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With the 2009 Old Spice Classic, you have new coaches in new places looking to get the season off to a great start
By John Roach
Good thing the 2009 Old Spice Classic takes place over the Thanksgiving holidays—these teams are hungry to prove themselves. Five of the eight teams have coaches with less than three full seasons at their school: rookie coaches Anthony Grant at Alabama and Chris Mack at Xavier, as well as Michigan’s John Beilein, Marquette’s Buzz Williams and Iona’s Kevin Willard.
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Alabama’s Anthony Grant is one of five coaches in this tournament with less than three full seasons at their school.
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Just because the coaches are relatively new doesn’t mean their programs are struggling; six of the eight tourney teams won at least 20 games last year, four made the NCAA Tournament (Florida State, Marquette, Michigan and Xavier), and two more reached the NIT. Who doesn’t want second helpings of success?
Xavier, Marquette and Michigan may be the marquee teams in this year’s tournament, but Alabama, Baylor, Creighton, Florida State and Iona offer either battle-tested, big-conference experience, talented returning players, or both. The Old Spice Classic runs from Nov. 26-29 at the Milk House at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando, Fla.
In 2008, Gonzaga defeated Tennessee in the Old Spice Classic, 83-74, behind tourney MVP Jeremy Pargo, Steven Gray (19 points) and Matt Bouldin (17). Tyler Smith led the Volunteers with 17 points.
ESPN college basketball analyst Andy Katz offered these observations:
KATZ: “A lot of people thought I was insane when I had Michigan as a lock for the Top 20 this year, but they return Manny Harris as their lead guy, and John Beilein’s system takes a couple of years for people to get used to. Last year, they were a bit ahead of schedule making the NCAA Tournament, and I think you can really feel comfortable if you’re a Michigan fan, feeling that this team is going to go to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments. That will also really start to amp up that Michigan-Michigan State rivalry in the Big Ten, because with Purdue and Michigan State, Michigan is right there to compete for the Big Ten title.
“At Xavier, coach Chris Mack has a huge chore on his hands, because not only has Sean Miller left to coach at Arizona, the team lost Derrick Brown. So inside, they’re going to be a little suspect. But they’ve got Terrell Holloway back, and you add Jordan Crawford from Indiana, so their backcourt should be solid. Xavier has always done well on the perimeter.
“I think this Xavier team will compete for the A-10 title, but probably won’t get there. I think your favorites are still Dayton, Richmond and actually La Salle as a possible surprise. But Xavier will definitely be in the mix.”
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John Roach is a former college basketball writer and editor at ESPN The Magazine.
Photo Courtesy Marvin Gentry/US Presswire
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