Season preview: Washington State coach Ernie Kent

Ernie Kent has spent almost 2 decades a head coach in the Pacific Northwest and hopes to bring some luck to Washington State on Friday the 13th as the Cougars host NAU in their season opener.  He is best known for his time at Oregon: after playing 4 years for the Ducks in the 1970s, he later won 235 games in 13 years as head coach of his alma mater and made 5 NCAA tourneys.  Even after spending the last several years doing TV work, his 109 conference wins still ranks among the top-20 in Pac-12 history.  HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach Kent about coaching in Saudi Arabia and working for the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

ernie

As a player at Oregon in the mid-1970s you were known as “Million Moves” and were part of the “Kamikaze Kids”: how did each of those nicknames come about? “Million Moves” was a nickname I got in high school from the playgrounds of Rockford, IL. “Kamikaze Kids” started during Coach Dick Harter’s 1st year: the kids were diving on the court and going over the front row as they tried to get the ball.

You spent most of the 1980s as a coach in Saudi Arabia: how did you get the job, and how did it compare to college basketball? I was coaching for Oregon when the NCAA reduced the number of assistant coaches, and I ran into a guy who knew the guy who founded the Shiite culture and owned the 2nd-largest dairy plant in the world. They had an athletic club featuring soccer, basketball, and other sports, and were looking for a coach. It was an excellent opportunity for me to start building my resume. I only planned to stay 2 years, but then I met a guy who was a VP at Aramco who was amazed that an American could adopt to their culture so well, so I worked for Aramco’s recreational department while also coaching.

In the 1991 NIT title game as an assistant to Coach Mike Montgomery at Stanford, NIT MVP Adam Keefe scored 12 PTS in a 6-PT win over Oklahoma: what did it mean to you to win a title, and how on earth was your team able to stay focused while taking their final exams right in the middle of the tourney?! When I initially came back to the US in 1987 I got a job with Boyd Grant at Colorado State. Mike had worked for Boyd a long time ago and called him to say that he was looking for an assistant, so I ended up getting a job with Mike, who was an outstanding coach. We had great kids who knew how to grind through school and balance it with basketball.

In 1997 you won the WCC title as coach of St. Mary’s: how did it feel to win the school’s only conference tourney title of the 20th century, and what was it like to face Tim Duncan in the NCAA tourney (22 PTS/22 REB in a 22-PT win by Wake Forest)? That was an incredible year: we won a tournament in Hawaii, a tourney at BYU, the regular season title, and the conference tourney title as well. Brad Millard was 7’2”, 320 pounds and battled Duncan for most of the game, but just could not hold up at the end.

In 1997 you were hired as head coach at your alma mater: how big a deal was it to become the 1st African-American head coach of any Oregon sports team in history? It was my dream job to come back there to coach, even though it took 20 years to happen: I was heartbroken when they did not call me 5 years earlier. It was a special moment for me and for other coaches around the country who reached out to me, but people did not make a big deal of it in the Northwest. We did not have much of a recruiting base at the time so it was amazing to get some great African-American kids to come play for me and my staff.

In the 2000 NCAA tourney Shaheen Holloway scored 27 PTS including a coast-to-coast drive/layup off the glass with 1.9 seconds left in a 1-PT OT win by Seton Hall: where does that rank among the most devastating losses of your career? It is #1. When we made the field I had hoped that my dad was going to be able to join us in Buffalo. However, he died of cancer so I went to bury him in Rockford, but had to leave before they actually put him in the ground.

In the 2002 NCAA tourney Fred Jones scored 4 PTS including a layup with 2.8 seconds left in a 2-PT win over Texas: how were you able to pull out the win despite getting outrebounded 41-19? We had an outstanding group of players on that team, including a trio who ended up becoming 1st round picks. We had a lot of size on our team, as well as 2 guys off the bench who shot 50% from behind the arc. Freddy did not have a good game but helped us take over: I felt that it was destiny for him to make plays at the end.

