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Coaches Roundtable: 3 Questions
Among the three of them, Seth Greenberg, Fran Fraschilla and Dan Dakich have more than 40 years of head-coaching experience at the Division I level. Each week, they get together to discuss the hottest topics in college basketball.
1. The holiday tournaments begin Thursday. Which field are you most intrigued by?
Greenberg: This is a tough one with both The Battle 4 Atlantis and the Maui Jim Maui Invitational being the two premier tournaments this season. In Maui, I like Vanderbilt and Indiana's potential. They're two of the best offensive teams in college basketball. The other side of the bracket could result in a classic blue-blood matchup between Kansas and UCLA.
The Battle 4 Atlantis has natural rivalries in the opening-round with games that fans want to see. Under new coach Shaka Smart, Texas takes on a Texas A&M team that many feel is poised to return to the NCAA tournament. This game will hold some recruiting ramifications down the line. The Washington-Gonzaga matchup will pit a young, talented Washington team coming off a big win over Texas against a Gonzaga team that might have the best frontcourt in college basketball, one that includes player of the year candidate Kyle Wiltjer. Throw in a possible Connecticut (if it survives Michigan) against Syracuse matchup, and you have a feast fit for a hoops junkie.
Fraschilla: I am partial to Maui because I will be there. There are historically great basketball programs there like UCLA, St. John's and UNLV, but the class of the tournament will be Kansas, Vanderbilt and Indiana. All three teams can go deep in the NCAA tournament. Kansas will have to rebound quickly from its loss to Michigan State in the Champions Classic, but Bill Self will have his team's attention. A possible semifinal matchup of Indiana and Vanderbilt has intriguing matchups down low, where Commodores all-SEC junior Damian Jones goes against Hoosier freshman Thomas Bryant. Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings has one of the country's more underrated players in point guard Wade Baldwin IV, who was high school teammates with Karl-Anthony Towns. He'll be pitted against Yogi Ferrell, who should finish this season as one of the best point guards in Indiana history.
Dakich: These guys are right, the best tournaments are in Maui and the Bahamas, but I'm interested in the 2K Classic at Madison Square Garden. All four teams -- Wisconsin, Georgetown, Duke and VCU are searching for wins and identity. Think about it: Wisconsin's home loss to Western Illinois may be the shocker of the year given how teams have struggled in Madison. Duke will be Duke but looked a little overwhelmed against Kentucky. VCU is in transition without Smart, and Georgetown has played two completely different games. The Hoyas looked awful against Radford and really good against Maryland. Duke is tough to beat in Cameron North (MSG), but these three teams are used to winning no matter the venue.
2. So far, scoring and pace of play are up from a season ago. What observations did you make from the first week of the season?
Dakich: The officials have done a good job. They are really prepared and haven't fallen into the trap of calling touch fouls. They have called fouls fouls and have been incredibly consistent. I expected to see what we had two years ago when officials overreacted and called everything. As numerous officials told me during the offseason, not many teams actually cut, so holding shouldn't be a problem. So far, that has been the case.
Fraschilla: The new rules are much ado about a very little. I have seen more dribble penetration in the early part of the season, and because wrestling matches in the post are being eliminated, I have actually seen more good post moves than in the first month of previous seasons. Those two factors have helped scoring output more, in my opinion, than the 30-second shot clock. If the shot clock has had any effect at all, it has forced coaches to relinquish a little control of their offenses so their players have to make plays on their own. Dr. Naismith would likely think that is good for the game. I know I do.
Greenberg: Yes, scoring is up, as are the number of possessions. Officials have been consistent, and the players and coaches have adjusted much better than they did two years ago. There has been a balance of freedom of movement with a greater attention to calling moving screens. The flow of the game has improved. The officials have, in general, used good judgement, making more calls off the ball than touch fouls on the perimeter. Having said that, it doesn't seem to me like teams are competing as hard. These rules definitely favor the more skilled offensive teams.
3. What was the biggest surprise, good or bad, from the first week of the season?
Fraschilla: I'm not surprised by the early-season upsets of high-major programs by low and mid-major programs because we always see a few of them early in every season. I might raise an eyebrow when Monmouth beats a UCLA or a Western Illinois sneaks out a win at Wisconsin, but it's going to happen to a number of power conference programs every November. Even Virginia losing on the road at Atlantic-10 opponent George Washington wasn't a shocker. The Colonials returned a solid nucleus from a team that won 22 games a year ago. I would have been more surprised to see no upsets in the first week.
Dakich: I'll disagree. The number of upsets is a surprise. Give some love to the SWAC. That conference landed two victories over so-called major programs on the road (Alabama State over Virginia Tech and Southern over Mississippi State) and got paid for it.
Greenberg: It has to be the upsets. There is no guarantee in a "guarantee game," where blue-blood programs pay large sums of money to smaller-conference teams. I've always said the other team is trying to win and has 13 guys on scholarship, but this season, some of the results have been shocking, to say the least.
