Knight to the Izzo

By John McManus Sports Central Columnist

Their teams were dealt early exits from the NCAA Tournament, but it doesn't take away from their spectacular coaching jobs this season.

The overachieving that took place in East Lansing, Michigan and Lubbock, Texas was due in most part to two of the class coaches in college basketball -- Tom Izzo and Bob Knight -- who displayed their coaching talents more than ever this season.

I know that Ben Howland, Tom Crean, and Bob Huggins did great jobs this year as well, and deserve a lot of credit, but don't tell me you expected to see Texas Tech in the NCAA Tournament and Michigan State only one game short of winning another Big Ten regular season title.

Michigan State lost Charlie Bell, Andre Hutson, Mike Chappell, Jason Richardson, and Zach Randolph from last year's Final Four team. If that wasn't enough, Izzo had to deal with tons of injury problems on a team that was thin enough to begin with. Forward Adam Wolfe was lost for the season in January due to a hamstring injury. Also on the injured list were starting forward Adam Ballinger, who missed four games, and starting point guard Marcus Taylor, who missed two games.

Speaking of Taylor, he went from backing up Bell last year to being the star of the team and first-team All-Big Ten. This was only one example of how this team grows under Izzo's guidance.

Role players like Ballinger, Wolfe, and Al Anagonye became front line players. The three highly heralded freshmen Kelvin Torbert, Chris Hill, and Alan Anderson grew up in a hurry and contributed nicely to this team.

With the entire roster expected to return in 2002-03 and a recruiting class that includes prep star forward Paul Davis, look for Izzo's Spartans to again be a Final Four caliber team real soon.

Now be honest, did you know who Andy Ellis, Andre Emmett, and Kasib Powell were before this season?

Bob Knight placed these players and the Texas Tech program prominently on the college basketball scene. Even the biggest Knight-backers must be surprised that he turned things around so quickly in Lubbock, and the biggest Knight-haters must, at the very least, be impressed.

Texas Tech was 9-19 last season and down in the dumps. Think about the expectations back in November. A winning season and NIT berth would have been outstanding achievements, but "The General" took things several steps further, going 23-10, third in the Big 12 and earning an NCAA Tournament berth.

Knight didn't do it with mirrors, either. He didn't get any of his former players at Indiana to transfer to Texas Tech, nor did he load up the team with ringers or anything like that.

Ellis and Emmett were mainstays from last year's team and improved their game tremendously under Knight. Other players in the rotation were not so well-known recruits like point guard Will Chavis and freshman sharpshooter Nathan Doudney.

Looking to the future, Ellis is the only significant loss from this year's team. Though the Red Raiders will miss his presence inside, they cannot look back. Knight has gotten this program farther than anyone expected in only one year so there's no limit to how far they can go from here.

Looking forward to the Sweet 16:

* All my final four picks (Duke, Oklahoma, Kentucky, and Kansas) are still alive.

* My final game has Duke beating Kentucky in a rematch of the thrilling Jimmy V Classic game from earlier this season and the classic NCAA Tournament battles of 1992 and 1998. The two also met in the 1978 NCAA Tournament final.

* Here's an interesting fact: 1987 was the last time that a Final Four did not include either Duke, North Carolina, or Kentucky.

* I also have to pat myself on the back for having picked Kent State and Missouri to get this far.

Missouri's youth is finally blossoming in more ways than one. Sophomores Rickey Paulding, Arthur Johnson, and Travon Bryant are stepping it up and helping to make Quin Snyder into the young coaching giant everyone thought he would be.

When you add up the seeds (No. 12 for Missouri, plus No. 8 for UCLA) this is probably the best matchup of seeds totaling 20 or higher since seeding began in 1979.

Valparaiso vs. Rhode Island in 1998 totaled 21 (a No. 13 seed vs. a No. 8 seed) and was a good matchup, but this game has much more talent, tradition, and history.

Remember 1995 and UCLA guard Tyus Edney's game-winning layup? It was in the second round of the tournament vs. Missouri.

Oh, I can't wait! Bring on the Sweet 16!

Article courtesy of Sports Central.