Game 18: Providence
Jan. 15, 2009
In just his second year as a head coach, and first at MU, Buzz Williams has become accustomed to being on the short end of the stick when it comes to sideline experience -- especially in the Big East.
Yet when his Golden Eagles hit the road to face the Providence Friars on Saturday, Williams will be matching wits with coach who also has just two years' experience under his belt in Keno Davis.
Davis is in his first year heading the Friars. He arrives after one season at Drake, where he led the Bulldogs to a 28-5 record and their first NCAA tournament appearance since 1971. For his efforts, the 36-year-old Davis was named national coach of the year by six different outlets.
An impressive resume, to be sure. Not that Williams needed to be reminded of it.
"I think they’re all better than I am. I don’t know that we’ve played a game yet that I’ve looked down at the other bench and said, ‘Man, I’m better than him.’" said Williams when asked if he's found a comfort level as a head coach to this point. "Like I told Coach Huggins before the game, if I had won 75% of my games in Division I, and I was assured of being a Hall of Famer, I’d probably wear that Nike pullover deal too. Because he was making fun.
"He said, ‘Buzz, you’re going to have to slow down on all those suits and ties. You look really nice.’ I said, ‘Coach, here’s the deal: when you’re as bad a coach as I am, you better wear really good clothes, because when they look over there at you and you’re getting your tail beat, that’s the only thing that you have to protect your soul, is good clothes.’
"Coach Davis has lost eight games as a Division I coach. He was the AP national coach of the year last year. Coach Wainwright has been a Division I coach for 15 years. I used to write him letters when I was at Navarro College. Coach Huggins has won 679 games, and that probably moved him to about 75.2% of the games he’s coached, he’s won.
"I don’t compare to any of those guys, and I say that with all sincerity. I don’t say that condescending at all. I’m very fortunate to be where I am, know that I’m only here by God’s grace, and we’ll fight like heck to hang on."
-- Providence enters Saturday coming off a bye week, just as MU is.
The Friars are 11-5 overall and 3-1 in the Big East. They're also 9-1 at the Dunkin' Donuts Center, with the lone loss an upset at the hands of Northeastern in the second game of the season.
Weyinmi Efejuku leads four double-figure scorers for the Friars at 13.9 ppg. Geoff McDermott leads with 8.3 rebounds. Both names are plenty familiar to MU fans.
"Providence will have by the end of the year five 1,000-point scorers. They have six seniors. Their roster, as it relates to their perimeter, is very similar to ours," said Williams. "Coach Davis has done a great job with how he coaches and how they play. They’ve lost one game at home, which is their second game of the year. It’ll be a big game early in the season in relation to how they play, and where they’re going and where we’re going."
You can find the rest of the Friars' statistics here. (http://friars.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/stats/2008-2009/teamcume.html)
-- A scheduling quirk has left MU with byes on consecutive weeks. The bye this week, at least, came at a fortuitous time for the Golden Eagles.
"I don’t know if it’s going to end up being a good thing or a bad thing that both of our byes are back-to-back. I think there’s no other team in the league that that’s happening to, so I doin’t know how it’ll all play out," Williams said. "I think considering the roster, the way that it is, it’s probably good that we had a break. I think what’s happened is everybody on our team has gotten sick. That’s been the good thing about the byes.
"Lazar got sick on Saturday and walked out on the court with me right after he took the IV, then Jimmy got sick on Sunday. Dominic got sick on Monday, Maurice got sick (Tuesday). So when we practiced, we didn’t have either one of our point guards, so we had Wes initiating offense on one team and then kind of whoever got it on the other team. But they had great spirit, they were energized. School started back on Monday, so I think in relation to our first bye it’s probably come at the right time, thankfully.
"School’s starting, all our guys have been sick. So we had a good practice and I anticipate we’ll have another one. We haven’t had a bad practice since our 17th practice of the year. So they’ve figured out how we work every day, which is positive."
-- Williams was asked if the byes were timed poorly since MU had been playing so well, opening the Big East 4-0.
"I’m not smart enough to figure that all out. I think they’ll be fine," he said of the players. "We may be a little rusty the first 6-8 minutes, but Providence has got the same situation as well. So that won’t be any justification for whether we’re good or bad. We’ll just keep working."
-- A Texas native, it wasn't surprising to hear Williams isn't a big fan of the cold weather.
"I drive my car as close to the front door as I can and hop out. And then somebody goes and parks it," he said. "Then when I drive home, I drive it in the garage and shut the door."
-- If MU can manage to pick up a victory Saturday, it would tie a school record for best-ever start in league play.
The Golden Eagles went 5-0 in the Great Midwest Conference to start the 1992-'93 season, winning three road games along the way. Three of their four victories this year, of course, have come at the Bradley Center.
Five of MU's next seven games are on the road.
-- Stat of the week: Dominic James and Jerel McNeal have both put up 1,500 points, 350 assists and 200 steals to this point.
Only two other players in the nation, Chicago State's David Holston and East Tennessee State's Courtney Pigram, can make that claim.
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http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/37692699.html
'Coach, here's the deal: when you're as bad a coach as I am, you better wear really good clothes, because when they look over there at you and you're getting your tail beat, that's the only thing that you have to protect your soul, is good clothes.'
My respect for Buzz went down 5 points, then up 10 points on that sentence. 8-)
Lazar got sick on Saturday and walked out on the court with me right after he took the IV, then Jimmy got sick on Sunday. Dominic got sick on Monday, Maurice got sick (Tuesday).
MAN! Is there an epidemic hitting 40% of campus, or just the team?