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College Hoops

Are NCAA Coaches Out of Control?

By David Williams
For Outsports.com

Are NCAA Basketball Coaches Losing Control?
By: David Williams

I had just returned from the 2003 SEC Basketball Tournament where I witnessed some of the best basketball games this year. Things were just as they should be right? Wrong! Surrounded by all of the great play, there was an example of a continuing growing issue in the NCAA--Out-of-control coaches. Let's re-examine the incident in particular that I am talking about.

It was March 13th, the first round game between Arkansas and LSU. LSU was physically mauling Arkansas during this game. LSU Head Coach John Brady was roving the sidelines as most LSU fans have come to expect of him. The game was starting to get a rather ugly, with Arkansas players showing frustration over the blowout. With 10 minutes and 58 seconds to go, Arkansas trailing 61-32, Arkansas's Jonathon Modica attempted a 3-point shot that was blocked by LSU's Ronald Dupree. Modica fought for the ball, and then wrapped Dupree up in almost bear-hug fashion. The players went face-to-face, and then shoving occurred.

Arkansas's Modica was called for a personal and technical foul. Brady, scowling and rather upset, shouted at Arkansas Coach Stan Heath, and it was clear what he was saying, "Control your players." LSU went 1-4 on free throws. Right after the inbound pass on LSU's side of the floor, Arkansas' Eric Ferguson was all over Dupree, and was immediately called for reaching in. Immediately following the foul, as Ferguson was running down the court past the LSU bench, Coach Brady began yelling something at Ferguson. Ferguson stopped in his tracks, and Coach Heath caught the officials attention, pointed toward Brady and made two-handed gestures (the universal ones for talking), indicating his displeasure that Brady was talking to his player.

By this time, Ferguson had made a reply to Brady. Brady then replied by stepping out on the court and shouting something back at Ferguson. By this time, SEC officials had made it to where Brady and Ferguson were squaring off. They got their just in time to hear Ferguson's response, which garnered him a technical foul and expulsion from the game. Brady, who initiated the incident, was not punished, not during the game anyways. Brady continued to hurl comments towards the Arkansas players for the rest of the game, but no responses were issued by Arkansas players, after being told by Arkansas head coach that if anyone responded, they would be kicked off the team. LSU went on to win the game, 85-56.

Following the game, an exuberant Brady came into face the media. The news conference went fine until one of the Arkansas reporters asked Coach Brady about the incident. He immediately became very defensive in his responses. I took the opportunity to ask Coach Brady what he said to Ferguson, and he answered saying, "It is none of your f***ing business." The rest of the media in the room refused to accept that as an answer, and continued to ask him questions.

When asked what he said to Coach Heath, Brady said, " . . . you can ask him." Brady refused to answering the continuing question about what he said to Ferguson, and finally stormed out of the news conference. Ferguson came into the room a short time later, and refused to answer questions about the incident except to say that the remarks were " . . . insulting and offensive. The only mistake I made was to respond to them, saying the things that I said."  Heath voiced the same attitude saying, " . . . this incident was very unfortunate. There are two sides to every story. So I am not going to say who is at fault. The only thing I will say is that Eric (Ferguson) should not have responded and he will be punished by me for that. I would expect a fellow coach to come to me with a problem, not my players."

When asked if he would file an official complaint, he said that he (Heath) had not made up his mind. Arkansas player Jonathon Modica did come out and speak briefly with media, saying that he had apologized to his teammates for his technical foul, and he was ready to accept the punishment that he knew was coming. \

The SEC is known for it's brutal football rivalries, but normally the basketball rivalries are played with respect. I can remember former legendary LSU Head Coach Dale Brown making his farewell tour of the SEC his final year. Just about every SEC University did something for Coach Brown. When he came to Fayetteville, Ark., for his final collegiate game, and received a 10-minute standing ovation from the Razorback Fans. I remember the moment quite well, it was something to see. But such moments as that, are being overshadowed by ones like what happened in the SEC Tournament.

