Sports
Caucus: Who is the Best of the Final Four Coaches?
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski reacts during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Notre Dame in Durham, N.C., Saturday, Feb. 7, 2015. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
(USA Today) – Once a week, USA TODAY Sports asks its network of college basketball experts to analyze the biggest topics.
This week: Who is the best of the Final Four coaches right now?
Scott Gleeson, USA TODAY Sports: I know we have a chunk of Hall of Famers and that Mike Krzyzewski, Tom Izzo and John Calipari have won national titles. But I’ll make a case for the coach without a Division I championship.
Bo Ryan has led Wisconsin to back-to-back Final Fours. Sam Dekker and Frank Kaminsky are bona-fide superstars, but they wouldn’t be half the players they are without Ryan’s discipline and direction.
Ryan has long orchestrated a smothering defense, and Wisconsin always has been a legit Big Ten threat (the Badgers haven’t finished worse than fourth in the league since Ryan’s been on the sidelines). And now that Ryan’s players have blossomed offensively, this is a Final Four roster. Though Calipari’s toughest task is meshing together a wide array of talent, Ryan’s is growing it. Dekker and Kaminsky weren’t top-10 recruits. Now they’re All-Americans as upperclassmen. That starts with coaching.
