Illinois Fighting Illini - Men’s Staff:

Bruce Weber and his staff Deserve Credit for the job they have done getting their team in position to deliver in March.  Weber clearly is a brilliant coach; but what stands out about him is the way he treats people.  “Bruce loads the bus, he asks players about their school work, he never misses practice and he probably works harder during practice than any other major head coach” a former staffer told BasketballScoop.  23-7 overall, and 11-6 in conference has the Illini back in the Top 25 and looking to make a splash in the Tournament. 

BasketballScoop spoke with a Big Ten coach whose team split with Illinois this season, “Sometimes it seems that they see something in the game and they make adjustments so quickly.  Their staff is very talented.”  BasketballScoop believes much of that credit should go to assistants Wayne McClain and Jay Price.  McClain is said by some to be one of the best basketball minds in the business.  “Wayne sees things others don’t and can quickly develop a plan to attack the weakness” a colleague told BasketballScoop.  Price is known to be a relentless scouter.  “Jay ensures the team knows the upcoming opponent better than they know themselves.” 

Assistant Jerrance Howard is one of the brightest young coaches in the game.  “He’s going to cut down the nets a few times before he’s done” a Big Ten coach told BasketballScoop.  The Staff is quick to mention that they could not do what they do without the constant support they get from their Strength staff, Trainers and Basketball support staff particularly Gary Nottingham and Sean Harrington. 

Look for Weber and his staff to have their team peaking in the Tournament.  With numerous wins on the road vs. top 25 teams this season, the Illini have demonstrated they can win anywhere.  As an ESPN analyst said recently, “No one wants to open the Tournament against Illinois”.   

Vanderbilt Commodores - Women’s Staff:

BasketballScoop asked an SEC head coach this week about Melanie Balcomb’s Commodores.  His reply, “They lost a couple of key players early in conference play and you thought they might have a tough time.  Nope.”  For the first time in Balcomb’s seven seasons at Vandy, the Commodores have finished the regular season ranked second overall in the SEC.  At 21-8 overall, 10-4 in conference, the ‘Dores are looking to make a run to St. Louis. 

Balcomb has long been known as an offensive guru (her teams consistently are in the Top 10 in the game in Field Goal Percentage, #7 this season); but she credits her staff’s work on the other end of the court with a lot of their success this season.  Vicky Picott and Lisa Cermignano “run that side of the court and they do it well”.  Picott also works with the Post players and is said to be “one of the best Post coaches in the game” by a highly regarded SEC assistant.  Balcomb says “Lisa brings a passion for defense in addition to the great job she does with our Guards”.  Her players, and their opponents agree.  Balcomb’s teams always seem to be able to reload with talented young players.  “Since joining the staff two years ago, Kim Rosamond has worked tirelessly at recruiting.”  BasketballScoop notes that the Commodores most recent class was rated in the Top 10 in the country by multiple recruiting websites.   

BasketballScoop recently caught up with the staff, who were quick to credit Balcomb’s style of empowering them and enabling them to do their jobs.  “Melanie delegates well and we all know our responsibilities.  We have a great staff.”  The staff also pointed to the constant support they get from their DBO, Justin VanOrman.  “We’re lucky to have a person with the experience that Justin has.  You just know you can rely on him.” 

An SEC assistant whose team lost to Vandy earlier this season had this to say about the team, “They’re small this year; but they play hard and they are well coached.”  BasketballScoop agrees, Balcomb and her staff Deserve Credit for a great season.  

Xavier Muskateers - Women’s Staff

BasketballScoop frequently hears that Xavier women’s basketball head coach Kevin McGuff is one of the “nicest guys in basketball”.  At BasketballScoop we think he Deserves more Credit than that.  We think McGuff is one of the best coaches in the country. 

Xavier is 24-4 overall, 12-0 in conference and ranked 17^th in the country.  We spoke with an A-10 coach about Xavier who said, “No matter what you think they are going to do to you, they bring a new wrinkle and just shut you down.”  McGuff told BasketballScoop, “(Assistant coach) Mike Neighbors is a big reason for that.  He’s one of the hardest working coaches in the profession.  He watches more film than anyone…he’s a great scouter.”  McGuff credits assistants Amber Whitford and Carla Morrow with “great recruiting and player development skills”.  “Add in Nicole Like, our DBO, and we have a great staff.  Nicole does a great job ensuring the program is always headed in the right direction.” 

The Muscateers have won 15 straight games and are winning convincingly.  Look for Xavier to get a high seed in the tournament; and don’t be surprised if they make a run at the Final Four.  McGuff and his staff have their team playing up at the right time of the year. 

