wednesday, march 31, 2004
sports
the university daily kansan
3B
Coaches' recruiting improves teams, earns renown
Players' fame lags as coaches become well-known for organizing teams and picking players to build successful clubs
The Associated Press
Duke's Loul Deng hugged teammate Sean Dockery as they celebrated the Blue Devils' 66-62 victory over Xavier in the NCAA Atlanta Regional Sunday.
KRT photo by Patrick Schneider/Charlotte Observer
Looking at Duke's roster, it's easy to find a number of good players, but only one household name.
Over the past decade, college basketball has turned into a showcase more for big-name coaches than superstar players. That reality will be seen clearly this year at the sport's biggest event, the Final Four.
That would be the coach, Mike Krzuwski.
With apologies to Chris Duhon, Emeka Okafer, B.J. Elder and the rest, the coaches will be more recognizable than most of the players this week when Duke, coached by Krzyzewski, plays Connecticut, coached by Jim Calhoun; and Oklahoma State, coached by Eddie Sutton, plays Georgia Tech, coached by Paul Hewitt, the only relative unknown.
"What people like seeing is the teams," Calhoun said. "The name on the front of the jersey is more important than the name on the back of the jersey. I think people still relate to that."
Good thing, because dwinding are the days of Bird vs. Magic, the Fab Five and the great four-year college stars like Patrick Ewing, Steve Alford, Christian Laettner and Mateen Cleaves.
There are many factors in play, although the prime reason for the shift is the large increase in players who leave school early to go pro. It forces coaches to adjust not only their game plans, but the way they recruit, too.
"I'm a big believer in developing depth," Hewitt said.
More and more coaches are trying to recruit solid players — not stars, necessarily, but guys who can contribute for three or four years.
Florida's Billy Donovan gets praised for routinely collecting
"What people like seeing is the teams, The name on the front of the jersey is more important than the name on the back."
Jim Calhoun Connecticut men's basketball coach
top-five recruiting classes, but many of those recruits leave early and some, like Kwame Brown, never enroll. The Gators haven't made it out of the first weekend of the tournament in four years.
On the other hand, there are examples like Maryland's 2002 championship team. Two key players — Juan Dixon and Lonny Baxter — were seniors, and forward Chris Wilcox was a junior who left a year early. None were considered big-time stars at any point in their college careers.
"They developed depth, played eight, nine players, had a solid inside game and a very, very solid team." Hewitt said of the Terps.
That's not to say there aren't great players in college.
Just last season, Syracuse won a national championship largely on the strength of freshman Carmelo Anthony. Orangemen coach Jim Boeheim knew Anthony might leave when he recruited him, but there were no regrets.
"I knew he would help us," Boeheim said last year. "I knew he'd be a special player. We were talking about him being the player of the year in college basketball. We weren't talking about being the freshman of the year. We thought he honestly had a chance to be the best player in college basketball."
Krzyzewski, meanwhile, has been a master of keeping players around for longer than many people expect. The last time Duke was at the Final Four, in 2001, the Blue Devils won it all largely on the shoulders of Shane Battier, who stayed for his senior year when he had the game to leave early.
His track record of keeping players isn't perfect, but is better than most. That could explain why the Blue Devils have reached this stage in 10 of the last 19 seasons.
Krzyezski said it's not a matter of "selling" a player on staying.
"It's a shared vision," he said.
"It's what's best for the player. I believe getting a taste of college is important."
Thus, for every Corey Magnette — the star who left after his freshman year in 1999 — Krzyezwski gets lots of guys like Duhon, a gritty senior who is gutting it through a painful rib injury in the tournament in hopes of capping off his career with another title.
"He's my first option. He conveys what I would like to have out on the court really well,"
Krzyzewski said.
"Don't call them role players." Hewitt said. "They're all outstanding players in their own
Likewise, for every Okafor at Connecticut — an All-American who could leave with degree in hand after just three years—there are many other guys like Jarrett Jack, a "signature recruit" of Hewitt's who stepped up with 29 points for the Yellow Jackets in the regional final when Elder barely played because of injury.
right. I give them a lot of credit for maybe accepting on some nights lesser minutes than they could be getting somewhere else."
The key, then, might be the ability to work as a team without depending on a star.
It's why Calhoun, Krzyzewski and Sutton probably will be better known than many of their players. But it also might explain why those coaches, along with Hewitt, have made it this far this year.