In the 2007 NCAA tourney Aaron Brooks scored 27 PTS in an 8-PT loss to defending/eventual champion Florida: where does that Gators team rank among the best you have ever seen? I think they are the best I have seen during my coaching era, as they won back-to-back titles but Coach John Wooden’s UCLA teams were the best I saw during my playing days. We had them on the ropes and were playing very physical but had a few guys foul out at the end. We had 5 guys who were 1000-PT scorers, including 3 guys who had already graduated, so we had a very experienced team.

Since leaving the Ducks you have worked as a TV analyst and as an executive of the National Association of Basketball Coaches: how did you like the 2 gigs? I started out with FOX because it helped me stay connected with the game, and then I switched over to the Pac-12 Network. I have enjoyed getting to watch teams to see how they practice, how they care about academics, etc. I served on the NABC board for over a decade and was preparing to serve as president until Oregon let me go. It was special that they still wanted me to be president even though I was no longer a coach, so I just tried to work with coaches like Tom Izzo/Jim Boeheim and help stamp my legacy on the game. I also received the chance to do a coaching clinic with Craig Robinson in China, which was wonderful.

Your son Jordan played football/basketball/track at Oregon, becoming the Pac-10’s 1st-ever 3-sport letterman: what sport was his favorite, and who is the best athlete in the family? Jordan is by far the best athlete in the family…but I wish I would have had a chance to compete against him if we were both the same age! I loved coaching both him and my other son and they taught me a lot as well.

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Conference Preview: SEC

For the rest of our Preseason coverage, CLICK HERE.

SEC

40-0.  The Kentucky Wildcats came ever so close last year to having the elusive “perfect season”.  However, this is college basketball, where March Madness reigns supreme, and one game can send the best team home.  For Kentucky, it came in the national semifinal when Bo Ryan’s Wisconsin Badgers pulled out a 71-64 victory, though the signs that UK would not just cruise to the title had been there in the Midwest Regional Final when they barely got by Notre Dame, 68-66.  Of course, the offseason has now come and gone in Lexington the way it seems to every year.  Seven players from last year’s Final Four team left for the NBA Draft and Coach Calipari just went out and replaced them with another stellar crop of recruits, landing the Wildcats right back in both the SEC and national championship discussions.

In addition to top-seeded Kentucky, the SEC placed four other teams in the NCAA tournament last year.  Arkansas, a 5 seed, advanced to the Round of 32 while 9-seed LSU, 10-seed Georgia and 11-seed Ole Miss fell in the Round of 64 (though Ole Miss did pick up a victory in the First Four before being eliminated).  Vanderbilt, Texas A&M and Alabama also made postseason appearances, playing in the NIT.  Five tournament bids last season shows that the rest of the SEC (beyond perennial contenders Kentucky and Florida) is starting to catch up, and even bigger things could be in store this year.  LSU, Vanderbilt, Texas A&M, Georgia, Mississippi State and Auburn are all teams that could be seriously in the hunt for tournament bids, though Ole Miss and Arkansas look like they may take a step back this year.  Florida, which advanced to at least the Elite Eight in 2012, 2013 and 2014, might make it two straight years without a bid as the Gators begin the post-Billy Donovan era.

Predicted Order of Finish

1.  Kentucky – Who else?  Losing seven players to the NBA Draft is business as usual, and the ‘cats should be among the national championship contenders with Tyler Ullis and Alex Poythress back plus super-freshmen such as Jamal Murray, Isaiah Briscoe and Skal Labissiere — just to name a few.

2.  LSU – Head coach Johnny Jones’ team has a chance to be among the nation’s elite with the addition of Ben Simmons, ranked by many as the top prospect in the entire country.  Simmons is not the only stellar newcomer here, as Jones also added freshmen Brandon Sampson and Antonio Blakeney, plus Arizona transfer Craig Victor.  And by the way, there is a solid corps of returning players, including the veteran backcourt duo of Tim Quarterman and Keith Hornsby.

3.  Vanderbilt – The Commodores are a deep team that now has experience as well with most of the key pieces from last season’s 21-win squad back.  Damian Jones is the key for the team down low, but watch out for Luke Kornet — over 7 feet tall and shoots 40% from beyond the arc!