LSU Tigers - Men’s Basketball

LSU’s hiring of Trent Johnson brought a renewed sense of excitement to Baton Rouge regarding the men’s basketball team.  Johnson stepped into a team that had experience (including three contributors from the ’05-’06 Final Four team that lost to UCLA); yet seemed to lack direction.  Johnson came in and immediately began remolding the team.  Thus far, the Tigers have been nearly unbeatable in conference play (12-1) and at 24-4 overall are currently ranked in the top 20.  Not bad for a program that seemed headed in the wrong direction this time last year.    

Johnson brought assistant Donny Guerinoni with him from Stanford and hired Keith Richard (he knew well from coaching against him for years in the WAC while Richard was at La. Tech) and Brent Scott from Rice.  He also brought DBO Chris Bobel from Stanford who had both worked and played for Johnson while in Palo Alto.  As a staff, they set out to bring this team together, to develop some team chemistry.  BasketballScoop recently asked an SEC coach about the Tigers’ Staff.  He said, “We figured that no matter who got the (LSU) job, we expected the team to be competitive because of the experience that was returning; however what Trent and his guys have done, dominating the conference, is really something.” 

When we asked another SEC coach whose team just lost to LSU about Johnson and his staff, his reply was, “It’s really impressive the way those guys have gotten the team to embrace their philosophy; both on and off the court.  They play as a team and they seem so focused.  We had a lead late; but they never seemed worried and they came back and got us.” 

Johnson has the fans excited as well.  The P-MAC is nearly full these days and there is an air of excitement in Baton Rouge about the direction of this program.  BasketballScoop believes that coach Trent Johnson and his staff deserve credit for turning around the LSU program. 

Xavier - Men’s Staff

Xavier’s basketball team is legitimate.  With a current RPI of 8, the nation seems to be taking notice and the BasketballScoop Staff thinks coach Miller and his staff Deserve Credit for building the program into what is quickly becoming a perennial power. 

Ask anyone who knows Sean Miller about his coaching style and they will tell you that he is always trying to make himself a better coach.  “He’s always reading, watching film, studying other coaches.” a former player tells BasketballScoop.  Assistant James Whitford told BasketballScoop, “Coach holds himself to a very high standard…he’s always trying to improve himself as a coach, and it’s evident that every year he improves as a coach.” 

Even though they lost two tremendous seniors from last season’s squad, the Musketeers have had an excellent season thus far (21-4 overall, 9-2 in the A-10) and nobody wants to have to play them in the tournament.  A coach who knows the staff very well told us, “Sean has assembled a great staff.  They work well together, yet don’t stifle each other and there are no egos.” 

Chris Mack has been with Miller since day one and is considered one of the top assistant coaches in the country.  Mack focuses on the offense and James Whitford focuses on the defense.  Miller frequently praises Whitford’s dedication to the staff and the players.  Book Richardson joined the staff two years ago and works extensively with the guards; but perhaps his greatest attribute is his ability to relate to his recruits.  Whitford told BasketballScoop, “Book is a great recruiter because he knows everybody; but more importantly because he has tremendous work ethic and a passion for helping young athletes improve their lives.” 

Word is the Musketeers also have two of the best Ops / Admin guys in the business with Travis Steele and Mario Mercurio. 

BasketballScoop hears that a Xavier practice is a great place to learn the right way to play ball.  The results show up on the court and on the scoreboard. 

VCU - Women’s Staff

The VCU Rams are 21-4 overall, leading the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) at 11-2 and have not lost this year at home.  Head coach Beth Cunningham and her staff have the Rams playing at their best level in years and they are looking to make a run in the NCAA tournament.  VCU is outscoring their opponents by more than 14 ppg, outrebounding them by over 7 boards and are making over 6 more free throws than their opponents.  

Cunningham, a former All-American at Notre Dame, is in her sixth season at the helm in Richmond and she tells BasketballScoop that she has a great staff.  “Associate head coach Curt Kassab is a great coach, a real high energy guy.  Curt was a great high school coach in the Richmond area.  He has really helped us improve as a team over the past two years.”  Cunningham tells BasketballScoop that Kassab has done a great job working with the players on the defensive end of the court.  

