Three Black head coaches of men’s college basketball teams are headed to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA championship tournament and have a chance of winning a championship after winning their respective second-round games over the weekend. All three men will look to become the fifth Black head coach to win the NCAA men’s basketball championship, joining John Thompson, who won at Georgetown in 1984, Nolan Richardson, who won a decade later with Arizona, Tubby Smith, who won in 1998 with Kentucky, and Kevin Ollie, who won at Connecticut a decade ago.
North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Hubert Davis, who lost in the NCAA championship game two years ago, discussed enjoying being in the tournament this year after missing it a season ago after the team’s weekend win over Michigan State University.
“I appreciate every moment,” Davis said. “I appreciate the sunny days and the cloudy days. I’ve said this a number of times; there’s a reason for all seasons, and He’s the reason for all seasons, and I mean Jesus, and those reasons are good — [regardless of] if it’s a sunny or a cloudy day. All those reasons develop my character, refine my faith, and make me the person and the husband and the dad and the coach that I want to be.”
Shaka Smart discussed the closeness of his Marquette Golden Eagles after yesterday’s 81-77 win over Colorado.
“We’ve been through a lot as a group together. Really, 90-some-percent of the things we’ve been through have been very positive, but you tend to remember some of the hard times, as well,” he said. “But guys have never wavered in terms of their belief in our playing and our way, and they stayed connected with one another. Relationships are our number one advantage, and that’s just something that we believe in, and I think it won us the game today.”
North Carolina State University head coach Kevin Keatts discussed his team coming together to win the ACC tournament and reach the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16.
“We’ve been a good team all year long; we just hadn’t stacked games, and we hadn’t stacked opportunities,” he said. “I just think we have cut down on our mistakes, and most of them are on the defensive end. This team can score the basketball, but defensively, we were a mess at times. Ball screen coverage wasn’t well. Our assistant coaches have done a great job with scouting. We weren’t doing a great job of comprehending scouting reports, and now we’re doing it. And I think one of the biggest things is we believe and trust in one another. If you’re not having a good night, then you gotta trust your brother beside you, and I think that’s one of the things that we’ve matured in.”
Davis and North Carolina face off against Alabama on Thursday, while two Black coaches, Keatts and Smart, square off on the sidelines when North Carolina State University plays Marquette.
