Having Carmelo Anthony for a year, though, seemed to do the trick. Who knows if Boeheim got complacent or figured the NCAA title was the only recruiting tool he needed, but long gone are the days of players like Derrick Coleman and Billy Owens who always made the Orangemen a force to contend with.
They have been replaced by B-list Division I types like Eric Devendorf, who recently was suspended for hitting a female student. Syracuse doesn’t get the type of players it used to, and Boeheim hasn’t seemed to figure out that his zone defense no longer is a novel concept against other coaches who have mastered the art of paying attention.
Bob Huggins – Huggins is lucky that West Virginia got all warm and fuzzy at the thought of letting him return to his alma mater when John Beilein bolted for Michigan. He also benefited from inheriting a very gifted team in his first year with the Mountaineers. But frankly, his record suggests he is an average coach, and his off-court behavior is such that only a program desperate for a leader – see West Virginia – would need to take a chance on him.
Huggins underachieved for year at Cincinnati with teams loaded with talented but less-than-university level student-athletes such as Nick Van Exel. Cincinnati grew tired of the controversy and Huggins’ off-court antics, which included a DUI arrest. It’s only a matter of time before he wears out his welcome at West Virginia.
Gary Williams, Maryland: The glory days appear to be over for the Terrapins and the high-strung Williams, who often runs around on the sidelines as if someone just poured ice water down his shorts.
The volatile and short-tempered Williams is famous for threatening to fire all of his assistant coaches whenever his team struggles during a game, and his erratic behavior has to be growing thin for a program that has long fallen off the radar since the Juan Dixon-led Final Four clubs. Evidently, potential recruits have grown wary, too, as most have stayed away from Maryland in the past several years.
There are some coaches out there who, despite their recognizable names and high-profile programs, are just plain hazardous to your bankroll. Poor clock and game management often can cost you a game, and examples of such miscues are easy to pinpoint.
But moreover, sometimes a team’s performance is defined by the character of its coach. One who flies off the handle easily and loses his composure is setting a poor example, albeit one his team is likely to follow. Also, when a big-name team fails to show up prepared for one of its biggest games, this indicates a coach who lacks necessary motivational skills.
John Calipari, Memphis: This former self-described Rick Pitino wannabe is fortunate that he is a good recruiter, because his Memphis clubs can roll through the weak Conference USA most of the time simply by out-talenting its opponent. No such luck when it comes to teams that are capable of fighting back.
We saw the most public and humiliating display of Calipari’s shortcomings in last year’s historic meltdown in the NCAA title game against Kansas. After publicly insisting all year that his team’s putrid free-throw shooting would never come back to haunt them, his superstars couldn’t make one when it counted most. Simply put, denial of his team’s weakness did not make it disappear.
He also botched the biggest sequence of his coaching career, allowing Mario Chalmers of Kansas to sink the tying three-pointer, then failing to call a timeout when his team would have had three full seconds to get off a final shot. Calipari’s post-game excuses rang hollow; he claimed he instructed Derrick Rose to foul on the final play, though replays showed Rose backed off clearly to avoid contact.
With as much talent as he has somehow convinced to attend Memphis, there’s no doubt Calipari has underachieved with just one Final Four berth during his run with the Tigers.
Billy Gillespie, Kentucky: Billy Gillespie seems like a decent-natured guy who is just a tad shell-shocked by the constant limelight at Kentucky. He appears better suited for the lower-profile job he had at Texas A&M, but he ended up with the Wildcats because, well, you just don’t say no when the Kentucky comes calling and you are Billy Gillespie.
Maybe at some point he will get things turned around, but the early signs aren’t encouraging. He pulled the team out of disaster just time to reach the NCAA Tournament by going 12-4 in last year’s weak SEC, but the respectable finish didn’t wash away a poor season that included home losses to clubs such as Gardner Webb and San Diego. The Wildcats continued this “tradition” with a home loss to VMI earlier this season. Gillespie’s team often looks unprepared and particularly confused on offense, when his players often give the illusion that they are running around with ankle weights strapped tightly around their socks.
Jim Boeheim, Syracuse: Boeheim is fond of saying that winning a national title a few years back didn’t make him a better coach. No argument here. Having Carmelo Anthony for a year, though, seemed to do the trick. Who knows if Boeheim got complacent or figured the NCAA title was the only recruiting tool he needed, but long gone are the days of players like Derrick Coleman and Billy Owens who always made the Orangemen a force to contend with.
They have been replaced by B-list Division I types like Eric Devendorf, who recently was suspended for hitting a female student. Syracuse doesn’t get the type of players it used to, and Boeheim hasn’t seemed to figure out that his zone defense no longer is a novel concept against other coaches who have mastered the art of paying attention.
Bob Huggins – Huggins is lucky that West Virginia got all warm and fuzzy at the thought of letting him return to his alma mater when John Beilein bolted for Michigan. He also benefited from inheriting a very gifted team in his first year with the Mountaineers. But frankly, his record suggests he is an average coach, and his off-court behavior is such that only a program desperate for a leader – see West Virginia – would need to take a chance on him.
Huggins underachieved for year at Cincinnati with teams loaded with talented but less-than-university level student-athletes such as Nick Van Exel. Cincinnati grew tired of the controversy and Huggins’ off-court antics, which included a DUI arrest. It’s only a matter of time before he wears out his welcome at West Virginia.
Gary Williams, Maryland: The glory days appear to be over for the Terrapins and the high-strung Williams, who often runs around on the sidelines as if someone just poured ice water down his shorts.
The volatile and short-tempered Williams is famous for threatening to fire all of his assistant coaches whenever his team struggles during a game, and his erratic behavior has to be growing thin for a program that has long fallen off the radar since the Juan Dixon-led Final Four clubs. Evidently, potential recruits have grown wary, too, as most have stayed away from Maryland in the past several years.
