0 comments by Matt Zemek on 6/12/2015
When using the expression “in focus,” the meaning is almost always figurative. After Game 4 of the 2015 NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers, “in focus” has an all too literal meaning. Do we really have to have cameras that close to a basketball court, and certainly near the stanchions at […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 5/18/2015
The coming college basketball season has finalized a schedule for the latest Big 12-SEC Challenge. Naturally, the fact that Kentucky and Kansas will meet is the headline story from the event. Wildcats-Jayhawks might receive more publicity than any other non-conference game on the road to the 2016 NCAA Tournament. John Calipari, Bill Self, and two […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
In February, the college basketball community said a long and heartfelt goodbye to Dean Smith, who later surprised his players with the beautiful gesture of giving them $200 to enjoy a dinner. Smith’s imprint — on life, basketball, and the University of North Carolina — was so large that he’ll continue to be talked about […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 5/7/2015
If you had asked Florida Gator basketball fans to offer their ideal replacement for Billy Donovan, chances are that Archie Miller would have been the runaway top choice. For this reason, the hiring of Louisiana Tech’s Michael White as the school’s new head coach might not be seen as a home run. Given that the […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 5/4/2015
Anyone who has studied the history of college basketball at an appreciable depth for a reasonable length of time knows that the 1979 Final Four helped the NBA more than any other Final Four. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird turned the NBA from a professional sports league shrouded in shadow to a thriving entity with […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 5/1/2015
The Florida Gators — in basketball as well as in football — might still be great again, and perhaps without missing very much time. If Jim McElwain turns out to be another Urban Meyer-level gem from the Mountain West Conference who can turn around a program in two seasons, the folks in Gainesville will be […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 4/27/2015
Saturday, May 2, 2015. For months, it’s been a day filled with promise, a day overflowing with possibility for all kinds of sports fans. May 2 — this Saturday — is as large a crossover sports day as we’ve seen in some time. Yes, the Kentucky Derby will always coexist with the NBA and NHL […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 4/21/2015
Coaches lose their jobs all the time, but they are the constants in college sports, certainly more than their players. What’s a quick way to survey a large chunk of the landscape in both college football and basketball? Try the “Coach Association Game,” a self-explanatory version of the word association games you played as a […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 4/20/2015
The 2015 college basketball season just ended. The 2014 college football season is a more distant memory, but football owns more of a hold on the American sports fan’s imagination. Before every waking thought turns to the 2015 football season, why not explore the similarities of various football and basketball seasons from the current college […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
The last time a Florida coaching icon left for the pros, it came as a distinct shock… but it did happen. Steve Spurrier, having coached the Gators on the gridiron for 12 seasons (1990-2001), bolted for the NFL’s Washington Redskins in January of 2002. Naturally, the move wasn’t hard to explain: Spurrier wanted to scratch […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 4/14/2015
The coaching carousel in college basketball is still spinning out some hires at the mid-major and low-major levels, but the whirl of activity in the power conferences has come to an end. This might feel like a look-ahead to the 2015-2016 season, but it’s more of an attempt to take the just-completed season and mention […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
As we put the final touches on our overview of the college basketball scene and transition to our offseason period at The Student Section, it’s worth looking at various programs that all have reasons to be concerned… different reasons, mind you, but reasons that point to the same high level of anxiety. Various coaching situations […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 4/13/2015
With 351 Division I teams, college basketball has a very tall coaching ladder. There’s always ample space in which to move up or down. A year ago, Frank Haith looked at his situation at Missouri and realized himself that a downward move on the ladder — from Missouri to Tulsa — was necessary. Give Haith […]
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Our college basketball coverage at The Student Section winds down this week. We’ll have occasional posts during the spring and summer, but this week marks our last concerted attempt to make sense of the just-concluded season and look ahead to November. Let’s start with an assessment of the high-profile coaching hires in college hoops. One […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek on 4/11/2015
We’ve reviewed the 2015 NCAA Tournament through the prism of teams and conferences. We’ve reviewed the event through the prism of players who left a mark, for better or worse. We’ve reviewed the tournament through the lens of coaches. Now, we conclude our series with a look at the basketball rules and policies that most […]
