Sunday, March 19, 2006

Why Can't Basketball Coaches Behave?

Richmond Times-Dispatch sportswriter Paul Woody has written a short column on basketball coaches that I wish every university president in the country would read and consider.

“...College basketball coaches spend too much time hollering at and reacting to the officials. It is foolish to think that does not have an effect on the players and, to some degree, the fans. And it is preposterous to think that officials in a championship tournament are out to "get" either team. More needs to be done to stifle the verbal abuse coaches dole out toward the officials. Head coaches should spend most of the game seated. Now, they stand whenever they wish. Some never bother to take a seat. They prowl the sidelines, instructing players and yelling in the ears of the officials as they sprint by the bench.”

To me, Woody is right on the money. The behavior of too many basketball coaches during games is outrageous. Are they playing to the television cameras? Coaches abuse the refs and their players in the name of leadership. Sometimes they just throw fits, or chairs. In some cases it’s plain to see a crazy coach is making his team crazy, too.

Example: Pete "The Panic" Gillen (pictured above), when he roamed the sideline talking in tongues at Virginia (1998-2005), acted like a nut during the games. His moody teams frequently reflected that on the floor. The mystery remains why he lasted so long.
Photo Credit: F.T. Rea

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Did you see Roy Williams flip out near the end of the UNC-GMU game yesterday? He literally picked up his chair and slammed it to the ground twice before yelling at his player some more. I've never seen Williams lose his cool like that before and it was quite shocking.

F.T. Rea said...

Ghost: Yes, I did see it. Pretty wild for a program known for its "whine 'n' cheeze" attitude.

Reminded me of when Lefty Driesell lost it and stomped his foot through a chair during a game. Then, of course, there was Bobby Knight throwing a chair across the court...

Maybe the NCAA should insist on having nerf chairs on the sidelines, just to be safe.

Anonymous said...

I'm just glad that Roy didn't go after any Mason players or coaches with that chair. My Patriots may have been forced to Skinn him...