Coaches Roundtable: 3 Questions
Among the three of them, Seth Greenberg, Fran Fraschilla and Dan Dakich have more than 40 years of head-coaching experience at the Division I level. Each week, they get together to discuss the hottest topics in college basketball.
1. The holiday tournaments begin Thursday. Which field are you most intrigued by?
Greenberg: This is a tough one with both The Battle 4 Atlantis and the Maui Jim Maui Invitational being the two premier tournaments this season. In Maui, I like Vanderbilt and Indiana's potential. They're two of the best offensive teams in college basketball. The other side of the bracket could result in a classic blue-blood matchup between Kansas and UCLA.
The Battle 4 Atlantis has natural rivalries in the opening-round with games that fans want to see. Under new coach Shaka Smart, Texas takes on a Texas A&M team that many feel is poised to return to the NCAA tournament. This game will hold some recruiting ramifications down the line. The Washington-Gonzaga matchup will pit a young, talented Washington team coming off a big win over Texas against a Gonzaga team that might have the best frontcourt in college basketball, one that includes player of the year candidate Kyle Wiltjer. Throw in a possible Connecticut (if it survives Michigan) against Syracuse matchup, and you have a feast fit for a hoops junkie.
Fraschilla: I am partial to Maui because I will be there. There are historically great basketball programs there like UCLA, St. John's and UNLV, but the class of the tournament will be Kansas, Vanderbilt and Indiana. All three teams can go deep in the NCAA tournament. Kansas will have to rebound quickly from its loss to Michigan State in the Champions Classic, but Bill Self will have his team's attention. A possible semifinal matchup of Indiana and Vanderbilt has intriguing matchups down low, where Commodores all-SEC junior Damian Jones goes against Hoosier freshman Thomas Bryant. Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings has one of the country's more underrated players in point guard Wade Baldwin IV, who was high school teammates with Karl-Anthony Towns. He'll be pitted against Yogi Ferrell, who should finish this season as one of the best point guards in Indiana history.
Dakich: These guys are right, the best tournaments are in Maui and the Bahamas, but I'm interested in the 2K Classic at Madison Square Garden. All four teams -- Wisconsin, Georgetown, Duke and VCU are searching for wins and identity. Think about it: Wisconsin's home loss to Western Illinois may be the shocker of the year given how teams have struggled in Madison. Duke will be Duke but looked a little overwhelmed against Kentucky. VCU is in transition without Smart, and Georgetown has played two completely different games. The Hoyas looked awful against Radford and really good against Maryland. Duke is tough to beat in Cameron North (MSG), but these three teams are used to winning no matter the venue.
2. So far, scoring and pace of play are up from a season ago. What observations did you make from the first week of the season?
Dakich: The officials have done a good job. They are really prepared and haven't fallen into the trap of calling touch fouls. They have called fouls fouls and have been incredibly consistent. I expected to see what we had two years ago when officials overreacted and called everything. As numerous officials told me during the offseason, not many teams actually cut, so holding shouldn't be a problem. So far, that has been the case.
Fraschilla: The new rules are much ado about a very little. I have seen more dribble penetration in the early part of the season, and because wrestling matches in the post are being eliminated, I have actually seen more good post moves than in the first month of previous seasons. Those two factors have helped scoring output more, in my opinion, than the 30-second shot clock. If the shot clock has had any effect at all, it has forced coaches to relinquish a little control of their offenses so their players have to make plays on their own. Dr. Naismith would likely think that is good for the game. I know I do.
Greenberg: Yes, scoring is up, as are the number of possessions. Officials have been consistent, and the players and coaches have adjusted much better than they did two years ago. There has been a balance of freedom of movement with a greater attention to calling moving screens. The flow of the game has improved. The officials have, in general, used good judgement, making more calls off the ball than touch fouls on the perimeter. Having said that, it doesn't seem to me like teams are competing as hard. These rules definitely favor the more skilled offensive teams.
3. What was the biggest surprise, good or bad, from the first week of the season?
Fraschilla: I'm not surprised by the early-season upsets of high-major programs by low and mid-major programs because we always see a few of them early in every season. I might raise an eyebrow when Monmouth beats a UCLA or a Western Illinois sneaks out a win at Wisconsin, but it's going to happen to a number of power conference programs every November. Even Virginia losing on the road at Atlantic-10 opponent George Washington wasn't a shocker. The Colonials returned a solid nucleus from a team that won 22 games a year ago. I would have been more surprised to see no upsets in the first week.
Dakich: I'll disagree. The number of upsets is a surprise. Give some love to the SWAC. That conference landed two victories over so-called major programs on the road (Alabama State over Virginia Tech and Southern over Mississippi State) and got paid for it.
Greenberg: It has to be the upsets. There is no guarantee in a "guarantee game," where blue-blood programs pay large sums of money to smaller-conference teams. I've always said the other team is trying to win and has 13 guys on scholarship, but this season, some of the results have been shocking, to say the least.
