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.
The NCAA Tournament is so close we can smell it, so FanHouse's college basketball experts took some time away from their busy schedules to talk about who will come out of each region First up, the Midwest Region.
Headlining: Pittsburgh took over first in the country after beating Connecticut two weeks ago. All it had to do was beat Providence and the Panthers would get to sit pretty at No. 1 overall, possibly cruising to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Yet, they somehow lost. It's a testament to this year's college basketball season, not only in terms of parity and a lack of elite teams, but general confusion as well. Don't bother telling me you saw that coming.
There has been another lawsuit filed after the fallout of Ole Miss head basketball coach Andy Kennedy'srun-in with a cab driver in Cincinnati last month. Mohamed Jiddou claimed that Kennedy punched him while shouting racial slurs in front of a local bar. Kennedy denies all of this and has filed a defamation suit against Jiddou and a valet who said he witnessed the assault. Kennedy is due in court today for a preliminary hearing of the assault charge.
What got lost in the shuffle was another lawsuit filed by the Kennedy clan. Kennedy's wife, Kimber, is suing the cabbie and the valet over the claim that her husband hasn't been able to perform in the bedroom since the incident happened.
The Ohio State Buckeyes have surprised many people this season. They began the season 9-0 with impressive wins over Miami, Notre Dame and Butler. Their nice start vaulted the Buckeyes to the No. 13 ranking in the Coaches' Poll and among the Big Ten's elite.
It's hard to use the word "elite" when you get beat at home by 28 points to West Virginia. Yeah, the Mountaineers went into Columbus and pounded Ohio State, 76-48. Counting their N.I.T. championship last year, the Buckeyes had won 14 straight games heading into the day.
West Virginia used a late 35-9 to turn the game into a laugher. Ohio State was pitiful with just 31% shooting from the field and missing nine of their ten free throws.
The game was sweet for West Virginia's Bob Huggins. When Huggs was at Cincinnati, Ohio State refused to play them despite a push to make something happen. Huggs also tried and failed twice to get the head job at Ohio State.
When I first moved to the Cincinnati area (which, by the way, was exactly one decade ago today), I would be told that the Xavier-Cincinnati basketball rivalry was up there with Duke-UNC. I just moved from Charlotte and shot that down immediately.
It is a neat little rivalry that has fallen on some hard times. The event that once gripped the city has turned into a oh-that's-coming up game. It is coming up this Saturday.
So, wha' happened?
Obviously the fall of the Cincinnati Bearcats has contributed to this. The game used to feature a ranked Bearcats team versus the mid-major Muskies who are known to come up and bite you every once in a while. The Bearcats were a polarizing team that you either loved or hated; Xavier doesn't own that level of love or hate -- even from Cats fans. To outsiders, it was a matchup of the thuggish Bearcats and the small Jesuit school.
West Virginia head basketball coach Bob Huggins was in a Charlotte, NC hospital after bumping his head. Huggs was talking on his cell phone as he was deboarding a plane when he tripped over a cone.
Haley Gentry, public affairs manager at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, said, "Upon exiting the plane, apparently he became dizzy and required medical attention." Gentry said a report of the incident did not say Huggins fainted.
Huggins was in Charlotte to meet with an alumni group.
Though the story sounds somewhat funny now, hearing that he was in the hospital is no joke. In 2002, Huggins suffered a massive heart attack while in an airport in Pittsburgh. He had to be shocked back to life three times. Since then, his health has been a topic of discussion -- including during West Virginia's recent Sweet 16 run.
Though it doesn't seem serious, here's wishing for a speedy recovery for Huggins.
College basketball coaches are a weird bunch. They are control freaks who are media savvy and live in an isolated world of hoopdom. But what if they weren't coaching? What would they do? Who would they be?
The blog CatsandBeer.com attempts to figure that out to hilarious results:
A very interesting occurance has come to Cincinnati fans: the Xavier Musketeers will meet the West Virginia Mountaineers in the Sweet 16. Normally, that doesn't mean much ... but WVU is now coached by Bob Huggins, the former coach at the U of Cincinnati.
You listen to people around town and the buzz is more about Huggins that the Muskies.
Huggins is a god in the Nati. He took a Bearcat program that was lying in the gutter and vaulted them into a Final Four appearance in 1992. Since then, he made Cincy basketball matter as they transitioned from the Metro Conference to the Great Midwest to Conference USA to, ultimately, the Big East.
Huggs never got to coach his team in the Big East as he was run out of town by Cincinnati's president Nancy Zimpher in 2005. You know how some Indiana fans won't come back after Bobby Knight was run off, the same thing has happened to the Bearcats. There are people that have abandoned the Bearcats program and who are elated at Huggins' ability to take West Virginia to the Sweet 16. Even after he left, he still has endorsement deals in the city.
Tomorrow night will see Bob Huggins' West Virginia team take on the Duke Blue Devils. That means we get those pals Huggs and Mike Krzyzewski on the sidelines against each other.
"Well he's so dry and boring that he needs somebody to kind of give it a little bit more life. So I try to help him every chance I get. That's just the kind of guy I am."
Hilarious! Here is what Coach K had to say on the subject:
"We're both Nike [guys]. .. I really like him a lot. He's got a coaching background. His dad was a coach. ... He's done a great job everywhere he's been. ... I was really happy to see him get the opporutnity to coach at his alma mater."
Well, I'm glad that Nike can help bring friends together ... and if you didn't know, that was Huggins' dry humor showing. The two have done their time on the Nike circuit for some time now and have become pals (Huggins even does stints on Coach K's radio show). One advantage Huggs' Mountaineers will have in Washington tomorrow is the crowd. Not only will their fans make the trip to D.C., but there are always anti-Duke fans in the house.
There has been 
The Ohio State Buckeyes have surprised many people this season. They began the season 9-0 with impressive wins over Miami, Notre Dame and Butler. Their nice start vaulted the Buckeyes to the No. 13 ranking in the Coaches' Poll and among the Big Ten's elite.
When I first moved to the Cincinnati area (which, by the way, was exactly one decade ago today), I would be told that the Xavier-Cincinnati basketball rivalry was up there with Duke-UNC. I just moved from Charlotte and shot that down immediately.
West Virginia head basketball coach 
College basketball coaches are a weird bunch. They are control freaks who are media savvy and live in an isolated world of hoopdom. But what if they weren't coaching? What would they do? Who would they be?
A very interesting occurance has come to Cincinnati fans: the Xavier Musketeers will meet the West Virginia Mountaineers in the Sweet 16. Normally, that doesn't mean much ... but WVU is now coached by 
Tomorrow night will see 
