NCAA Coaches On Hot Seat - College Basketball News And Picks

NCAA Coaches On Hot Seat
By Jim Johnson
Posted: 6:00 am PDT 2006-10-05

Last week I talked about the impact some of the major coaching changes will have on the upcoming 2006-07 college basketball season. I'll now list coaches who enter this year already feeling pressure to produce -- or else. Odds are at least one of these coaches will be renting a moving fan sometime next March.

Tommy Amaker, Michigan: How much rope is this guy going to get? First, he somehow parlays a 16-15 season at Seton Hall in 2000-01 into a bigger job at Michigan, then he posts only one winning conference record in five years in Ann Arbor. It looked like the Wolverines might have turned the corner with a 23-11 record and NIT championship in 2003-04, but things fell apart the following season when Michigan was hit hard by the injury bug and fell to 13-18.

Amaker's squad finished its schedule with a respectable 18-10 record last season and returned to the NIT finals, but that was following a 16-3 start. His teams at Seton Hall and Michigan often have a lengthy slump sometime during the season that leaves them short of reaching the NCAA Tournament. Five years without an NCAA bid, regardless of probation or injury problems, is too long for a program with the resources and recruiting base that Michigan enjoys.

This season, the Wolverines have a veteran team (three returning starters, four upperclassmen who averaged at least 16 minutes per game last year) but will need to find stability at point guard and a leader to replace the departed Daniel Horton. Their coach's job will depend on how successfully they do so.

Mike Brey, Notre Dame: Like Amaker, Brey is a Mike Krzyzewski disciple and was once a rising star in the profession. His star has faded somewhat the past three seasons, however, and is in danger of going out completely, at least in South Bend. Brey got off to a strong start at Notre Dame after leaving Delaware in 2000. The Fighting Irish reached the NCAA Tournament in each of his first three seasons and advanced to the Sweet 16 in 2003. Notre Dame has gradually slipped into mediocrity since then, however. The Irish have not received an NCAA bid since 2003 and fell to 16-14 (6-10 in the Big East) last season. They weren't getting pounded regularly, suffering 12 of their 14 losses by six points or fewer. That statistic raises a question, though: Don't the better coaches usually find a way to win the close games?

The task to climb back into consideration for the NCAA Tournament this season is made much tougher due to the loss of leading scorer Chris Quinn and leading rebounder Torin Francis. The Irish will look to shooting guard Colin Falls (13.8 ppg last year) and forward Russell Carter (11.5 ppg), both seniors, to step up and fill the void. Their interior game looks soft, however, and there may not be enough firepower in the backcourt to make up for it.

Notre Dame Athletic Director Kevin White showed in 2004 that he would not tolerate mediocrity in the football program. Another NIT trip for the Irish will put Brey in the position of finding out how high a priority White puts on a successful basketball team.

Dan Monson, Minnesota: It looks like the upper Midwest isn't the best place to be a major college basketball coach if you value job security. Monson made a name for himself by guiding Gonzaga to national prominence and nearly knocking off eventual national champion Connecticut in the 1999 Elite Eight. He took over a Minnesota program reeling from the academic scandal that led to Coach Clem Haskins' departure and probation for the basketball team.

Everything seemed to be on track for the Golden Gophers when they returned to the NCAA Tournament in 2004-05 after a 21-10 season and a seven-game improvement in the conference, jumping from 3-13 to 10-6, one of the best turnarounds in Big Ten history. Minnesota fell back to 16-15, 5-11 last season, however, and lost its top scorer from that team, Vincent Greer.

The Gophers will have a new backcourt with Oklahoma transfer Lawrence McKenzie and JuCo transfer Linar Wilson expected to win the starting jobs. Monson will have to build team chemistry quickly or risk the season, and his career at Minnesota, blowing up in his face.

Other coaches feeling the heat: Back-to-back NIT titles sound nicer than they really are. Dave Odom needs to break his South Carolina team out of that trend and return to the big dance this season. ... Ernie Kent's Oregon Ducks have gradually slipped from a Top 10 ranking and Elite Eight appearance in 2002 to a 15-18 record last season. If gifted guard Malik Hairston does not become a full-fledged star and lead a turnaround, Kent may be set adrift. ... The natives are getting more restless than usual in Lexington, where the fans believe excellence from their beloved Kentucky Wildcats is a birthright. A 22-13 record is fine most places, but not where Tubby Smith coaches. Even worse, the Kentucky program is drifting toward irrelevance in the SEC. That is not likely to be tolerated for very long.

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