FanHouse Anthony Grant

In an effort to talk about something college basketball-related other than scandals in the summer, let's talk best current coaches. We'll attempt to order the top 25 current coaches in the nation. This is about the present and the future, not the distant past. What a guy did in the mid-90s doesn't matter near as much as the direction his program is currently headed. Past pedigree also matters, to an extent. For the perfect mix of past accomplishments with present achievement and a paved road for future success, look no further than the man atop the list.

There's still a lot of college hoops to be played this season but I'm going to be bold and make my first prediction for the 2008-09 season: Anthony Grant will be coaching in the Southeastern Conference. I'm not really sticking my neck out, here. Grant, fresh off VCU's upset of Duke in the NCAA Tournament, was all set to take over Florida last year before Billy Donovan reversed course and left the Orlando Magic high and dry.

Now, with the Rams two games up in the CAA and looking to make more March noise, Grant is an even stronger candidate for a big-time job. As it happens, two SEC programs will be looking for a coach. LSU and South Carolina are both interested in Grant, according to various reports, and for good reason. His two years at VCU have been nothing but successful and 10 years as an assistant to Donovan prepared him for life in the SEC.

Grant won't talk about next steps right now and, quite frankly, he wouldn't be the coach he is if he allowed his focus to turn to another school and another season. Grant passed on head jobs while at Florida to wait for the right one, but this is a different situation. He can't do much better at VCU than he has the past two seasons and a poor year or two will take away some of his shine. You have to strike while the iron is hot and none is hotter than Grant right now.

In their loss to George Mason on Tuesday night, Virginia Commonwealth turned in an uncharacteristically weak defensive performance. The Patriots took over in the second half and cruised to a 12-point win that kept the CAA a two-team race. Rams coach Anthony Grant couldn't have been happy with that performance and must have done something about it in practice this week. Yesterday VCU was impenetrable during their 65-42 win against Towson.

Only one Tiger had more than six points and they made fewer shots than the Rams had steals. Towson was 14-of-55 from the floor while VCU stole the ball 17 times, including seven by Joey Rodriguez. Larry Sanders had seven blocks, which makes you wonder if the Tigers might have been better off just taking shot clock violations every time down the floor. The Commonwealth offense never took off, they shot just 36.8%, which is why the specter of Mason's win wasn't completely erased.

The Patriots turned in a defensive effort almost as impressive in their 72-46 win against James Madison and complemented it with an offensive showing that's beyond the Rams. Folarin Campbell had 20 points and John Vaughn scored 19 in a 53% showing from the floor. Their early season struggles look well behind them after a strong week.

GMU's offensive depth is unrivaled within the league, as is VCU's defensive prowess. When the CAA tournament final comes, it will be a shock and disappointment if we don't get a rematch between the league's best offense and its best defense.