That was awful....

Buzz has only had 4 years with MU now on his 5th. Two sweet 16s when e had to completely revamp the recruiting classes when Crean left. Two seasons of all buzz guys and he made second weekend. His first year with Crean team was loaded but Dom James injury dashed hopes. When adding the final 4 with being the only Big East team to never miss tourney makes it impressive not having the mid major/coaching loss roll over. Just saying. I'm actualy more excite for next year anyways.

Looked at all the final four coaches since Bo took over at UW. Eleven seasons, so obviously 44 Final Four teams. Twelve coaches account for 30 of those teams (multiple appearances): Mike Krzyzewski Roy Williams Tom Izzo Rick Pitino Jim Calhoun John Calipari Thad Matta Bill Self Ben Howland Billy Donovan Jim Boeheim and Brad Stevens. Of the 14 single appearance coaches: Rick Barnes Gary Williams Jim Larranaga Kelvin Sampson Shaka Smart John Thompson III Tom Crean Bruce Weber Jay Wright Mike Davis Paul Hewitt John Brady Eddie Sutton Bob Huggins, 6 are  still coaching the team with which they got to the final four. Sutton and Williams are retired. Calhoun is also retired. So 26 coaches filled 44 available Final Four spots, and three are no longer available for coaching.

Looking at this info (and correct it if wrong), 68% of the final four slots were filled by teams whose coach got at least two teams ino the Final Four. Are those coaches available to replace Bo? Not really. All of them are still with the teams that they took to the Final Four with the exception of Calhoun (retired) and Calipari (one with Memphis-vacated due to NCAA violations-and two with KY).

Of the fourteen coaches who took one team to the Final Four, only five, Rick Barnes Jay Wright Shaka Smart John Thompson III Bob Huggins, are still with the teams they took to the Final Four. Of the remaining, two are retired. One is in the NBA after major NCAA violations (Sampson). Three are coaching at major programs (Indiana, KS State, and Miami), and three are at somewhat less prestigious schools ( TX Southern Geo Mason AK St ). Totally understand that George Mason made the Final Four recently, but in the scheme of things it probably isn't in the league of Indiana, K-State and Miami.

So with just 26 coaches making it the Final Four in the eleven years of Bo's tenure, is it realistic to expect that Bo should have made it? Is it realistic to expect that ANYONE else should have made it? Of the fourteen teams to make it just once ( OK St WV MD Geo Mason OK VCU Georgetown Marquette Illinois Villanova Indiana GA Tech LSU TX ) the coaches that were there haven't gotten back with a different team either (Huggins made it with Cincinnatti and WV, but the Cin appearance was pre-Bo and Gary Williams had two with MD but one was pre-Bo).

I don't worship at Bo's feet. But realistically, who was truly available over the past eleven years to do better? Some guy we've not yet heard of? Change for the sake of doing so? If there is a much better coach who could be convinced to come to Madison, get him here. Fine. No complaints from me. If Roy Williams wants to come to UW I'll meet him at the airport.

Bo will not be getting any one and done players. His emphasis on defense and going deep into the clock will not appeal to that player. For whomever rattled the MSU fan's cage about Izzo, you haven't been paying attention. Izzo is a fabulous coach. But if you watched last night, there wasn't tons of difference in the way the game was played between the teams: Intense defense, passing people open, on-ball screens, etc. It is, however, undeniable that Izzo is more successful in March. Good for him; carry the Big 10 banner. But Bo has been very successful by most any measure and i ask: If not Bo, who? And for anyone that says, "It's not my job to identify a better coach, that's the AD's job" I say "really?" Just moaning? Well who is available that has taken a team to the Final Four to replace Bo? You don't have to pick him, but tell me, who is available?  Name an assistant or a mid-major coach guaranteed to bring a Final Four? If you say change directions now and hope it was the correct choice, I'm thinking we have an equal chance of going back to the Steve Yoder years (but with a better facility).

The bottom line is that the Final Four is a very exclusive club. And Bo hasn't joined that club. There are more than 300 teams eligible for the NCAA tourney, and only 26 coaches got into the Final Four. Will he take us there? Hmm. I'd say the chance is significantly less than 50:50. Who among those special 26 will come to UW ( or go anywhere for that matter) and take us to the Final Four? Which schooll will he be moving from? Anyone else beyond those 26 you bring in is an unproven shot in the dark. You could argue that Bo will never take a UW team to Final Four, and given current and past performance, I'd have to say maybe you're right. NCAA basketball is a have/have not proposition with a few surprises now and then. Of those 14 one appearance guys, only Gary Williams at MD won the title. And he had two appearances in his career and is now retired. I don't know; Bo's a good coach who isn't likely to take UW to the promised land. But again, not many coaches have been able to do that even with traditional basketball powers.