ESPN Insider
Here's a review of what these coaches have taught their teams to do well enough to get here, as well as a frank assessment of each coach's potential areas for improvement.
East Regional
Greg Gard, Wisconsin
Defining quality: Defense. Gard's name is a nifty homonym for a coach who stresses putting the hurt on opposing offenses. This season, Wisconsin was blessed with excellent rim defense, but even across Gard's two-season tenure, the consistent emphasis on both forcing turnovers and chasing opponents off the 3-point line has perhaps revealed a couple of the sophomore-year coach's higher priorities. Maybe he'll switch gears next season with the departure of the senior class he inherited from Bo Ryan (Nigel Hayes, Bronson Koenig, Zak Showalter and Vitto Brown). For now, this is who Gard is.
Weakness: Granted, we've seen only two Gard teams, but we have yet to behold the spectacle of a particularly accurate Wisconsin offense under the current coach. This season in Big Ten play, the Badgers came in under the league average in both 2- and 3-point accuracy. That isn't entirely on the coach, who isn't shooting those attempts, of course, but it's a characteristic of the team nonetheless.
Mike White, Florida
Defining quality: Well, isn't this a coincidence? When Florida meets Wisconsin in the Sweet 16, both coaches will have reached that point, in part, by putting excellent defenses on the floor with similar features. The Gators, like the Badgers, combine rim defense with a commitment to limiting opponents' 3-point attempts. UF was also helped along by the hoops gods, as SEC opponents connected on just 29.7 percent of those rare tries from beyond the arc.
Weakness: As an average offensive rebounding team, the Gators are fairly reliant on each possession's first shot for their scoring. White's men are fair but not excellent on the defensive glass.
Scott Drew, Baylor
Defining quality: Forcing misses. If "defense" were defined purely as what most people mean when they use the term in conversation -- forcing missed shots -- Baylor would rate as one of the best two or three teams in the nation. Alas, the march of accurate statistics has robbed us of our imprecision, and we know that the Bears in fact came in a close second to West Virginia for the title of best D in Big 12 play. (BU's very low opponent turnover rate made the difference.) Still, any team that can hold its conference opponents to 45 percent shooting on 2s is doing something right.
Weakness: Holding on to the ball. In Big 12 play, Baylor coughed the ball up on 22 percent of its possessions. On each "effective" (turnover-less) possession, this offense scored at a rate virtually identical to what Kansas recorded. So far, however, the Bears have shown little indication that they can shut off the turnover valve.
Frank Martin, South Carolina
Defining quality: Defense. South Carolina forces opposing offenses to both miss shots and, especially, commit turnovers. Needless to say, that is a powerful defensive combination. Chris Silva is only a measure of cooperation from the officials away from being a game-changing defensive presence over longer periods of time. The 6-foot-9 sophomore is both a shot-blocker and a capable defensive rebounder. Sindarius Thornwell and Duane Notice both rank in the top 100 nationally for their steal rates.
Weakness: Offense. If the Gamecocks really have turned over a new leaf and can continue to score 65 points per 20 minutes, the way they did in the second half of their landmark win over Duke, this section will be a moot point. That could happen, or South Carolina might score at a rate closer to what we saw from this team during the SEC season. In those 18 games, Frank Martin's offense ranked No. 11 in points scored per possession in league play. Perhaps the true South Carolina offense is somewhere between those extremes.
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John GasawayESPN Insider
- Congratulations, Sweet 16 coaches. You stand at the pinnacle of your profession, as the top 5 percent of coaches at Division I programs.
Here's a review of what these coaches have taught their teams to do well enough to get here, as well as a frank assessment of each coach's potential areas for improvement.
East Regional
Greg Gard, Wisconsin
Weakness: Granted, we've seen only two Gard teams, but we have yet to behold the spectacle of a particularly accurate Wisconsin offense under the current coach. This season in Big Ten play, the Badgers came in under the league average in both 2- and 3-point accuracy. That isn't entirely on the coach, who isn't shooting those attempts, of course, but it's a characteristic of the team nonetheless.
Mike White, Florida
Weakness: As an average offensive rebounding team, the Gators are fairly reliant on each possession's first shot for their scoring. White's men are fair but not excellent on the defensive glass.
Scott Drew, Baylor
Weakness: Holding on to the ball. In Big 12 play, Baylor coughed the ball up on 22 percent of its possessions. On each "effective" (turnover-less) possession, this offense scored at a rate virtually identical to what Kansas recorded. So far, however, the Bears have shown little indication that they can shut off the turnover valve.
Frank Martin, South Carolina
Weakness: Offense. If the Gamecocks really have turned over a new leaf and can continue to score 65 points per 20 minutes, the way they did in the second half of their landmark win over Duke, this section will be a moot point. That could happen, or South Carolina might score at a rate closer to what we saw from this team during the SEC season. In those 18 games, Frank Martin's offense ranked No. 11 in points scored per possession in league play. Perhaps the true South Carolina offense is somewhere between those extremes.
