In the college basketball world of one-and-dones and rotating stars it’s the coaches who remain, and three of the best will be in their offices on Friday night trying to take the next step in the NCAA Tournament.
“The kids are looking at these guys and if they look flustered or nervous, [the players will] be,” said former Michigan State star Mateen Cleaves, who won a national championship under Tom Izzo in 2000.
“Izzo, Coach K [Mike Krzyzewski] at Duke, [Rick] Pitino with Louisville, this isn’t their first rodeo. They’ve been to this party before, and it helps because they understand how to keep a team calm, how to go about it, both on and off the court. These guys, they understand how to make adjustments on the fly. It’s one-and-done. You don’t have the luxury to look back at the tape and say, ‘We should have done this, we’ll correct that.’ ”
Those coaches have mostly flown under the radar this season as attention has been lavished (and deservedly so) on John Calipari and Kentucky’s 40-0 quest, which continued with a 78-39 demolition of West Virginia on Thursday night. But for these teams, the Wildcats are a problem for another day — in Indianapolis at the Final Four.
Duke’s goal, after dominating San Diego State to reach the Sweet 16, is to survive the South Region, where a potential showdown with Gonzaga awaits if the region’s 1 and 2 seeds can survive their Friday night tests against Utah and UCLA, respectively.
The Blue Devils may have the most talent in the NCAA Tournament outside of Lexington.
“I’ve been impressed with Quinn Cook and Tyus Jones all year long, and they have the best player in the country in Jahlil Okafor,” said Cleaves, a CBS Sports Network analyst who is a part of CBS’ and Turner’s studio coverage for the tournament.
“When you have a guy — I call them La-Z-Boy Chair players — who you can throw it down low and just enjoy the show. That’s what you get with him. He understands how to play the game, he can score around the basket, he really understands the game.”
Unlike Krzyzewski, Izzo and Pitino were not expected to even make it this far this season. Izzo’s Michigan State squad stumbled to a 5-3 start, then followed that up with a home loss to Texas Southern. Pitino and Louisville struggled all year with scoring, and that was exacerbated when Pitino booted guard Chris Jones off the team following a sexual assault claim last month.
Now the two veteran coaches are one win away from an Elite 8 showdown.
“They’ll go man-to-man, 2-1-2 zone, they’ll never let teams be comfortable,” Cleaves said of Louisville. “And Michigan State is a great defensive team, and that style of play could be a challenge for Louisville, but the Cardinals have enough to make that push to the Final Four.”