4.  Texas A&M – The Aggies have three veteran standouts in Danuel House, Alex Caruso and Jalen Jones.  On top of that, head coach Billy Kennedy has added a top recruiting class highlighted by big men Tyler Davis and Elijah Thomas, plus wing D.J. Hogg.

5.  Auburn – Picking the Tigers this high in the standings may be a surprise, especially with the majority of the team gone from last season, other than Cinmeon Bowers.  However, Burce Pearl has brought in another talented group of newcomers including junior college Player of the Year T.J. Dunans and Marshall transfer Kareem Canty.  Pearl also adds in a strong freshman recruiting class.  The Tigers may struggle early in the season as they gel and try to overcome some preseason injury setbacks, but will be a dangerous foe come February and March.

6.  Mississippi State – Another sign of how the SEC is trying to establish itself as more than a football league, the Bulldogs brought in one of the top available coaches in the country by signing Ben Howland.  There is no reason why this team will not see significant improvement in Howland’s first season as senior Craig Sword and top recruit Malik Newman will lead a strong group of guards while Gavin Ware has a chance to be dominant down low.

7.  Georgia – Mark Fox’s team should be solid in the backcourt with Charles Mann, Kenny Gaines, J.J. Frazier and freshman William “Turtle” Jackson II.  However, there are some question marks down low with Marcus Thornton gone.  Freshman Derek Ogbeide may need to mature quickly for the Bulldogs to earn a return trip to the NCAAs.

8.  Florida – Michael White takes over for Billy Donovan, and it may take him some time to install his style of play.  However, Dorian Finney-Smith does return for his senior season and White was able to convince top recruit KeVaughn Allen to remain with the program, so a postseason bid is not out of the picture by any means.

9.  South Carolina – The Gamecocks did land a top recruit in PJ Dozier, who will be joined in the backcourt by Sindarious Thornwell and Duane Notice.  However, there are question marks with the team’s depth and in its frontcourt, and an NIT bid may be the team’s limit.

10.  Ole Miss – The Rebels were one of the last four at-large teams to earn a bid to the Big Dance last season.  This year, with six players gone from that squad, another dance invitation seems unlikely.  Ole Miss does have Stefan Moody back at least, and he should score even more than his 16.6 points per game average from last year.

11.  Tennessee – Three head coaches in three years is not the way to build a consistently strong program.  The good news is that the Vols have (hopefully) finally gotten the right man for the job in Rick Barnes.  Tennessee will need Kevin Punter and Robert Hubbs III to shine in the backcourt and Armani Moore to get help from newcomers down low if they want to succeed this year.  However, the loss of Josh Richardson may prove to be too much.

12.  Alabama – The Crimson Tide have some potential under new head coach Avery Johnson.  Retin Obasohan will be solid at the point while three veterans down low (Michael Kessens, Jimmie Taylor and Shannon Hale) will all contribute.  If the newcomers can add some help, the Tide may surprise this season despite having lost three double-digit scorers off of last year’s squad.

13.  Missouri – This looks like another long season for the Tigers as they continue to attempt to rebuild.  With only two juniors and one senior on the roster, there should hopefully be brighter days ahead.

14.  Arkansas – The Razorbacks won 27 games last year.  Their losses could easily be over 20 this season as almost everyone from that team is gone.  Head Coach Mike Anderson needs to rebuild this team and needs to start right now.

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Season preview: Austin Peay coach Dave Loos

For the rest of our extensive Preseason Coverage – CLICK HERE

There are not a lot of coaches who have been at their current school for the past 25 years, but Dave Loos is still going strong at Austin Peay after taking over in 1990.  He is a 5-time OVC COY, and if all goes well this year he will record his 400th win as coach of the Governors.  Even if he runs into a couple of obstacles along the way, all he has to do to maintain his confidence is look down at the name of the floor on which he is standing: Dave Loos Court.  HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach Loos about playing basketball at Memphis State and having his kids go into the family business.

loos

At Memphis State you played PG for the basketball team and SS for the baseball team, and were inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2002: which sport were you better at, and which 1 did you enjoy the most? I was better at baseball. I enjoy coaching basketball more…and my wife also enjoys the fact that I coach basketball!

