Final Four Coaching Rankings and Final Four Predictions

So the college basketball season is down to the Final Four.  Four teams that have battled through two weekends of tournament ball to make it to Houston.  If there is one thing that you get when you get to the Final Four is four very good coaches.  A team does not make it to the Final Four without a good coach.  This year is no different even though a couple of the coaches rub me the wrong way.  Let’s rank the coaches left and then predict what who will be left standing after these four square off this weekend.

1. Brad Stevens – Butler

At the start of last year I wonder how many people out of 100 could answer the question: Who is Butler Men’s Basketball head coach?  I think the number would be quite low.  Now though it would be very high, I guess back to back trips to the Final Four will do that.  Watch Stevens this weekend; look at his demeanor at the very start of the game.  Then look at him when the game is tight, late in the game.  What you will see is the exact same, calm and cool demeanor.  In an interview with Gordon Hayward of the Utah Jazz on ESPN radio this morning, Gordon explained that the run he was a part of last year with Stevens was aided in many ways by Stevens’ calm demeanor.  It is that demeanor, great plays coming out of timeouts, great defensive strategy, great job instilling that defensive intensity and calm demeanor in his team that makes Stevens my top remaining coach.

2. Jim Calhoun – UConn

Now if I was picking a guy to coach my team in the next 10 years or even just next season, Calhoun would be at the bottom of my list.  But I am not, I am picking the coaches based on this weekend and who I think is the best this weekend.  Calhoun it could easily be argued should be at the top of this list.  What I’ve seen from Stevens though in the past two years makes that impossible for me to do.  Calhoun has won a championship and been to the Final Four 4 times.  Calhoun is much feistier than Stevens, but that also works great for his team.  You have to admire what Calhoun has been able to do with this young team this year.  They finished 9^th in the Big East, but found themselves as a team in the Big East tournament and ended up winning it.  That shot them up to a 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament and they have continued their late season success.  Jim Calhoun deserves a lot of the credit for getting this team ready for tournament time and for knowing the best play he can call this year is “Get the ball to Kemba.”

3. Shaka Smart - VCU

I understand that Smart’s track record isn’t all that sparkling outside of the past two weekends.  VCU had a very underwhelming regular season and if you think this team is truly as good as it’s been in the tournament, then Smart has coached an underachieving team up to until the start of the tournament.  The only reason Smart isn’t in last place for THIS weekend is because he has found the magic touch in the past two weekends and that magic will continue the rest of this season.  Even though VCU may not end up being the last team standing, Smart is on fire and has been making all the right moves in the tourney.

4. John Calipari – Kentucky

What a surprise Calipari is coming in to the Final Four with the NCAA and NBA looking into possible violations around his program!  This guy is such a sleazy coach.  UMass and Memphis can tell you all about what happens soon after he has success at your school.  You get crushed by the NCAA while he runs off claiming total ambivalence to the situations he left behind while taking big money elsewhere.  Calipari is a great recruiter (cheating the whole way probably) but has never impressed me with his in game coaching.  This year is different though, I have been very impressed with how well prepared the Wildcats have been for UNC and Ohio State in their past two games.  I have to give him credit for that, even Jay Z was proud of his performance…oh…sorry sore subject.  Kentucky might be the best team left in the tournament but I can’t say the same about their coach.

Predictions that are also probably worse than my cat’s picks:

UConn over Kentucky

Butler over VCU

Butler over UConn

Just gut feeling that Stevens and the Bulldogs get it done this year.  Doesn’t matter what you did prior to playing Butler, you will not be able to do those same things against them.  Butler does the best of any team in the country that I’ve seen in making you play the game they want you to play.  They did it all the way through the tournament last year including the Duke championship game, and they’ve done the same thing all the way through this year’s tournament.  I see it continuing, with experience beating out VCU and suffocating defense of Nored slowing down Walker enough to seal the deal in the championship game.

Should be a great weekend and be sure to check out Sports Tears in Our Beers.