It is about this time every season when coaches no longer complain about most calls. They begin to complain about every call.
March may be when the general public gets into the game. The coaches know that if their team does not make it happen in February, there is no March.
ASSISTANT COACHES:
As promised, here is this season's list. I counted 16 former Big 5 assistants who are now head coaches. Let's do it by school. When an assistant was at two schools, I will list his first school. I am not counting four of the present Big 5 head coaches who were also assistants here.
VILLANOVA
Paul Hewitt (George Mason). He could not break through the North Carolina/Duke axis in the ACC at Georgia Tech, but has GMU (19-6, 11-2 Colonial) playing great in his first season there.
Joe Jones (Boson University). The Terriers are 13-13 overall, but 9-3 in America East, going for a second consecutive league title.
Patrick Chambers (Penn State). The Nittany Lions lost four senior starters from an NCAA team so it was clear this would be a rebuild for the first-year coach who left Jones a nice nucleus at BU. In a season when any Big Ten win is going to be a good one, PSU is 10-14 overall, 2-9.
Mitch Buonaguro's team (Siena) is 10-13 and 5-8 in the Metro Atlantic.
And Paul Cormier (Dartmouth). Nobody wins in Hanover and Cormier is no different with a team that is 4-18, 0-6 Ivy.
PENN
Fran O'Hanlon (Lafayette) runs one of America's best offenses and is one of the game's best people. His team is 10-13, 5-3 in the Patriot.
Fran McCaffery (Iowa) got some attention for beating up that chair at Michigan State, but it could have been for his coaching. The improving Hawkeyes are 13-11, 5-6 Big Ten.
Steve Donahue (Boston College) had his first BC team on the verge of the NCAA after the great run at Cornell. He is starting over with very young players this season and is 7-16, 2-7 ACC.