In the 1995 OVC tourney final you had an 8-PT loss to Murray State after star forward Bubba Wells suffered a right leg stress fracture: do you think that you would have won with a healthy Wells? Anything that might have happened after Bubba got hurt is speculation: I do not know if we would have won or not. I tip my hat to him because he came back out and tried to play.

What are your memories of the 1996 NCAA tourney (Drew Barry had 11 AST in a win by Georgia Tech)? They had a great PG who we could just not deal with. We kept it to single digits in the 1st half and played very well against a good team.

What are your memories of the 2003 NCAA tourney (Luke Whitehead scored 20 PTS in a win by Louisville)? We played them in Birmingham and got off to a great start against a very good Louisville team, but their press ended up hurting us down the stretch.

You used to work as the athletics director in addition to being head coach: was it hard to do both jobs simultaneously, and which gig did you enjoy the most? It is difficult because both jobs were time-consuming, but I am a coach 1st and foremost. Being a coach serves me well as an AD because I knew what the other coaches were going through.

In 2007 the school named the basketball court after you: what was your reaction after finding out about it, and where does that rank among your career highlights? I certainly was appreciative and flattered by it but I do not take a lot of time to think about that while I am still active. Right now we are just about the next game/practice/recruit. I kidded people that I just did it myself 1 night with a script pen!

What are your memories of the 2008 NCAA tourney (AJ Abrams had 26 PTS in a win by Texas)? We got off to a terrible start, which allowed the Longhorns to jump out to an early lead.

Your son David is a color commentator for Austin Peay sporting events, and your son Brad is an assistant basketball coach at Missouri: were you an influence on their decisions to go into sports-related fields, and how proud are you of all their success? I am very proud of all my children and what they have done. They grew up in the gym so I am not surprised that they got involved in sports. My daughter Nicole used to coach our dance team and is now the director of alumni relations, so she is involved as well. David considered coaching but decided to go into broadcasting instead, while I cannot see Brad doing anything else because he just has coaching in his blood.

When people look back on your career, how do you want to be remembered the most? I hope that people say we followed our objective, which is to have people leave here with a diploma in 1 hand and a championship ring in the other. We tried our best to be very consistent with what we did and we did it the right way.

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Under (and On) the Radar: Season Preview, Nov 10th

For the rest of our extensive Preseason Coverage, including interviews with players and coaches, conference previews, and video podcasts – CLICK HERE

 

UNDER (AND ON) THE RADAR: Season Preview, Nov 10th

Chad is joined by David, Jon, and Joby as they run through all of the non-major conferences.  They begin by talking about Gonzaga and Wichita State, who they feel are legitimate top ten caliber teams.  They also look at BYU, Loyola Chicago, and Evansville as teams from the WCC and MVC that have a good chance of landing inside the bubble and making the NCAA Tournament.  Old Dominion is another team that they really like out of Conference USA.  They run through all the rest of the Under the Radar leagues, pick who they think will win the leagues, and reveal the first UTR Top Ten of the season.

 

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Conference Preview: Pac Twelve

For the rest of our Preseason coverage, CLICK HERE.

PAC TWELVE

The days when the Pac-12 was struggling just to put its regular season champion into the NCAA Tournament feel like ancient history.  The conference has righted itself and is clearly still on the upswing.  Last season, four schools represented the conference in the Big Dance and all four of them won at least one game.  Arizona led the way as a 2 seed advancing to the Elite Eight, while 5th-seeded Utah and 11th-seeded UCLA both made appearances in the Sweet 16.  Oregon got in as an 8 seed and won a game before falling to top seed Wisconsin.  And to add to the conference’s postseason resume, Stanford cut down the nets as champions of the NIT.  Arizona State (NIT) and Colorado (CBI) rounded out the league’s postseason roster.

This year, the Pac-12 looks even stronger as all four of last year’s Tournament teams appear poised to make return trips, though none of them are the current pick to win the conference.  That honor goes to California.  The Golden Bears, in Cuonzo Martin’s second season at the helm, have added a stellar group of newcomers to a stacked returning lineup and may prove to not only be the team to beat in the Pac-12, but could be playing games at least into the second weekend of the Tournament.  Another coach in his second year at the helm, Oregon State’s Wayne Tinkle, also has his team looking like they have a chance to dance (for the first time in 25 years!), as does first year head coach Bobby Hurley at Arizona State.  Although seven bids may be a stretch, an increase from last year’s four seems to be almost a given.

