CAA: Championship Notes

According to the CAA's voting its two best coaches for the 2005/06 season are meeting in its championship game. Last week UNC Wilmington's coach, Brad Brownell (pictured left), was named as Coach of the Year at the conference's Thursday night pre-tournament banquet. Hofstra's Tom Pecora came in second in the voting, which was done by the league’s coaches, sports information directors and members of the media.

Coach Brownell, in his fourth year as the Seahawks head basketball coach, came to Wilmington in 1995 to serve as an assistant under Jerry Wainwright. Brownell was also selected as the CAA’s best coach for the 2002/003 season. Coach Pecora is in his fifth season running the Hofstra program.

The minutes on the floor in a tournament begin to really add up on the third consecutive day of play. Pecora played only six men today; Brownell went 10-deep.

Three of Pecora's best players have had little or no rest in two nights of action. Out of a possible 80 minutes of play in two games Carlos Rivera has played them all; Aurimas Kieza has 79 minutes; Antoine Agudio has 78. Whereas, Brownell has only one player, John Goldsberry, with over 60 minutes on the floor in the two tilts. Brownell's other key players are down in the 50s in minutes played.

Before the championship game starts tomorrow night both of these coaches will have already made many of the decisions which will determine its outcome.

Photo Credit: UNC Wilmington