BasketballScoop asked coach Cunningham about assistants Huddleston and Agugua, “Julia (Huddleston) has been with me since I came to VCU.  Back then she told me that she wanted to help us build and establish a winning basketball program and take VCU to an elite level.  She has been very loyal.  She’s our recruiting coordinator and we owe a lot of credit to Julia’s commitment to finding the best players.  Amaka (Agugua) came here as a Grad. Assistant three years ago after a great playing career at conference foe Hofstra.  The next year we had an opening and I really never considered anyone else for the job.  Amaka works very well with the players and the staff.  She has been an outstanding addition the last two years and has really helped in the success we’ve had recently.”  

Cunningham added that “We can’t forget about Darren Guensch (Basketball Operations).  He’s the type of guy you want on your staff.  He takes care of so much for the team and our coaching staff.  I really don’t know what we’d do without him.  He’s a class act and a professional in every sense of the word.”        

BasketballScoop recently asked an opposing coach about playing against Cunningham and VCU, he responded, “When we watch film on VCU I see a lot of Beth in them.  They are gamers, out-hustling and out-hearting you.”  BasketballScoop believes coach Cunningham and her staff Deserve Credit for getting the best out of their players!  

Bowling Green Falcons - Women’s Staff

Ask any coach in the country which staff deserves credit for consistently getting their team to overachieve and more likely than not Bowling Green’s staff will be mentioned. BasketballScoop staff posed just that question to over 10 coaches last week and nearly every one of them included Bowling Green in the conversation. “Their offense just keeps attacking and they constantly make adjustments on defense…they are just not much fun to try to beat” said one opposing coach. Another veteran of the game told us, “They shoot the three; but what really beats you is that they get to the line nearly 30 times a game.”

BasketballScoop believes head coach Curt Miller and his staff deserve credit for doing a great job. We spoke with coach Miller this week who said, “I’m really fortunate to have such a great staff. They are very loyal, in fact we’ve never lost a coach.” In speaking about associate head coach Jennifer Roos, Miller said, “Jennifer has to be one of the best basketball coaches in the country. On the court, she is like our defensive coordinator…she leads the huddle and makes all the adjustments. She also is the best manager of a program that I have ever seen.” Miller points out that the staff meets 2 or 3 times a day, they all contribute and all are part of every decision made. On assistant coach Brandi Poole, Miller adds, “Brandi is the best multi-tasker I’ve ever been around.” When asked about assistant coach Kevin Eckert Miller responded, “Kevin is a great basketball coach; and an incredible recruiter. He has developed relationships and opened doors that used to be closed to mid-majors. He’s the type of guy you want to have on your staff, dedicated and reliable.” Coach Miller is also quick to point out Monique Rosati, Basketball Operations, as being a very “instrumental” part of the staff. “She does an unbelievable job of taking care of things off the court.”

When BasketballScoop asked another well regarded opposing coach about coach Miller, he responded with, “Curt’s such a good guy that it’s hard not to root for him.” At 20-2 overall and 9-0 in conference we think that coach Miller is well deserving of the credit that he clearly has earned.

Ole Miss Rebels - Men’s Staff

Entering the season, expectations were high for the Ole Miss Rebel basketball team. Although they were young (no seniors and only two juniors both of whom are transfers), the Rebels had three reliable scorers returning and were expected to make a run at the SEC West championship. Then, disaster struck.

Within the first few weeks of the opener, Ole Miss lost all three of their top threats to season ending injuries. Throw in some off the court issues for the coaching staff and the general assumption was that the Rebels were done and would look to rebuild.

Well the Rebels coaching staff has truly done a great job of focusing and leading this team through a challenging season. Coach Kennedy can frequently be heard telling his team, “No excuses” and the Rebels are playing that way. The Rebels are 13-10 overall and 4-5 in conference play. Freshmen and Sophmores are getting over 75% of the playing time and the Rebels don’t seem intimidated no matter where they play. Head coach Andy Kennedy recently said, “Sometimes youth is an advantage…they don’t realize (the difficulty of playing) one place from another.”

The Rebels are winning by playing smothering defense and out hustling and rebounding their opponents. Coach Kennedy says assistant coaches Michael White, Owen Miller and Torrey Ward deserve a lot of credit for teaching the players what it takes to win and helping them come together as a team. BasketballScoop spoke with an opposing coach a few days after a recent defeat by the Rebels who said, “They really are doing an amazing job as shorthanded as they are. They out hustled us the whole game and the young guys aren’t afraid to shoot it.”

BasketballScoop recently caught up with the staff and discussed the season. The whole staff, including Bill Armstrong (Operations) and Robi Coker (Video Coordinator), is aligned and have a great relationship with, and the respect of, the team. Perhaps adversity truly does make you stronger. The Rebels coaching staff isn’t making any excuses and they truly deserve credit for the job they are doing on the court.