Predicted Order of Finish

1.  California – The Golden Bears are loaded.  Tyrone Wallace, Jabari Bird and Jordan Mathews form the nucleus of a deadly backcourt, while freshmen standouts Jaylen Brown and Ivan Rabb will have a chance to dominate down low.  Once the veterans and newcomers gel, the conference and maybe the entire nation better watch out.

2.  Arizona – Losing four double-digit scorers would have most teams in rebuild mode, but not here.  The Wildcats have simply reloaded with another strong group of freshmen recruits, plus Boston College transfer Ryan Anderson and JC transfer Kadeem Allen.  If Cal is not the best in the conference, Arizona will be.

3.  Utah – The Utes have one of the nation’s strongest frontcourts led by Jakob Poeltl, who himself is among the best bigs in the country.  If the team can find a way to make up for the loss of guard Delon Wright, they will be in contention for the league crown again.

4.  Oregon – The Ducks should be dancing again with top prospect Tyler Dorsey and Villanova transfer Dylan Ennis in place to make up for the loss of Joseph Young (or at least ease the pain of losing a guy that scored over 20 points per game).  Down low, Elgin Cook and Dillon Brooks are both returning double-digit scorers who should improve off of last year’s numbers.

5.  UCLA – Bryce Alford is joined in the backcourt by a pair of notable recruits, Aaron Holiday and Prince Ali.  If Tony Parker can finally put things together in his senior season, the Bruins will not need to sweat things out on Selection Sunday again.

6.  Arizona State – Bobby Hurley takes over in Tempe and has some solid pieces to work with including guards Gerry Blakes and Kodi Justice plus forwards Savon Goodman and Eric Jacobsen.  Of course, the most important thing the Sun Devils have going for them is the best X-Factor in all of college basketball — the Curtain of Distraction (google it if you don’ know what it is — it will be worth the effort).

7.  Oregon State – Other than Northwestern (a team that has never been to the NCAA Tournament), the Oregon State Beavers have the longest current Tournament drought among all Power Five conference teams, last having made the field in 1990, well before any of their current players were even born.  Although they are a longshot to make the field this year, the mere fact that we are discussing them as a team with a shot at all shows how far the program has come in just its second year under Wayne Tinkle.  Gary Payton II and Malcolm Duvivier lead a solid backcourt and are joined by a strong recruiting class that includes Stephen Thompson, Jr., Tres Tinkle (Wayne’s son), and Drew Eubanks.

8.  USC – The good news for the Trojans is that everyone returns from last season.  The bad news is that this same group of players lost 20 games last year.  Head coach Andy Enfield has still not proven that he can coach at this level, and if he does not turn things around this year, he may need to start sending out his resume.

9.  Colorado – Askia Booker is gone and Xavier Johnson is out with an offseason Achilles’ tendon tear (though he could return later in the year).  The Buffaloes were a sub-.500 team last season that only played in the postseason by buying an entry into the CBI.  That opportunity probably will not even be available this year.  The only good signs are that Josh Scott appears to be healthy heading into the season and that the addition of Providence transfer Josh Fortune should help in the backcourt.

10.  Washington – Everyone of note other than Andrew Andrews is gone from last year’s squad.  However, head coach Lorenzo Romar brought in one of the nation’s top recruiting classes led by guard Dejounte Murray.  This team should get better as the newcomers gain experience.

11.  Stanford – The Cardinal won the NIT last season, led by the trio of Chasson Randle, Anthony Brown and Stefan Nastic.  All three players are gone now and this season will be a rebuilding year for head coach Johnny Dawkins

12.  Washington State – Josh Hawkinson averaged a double-double last season and will be worth watching.  However, with top scorer DaVonte Lacy gone from a team that had a losing record, not much is expected here.

