Will this be the year for Victor Bubas?

As in 2003, Bubas was again named as a Finalist for election to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The announcement was made Friday in New Orleans, LA in conjunction with the 2008 NBA All-Star Weekend festivities.

Victor Bubas, the 1996 recipient of the prestigious John Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award, began a lifelong love affair with basketball in his hometown of Gary, Indiana before attending North Carolina State University where he played for, and coached alongside, Hall of Famer Everett Case. As a player, Bubas helped NC State reach the NCAA Final Four in 1950. Bubas then landed the head coaching position at Duke University in 1959 where he led the Blue Devils to three NCAA Final Fours (1963, 1964, 1966) and four ACC championships (1960, 1963, 1964, 1966). His strong work ethic and vision helped put Duke on the national map in basketball and made Bubas the second winningest coach in the 1960s behind Hall of Famer John Wooden. As the Commissioner of the Sun Belt Conference from 1976-1990, Bubas played a key role in the NCAA’s adoption of the both the three-point line and the 45-second shot clock.

The complete list of 15 Finalists includes a total of 10 candidates from the North American Screening Committee – players Ewing, Dantley, Johnson, Olajuwon and Mullin; coaches Nelson and Riley; and contributors Victor Bubas, Bill Davidson and Dick Vitale.

The Class of 2008 will be announced on Monday, April 7 at a news conference in San Antonio, TX prior to the NCAA’s Men’s Division I Championship game. A Finalist needs 18 of 24 votes from the Honors Committee for election into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The Class of 2008 will be enshrined during festivities in Springfield, MA September 4-6, 2008.

Today is for Kay

First of all, I’ve been watching the Lady Wolfpack take on the, umm, Lady Eagles? I have the volume down so I’m not really sure what the Boston College women are referred to as. The opening moments of the first half did not look to well. I had that feeling of “no, not today!” of all days. Well, the Lady Wolfpack have ruled the second half and are currently leading 58-41, domination. What more could we fans of the Pack ask for today? Oh yeah, I know, Go Clempsun! Beat dem Heels!

Ok, back to the meaning of this day, February 10, 2008…

What’s the big deal with this Sunday afternoon? It’s more or less a “dress rehearsal” for coverage of the NCAA Tournament.

Today, ESPN2 is showing eight regional games within two telecast windows (2 p.m. ET and 4:30 pm ET). The day allows ESPN to hone the production coordination between game crews and the studio needed to air the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament. But this month’s Frenzy will feature something new — and it comes in pink. Teams such as NC State, Rutgers, Georgia and LSU are expected to wear pink uniforms, shoelaces or shooting shirts to help promote breast cancer awareness and encourage fans to contribute to the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund.The Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Research, in collaboration with the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), launched the initiative in early December. It honors NC State women’s coach Kay Yow, who worked alongside Jim Valvano at NC State before he succumbed to cancer in 1993. Yow, who has more than 700 coaching victories, was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987 and learned in November she has stage-four cancer.

Who’s Laughing Now?

Oh yeah, Herb didn’t really laugh, or smile, or yell, or beat Carolina…

But, he does have Arizona State back in The AP Top 25 for the first time since 1995.

Now, it isn’t time to say good riddance, and at the same token not time to say “Wish you were here”.  It is perhaps time to acknowledge the man as someone who can pick up a broken program and turn it into a respectable program, once again. You can’t deny his ability to take a program up a notch. Maybe not 3-4 notches, but a notch or two, definitely.

I always liked Herb. I hope the best for him wherever he is and wherever he goes.

Tom O’Brien to coach at Michigan? (updated 12/04)

Yeah, you read that right. Rumors have started of TOB going to be the new HC at Michigan. Tom Dienhart at the Sporting News writes:

Two other interesting names recently were dropped in my lap: N.C. State’s Tom O’Brien and Missouri’s Gary Pinkel.

O’Brien has been at N.C. State just one season, but he is a perfect fit in Ann Arbor. He’s a Navy grad who has coached at high-minded academic schools such as Virginia (as an assistant) and Boston College (as head coach). Plus, O’Brien is one of the nation’s best coaches.

I’d love to just dismiss this, but let’s be objective, no one is that loyal to commitment these days. By no means am I saying this statement has any legs, but as State fans our first instinct will be to laugh in Dienhart’s face.

I personally don’t think TOB will be leaving the beautiful state of NC, near his home in SC, for the miserable winters of Michigan. Maybe a younger O’Brien woud consider it, but let’s be honest folks, he’s no spring chicken.

So get that grain of salt and swallow this report down. It’s just a billboard on TOB’s road to an ACC title someday.

Tuesday update: The Detroit News is reporting “The pool of candidates includes Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz, who two weeks ago was thought to have been off the list. But sources said Monday that Michigan has Ferentz among a number of candidates including Rutgers’ Greg Schiano, Wake Forest’s Jim Grobe, Missouri’s Gary Pinkel, Ball State’s Brady Hoke, Cal’s Jim Tedford and N.C. State’s Tom O’Brien.” Now they don’t list any sources, or actually state anything of much credibility on any coach. But still, it’s worth keeping our ear to the ground on this one.

Bob Ryan (yes, that Bob Ryan) on TOB and BC football

“I’ll take a 10-win season,” insisted Eagles coach Jeff Jagodzinski after Saturday’s 30-16 loss to Virginia Tech in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game.

“Any time you get double-digit wins in football, I don’t care what level you’re playing, I think that’s a good year. I tell you I’m proud as I can be to be the football coach at Boston College and proud of our kids, the way they fought. We just came up a little short today, and we will just keep it going.”

And 10 wins is a good year for BC. The problem is, the Eagles paid the price for being an alien in the college football world. The difference between winning and losing Saturday afternoon was significant, as BC will play in the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando, Fla., rather than strut off to the Orange Bowl. BC deserved better, but because it is not what is known as a good “traveling” team, the Eagles are not desirable in the eyes of, say, a Chick-Fil-A Bowl pooh-bah. It was ever thus, and is one reason Tom O’Brien is now coaching in Raleigh, N.C., as opposed to Chestnut Hill.

link to full article 

Love for the Ladies

From ESPN: 64 teams we like heading into 2007-08

22. NC State Last spring’s feel-good story — coach Kay Yow’s battle with cancer — could very well be this season’s most inspiring saga as well.