NCAA: The Final Four: A tale of four coaches

Yes, I know, players win ballgames. Shane Battier played fantastic, Mike Duleavy hit some key three pointers, and Jason Williams played strong enough to help Duke win the NCAA championship. But after looking at all the statistics, great plays, key shots, defensive stands, and offensive runs, I keep going back to looking at the four coaches that brought their teams to Minneapolis to play in a great Final Four.

All college basketball fans know that these four coaches (Gary Williams of Maryland, Tom Izzo of Michigan State, Lute Olson of Arizona, and Mike Krzyzewski of Duke) are fantastic coaches that are highly respected in the profession. They each know how to motivate and get the most out of their players. So, while I believe that most of the time players win games, in this Final Four, the coaches played the biggest role in the outcome. The players on these four teams were very similar in talent and ability, so their coaches made the difference.

In the first game on Saturday, Tom Izzo was outcoached by Lute Olson. His Spartan players did not seem to be ready to play, which reflects on the coach. I have never seen so many telegraphed passes in a major college game, or a high school game for that matter. The players seemed to not have a clue as to what the game plan was. If they did look to the bench for help, they would have seen a confused Izzo with his hands over his face or rubbing his brow. Izzo wears his heart on his sleeve, but in this game he should have looked more in control. Lute Olson, on the other hand, seemed in control the whole game. His halftime speech must have been fantastic. The players really responded with great hustle, defense, and a plan to crush MSU. Now, I am not saying Olson is a much better coach than Izzo, just that he was better on this night, a night that meant a trip to the final game.

The second game brought another rematch between Duke and Maryland. Maryland has a good team which was very evident by their halftime lead over a strong Duke team. This is where the coaching of Coach K comes in. He never panics, which shows in his players also. Battier and the rest of his team looked at a cool, still confident, coach on the sidelines even after being down by over 20 points. These Blue Devils have alot of heart and never give up which reflects their coaches mentality. Maryland did not seem to have a game plan to keep the lead. Again, this is not a knock on Gary Williams. After all, he got his Maryland team all the way to the Final Four. But Coach K and his Blue Devils were not to be denied no matter what they had to do to win.

Finally, on the Monday night of the finals, Duke fulfilled a goal that they had set out to do before the season started. Arizona was a great opponent with alot of team speed and good defensive players. Why didn't they win? I believe that this year in college basketball, Coach K and his Duke team were not going to be denied. This might have been one of Coach K's finest coaching jobs in many years. Yes, he had talent. But compared to Duke teams in the past, this was not his most talented team. When it is time to take over the game, like it was in the final minutes of the Arizona game, Duke knows how to do it. They always had a good play called which gave the ball to a player who would make the play.

I really have not heard a bad word about Coach K and his program. If fact, until recently, none of his players even applied for the NBA draft early. These are the kind of players he recruits; ones with leadership skills, intelligence, and discipline. Krzyzewski doesn't win by accident. His coaching skills, along with the kind of players he recruits, gets him to the highest level he can possibly be at. I have to admit I am somewhat jealous of the Duke program being a Michigan fan, but I do admire what he does every year. So, in this Final Four, let's applaud Mike Krzyzewski for having the best team in this year's college basketball season along with being the best coach in Minneapolis.