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Season preview: Temple coach Fran Dunphy

Most of the season preview interviews that I do are with players/coaches who I only know from watching them on TV, but Coach Fran Dunphy holds a special place in my heart.  When I showed up to Penn as a freshman in the fall of 1992, I did not have high hopes for a basketball team that had gone 37-41 during the 3 previous seasons.  However, the Quakers proceeded to go 48-0 in conference play over the next 3 years, made it to 3 straight NCAA tourneys, and even beat Nebraska in the 1994 NCAA tourney, which remains their only tourney win in the past 35 years.  As much as I like to think that I was the lucky charm, I know that it was simply a matter of being in the right place when a coach and his players happened to click at the right time.  After recording the 2nd-most victories in Ivy League basketball history and winning 10 Ivy titles in a 14-year span, he replaced Coach John Chaney at Temple and made 6 straight NCAA tourneys from 2008-2013.  With 7 more wins this year, he will join an elite list of coaches with 200+ wins at multiple schools, including legends such as Jim Calhoun, Eddie Sutton, and Roy Williams.  HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach Dunphy about playing for 1 Hall of Famer and replacing another.

dunphy

You played for Hall of Famer Tom Gola at La Salle: what made him such a good coach, and what was the most important thing that you ever learned from? He saw the abilities of the players in front of him and their experience level and just trusted us to play the game. The guys ahead of me had even more trust, but he was good at reading the situation and putting a team together. He asked us to give our best on defense and the freedom on offense was nice.

As a junior you went 23-1 (with only a 3-PT loss to South Carolina), but your team was barred from the NCAA tourney due to some violations committed by an alum: how close did you come to an undefeated season, and how frustrating was it to miss out on the tourney? We were on probation due to some infractions the year before so it was frustrating knowing that we would be missing out on the tourney. We just did not get it done against South Carolina but it was still a magical season.

As a senior you were co-captain, averaged 18.6 PPG, and led the team in AST: how did you balance your scoring with your passing? 1 of my teammates was All-American Kenny Durrett, who was 1 of the best players in the history of Philly. I had good players who gave me the opportunity to get some assists.

Beginning in 1992 you won 48 straight conference games as coach at Penn: did it reach a point where the fans just expected you to win every time you stepped onto the court? Probably: those are healthy expectations. We had 3 guys who eventually made it to the NBA, which is pretty impressive for an Ivy League team.

In the 1994 NCAA tourney future Penn coach Jerome Allen had 18 PTS/10 AST in a 10-PT upset of Nebraska: how big a deal was it to get the Quakers’ only NCAA tourney win since 1980? It was very important after coming close against UMass the year before (a 4-PT loss). We could have played with a lot of good teams in the country.

In the 1995 NCAA tourney you had a 6-PT OT loss to Alabama: what made Antonio McDyess so unstoppable (39 PTS/19 REB)? His athleticism and wonderful play: he was just an extraordinary talent so it was a bit of mismatch.

You won 10 Ivy titles in 17 years at Penn, and your 310 wins are 2nd-most in Ivy history (Princeton’s Pete Carril has 514): how were you able to be so successful for such a long stretch of time? The history/tradition of the Penn program gave us a step up on many other teams in the league so we were able to recruit well.

In 2006 you became head coach at Temple: why did you take the job, and how much pressure did you feel in replacing legendary coach John Chaney? They tell us to not succeed a legend but I guess I did not get the memo! John is a terrific guy and made it very easy for me. I got to meet with him and receive his blessing and made me feel good about what I was doing. I just wanted the challenge of running another program after being lucky enough to run the program at Penn.

Take me through the 2011 NCAA tourney:
Juan Fernandez scored 23 PTS including an off-balance 18-footer in the final second of a 2-PT win over Penn State: where does that rank among the most clutch shots you have ever seen, and how important was it for you personally to get a win after 11 straight tourney losses? It was important to me, but more so for the kids. Juan made a great shot, which many of our students were appreciative of.

Billy White had 16 PTS/13 REB in a 7-PT 2-OT win by San Diego State: where does that rank among the most devastating losses of your career? If we could have gotten that win it would have been even more fantastic. I do not consider it devastating but rather “disappointing” because we played so well: we just ended up playing a great team.

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