Most SEC coaches agree and came out with swift rebukes towards Coach Brady's actions. Tennessee Head Coach Buzz Peterson said that " . . . one would expect a head coach to defend his players. But the (Ferguson) foul was not an overt foul. It was a minor foul that one sees a million times in a season. Coach Brady's actions were over the top." Kentucky Head Coach Tubby Smith went further, calling Brady's actions " . . . disgraceful and unprofessional. If any of my coaches ever act the way John Brady did, they would be terminated the next day." Florida Head Coach Billy Donovan, who would later watch Brady receive a technical against his Florida Gators the next day, responded saying " . . . his (Brady) actions were insulting both to the SEC and its fans. It is unfortunate that the great play of his players will continually be overshadowed by the actions of their coach."

When contacted about the situation, former LSU Coach Brown stated that " . . . LSU fans are the best in the world, and they deserve better than to be daily represented by a Coach who has no respect for the game." Just for the record, John Brady received two more technical during the SEC tournament. The SEC has taken action against Brady, stating that " . . Brady's actions were in violation of the league's sportsmanship rules. " The SEC said they would leave the discipline of Coach Brady up to LSU. LSU has refused to comment on the situation.

So, why so much attention to one single incident? Well, this is not an isolated incident. Basketball has always been a sport in which coach's actions and behavior have been part of the game. Baseball is probably the only sport that has witnessed more coaches being kicked out of games. However, the number of incidents in College Basketball is climbing at an alarming rate. In the 2000-01 season, the NCAA said there were 95 reported incidents involving coaches and players from rival teams. That number has steadily increased in the following years, with 109 incidents reported in the 2001-02 season, and a record 127 in the 2002-03 season, with the NCAA Tournament yet to be played.

Probably the most viewed incident this year occurred on March 9, 2003 at the North Carolina-/Duke basketball game. During the second half of the game, Duke Assistant Coach Cris Collins shouted remarks toward UNC's Rashad McCants. What resulted was a near bench-clearing one between both teams with UNC Head Coach Matt Doherty leading the way in defense of his player. ABC analyst Dick Vitale was on hand calling the game for ABC and called the incident " . . . totally unnecessary and avoidable. It was especially surprising to see one of Mike Krzyzewski's coaches starting such an incident." To Coach K's credit, he suspended Collins for two games calling his actions, "unnecessary and unforgivable."

Coach K. went on to say that any further incidents would results in possible termination of coaches. The problem is, the NCAA has so far left the punishment of coaches up to the individual leagues and schools. Some college coaches are becoming increasingly frustrated and outraged by the NCAA's apparent blind eye to the problem. Arizona Head Coach Lute Olson called upon the NCAA and all athletic conferences to institute new punishments against out-of-control coaches. "We are constantly punishing players when they lose control of their conduct, but do nothing to coaches when they loose control. We need to see some coaches either suspended or fired. Only then will we see some progress against this major problem."

Surprisingly, support for Olson's comments is coming from an unusual place. During a press conference following Texas Tech's loss to Oklahoma in the Big 12 Tournament, Bobby Knight was asked about Olson's comments. "He is 100% correct," said Knight. "If the NCAA and the conferences do not get this under control, this is going to get ugly." When a surprised reporter asked Knight why he had changed his attitude, a smoldering Knight responded saying " . . . I NEVER attacked another team's players. I always took my frustration out on my own players, the media, and the referees. The opposition's players were always off limits and I would have fired any coach who attacked a (rival team's) player."

Will the NCAA take action? So far, my phone calls to the NCAA have not been returned. So I can only hope that the NCAA will finally realize the severity of the problem and take action and soon. If no one does anything, then we are in for some rough days ahead. If we cannot keep the coaches that are suppose to teach good sportsmanship to the players under control, how can we ever expect the players to abide by the rules? If the NCAA and the conferences lose control of the players also, then that will be a very dark day for NCAA College Basketball indeed.