There will only be 15 African American head coaches on the side lines when the 64 team field NCAA men’s basketball tournament begins on March 15 to decide which school will wear the coveted National crown.

The last Black to coach his team to an NCAA championship was Kentucky’s Tubby Smith in 1998 and before those only two other Blacks have led their team to the championship, Georgetown’s John Thompson II was the first and Arkansas’ Nolan Richardson.

That’s a very disturbing number when you consider the majority of the players in the NCAA tournament are African Americans.

Ironically, the college with the best chance to return a Black coach to the pinnacle of the NCAA is Georgetown, which is led by the son of the first Black to win the crown, when John Thompson III leads the Hoyas as the No. 2 seed in the East Regional.

Thompson III led the Hoyas into the tournament last year where they lost in the regional semifinals to eventual champion Florida.

Led by junior Jeff Green who scored a career high 30 points in the Big East conference championship game, Georgetown finished the regular season with a 26-6 record and owns the No. 5 scoring defense in the country. The team plays nearly identical to the way Georgetown of old played.

Four other Black coaches are anchored in the East, including George Washington’s Karl Hobbs, Arkansas’ Stan Heath, New Mexico State’s Reggie Theus and Al Skinner of Boston College.

Skinner’s eagles are the No. 7 seed and have tumbled down the stretch to fall to 20-11, but hailing from the tough ACC could be an advantage it they can just put it altogether now. Led by ACC Player of the Year Jared Dudley this team could get on a roll, but must first beat Texas tech and Bobby Knight.

Hobbs is an emerging star among the coaching ranks, having both played and served as an assistant at might Connecticut, he has led the Colonials of Washington D.C. to two NCAA tournament bids and this year’s team finished with a 23-8 record and won the Atlantic 10 Conference. George Washington is a No. 11 seed in the East.

Heath replaced Richardson at Arkansas in and has found out how tough it is to fill those shoes. The Razorbacks have only reach the NCAA tournament twice under Heath and was a bubble team before advancing to the SEC Conference tournament championship.

The No. 12 seed Razorbacks will open against USC and could spring the upset of the first week.

New Mexico State is led by former Inglewood High standout Reggie Theus, and the No. 13 seed Aggies earned a bid when they won the Western Athletic Conference tournament on their home floor. Theus has turned around a program that just two years ago was 6-24 and this team could be dangerous.

The South Regional has three Black coaches led by ACC Coach of the Year  David Leito of Virginia as a No. 4 seed, Trent Johnson of Stanford which will have its work cut out for them as a No. 11 seed and coach Johnny Jones North Texas squad is a No. 15 seed and will open against No.2 seed Memphis. The  Stanford Cardinal which owns a win over UCLA this season will open against No. 6 seed Louisville in Lexington on March 15.

Ernie Kent of No. 3 seed Oregon in the Midwest Regional is the Black coach with the best chance of surviving there. Kent led the Ducks to the Pac-10 Conference tournament championship where it smashed USC at the Staples Center. His Ducks finished with a 26-7 record including victories over Georgetown, UCLA and Washington State, all high seeds in the tournament.

Another Black coach in the Midwest is Georgia tech’s Paul Hewitt who earned an at-large bid from the powerful Atlantic Coast Conference. Hewitt’s Yellow Jackets beat tournament teams Memphis, Duke, North Carolina and Boston College. His team will open on Friday March 16 against UNLV.

Chris Lowery of Southern Illinois is the top seed among Black coaches in the West regional which features No. 2 seed UCLA.

Lowery led the Salukis to their second NCAA bid with a 27-6 record and although his team lost in the first round of the Missouri Valley Conference the committee awarded a team with wings over Virginia Tech and Butler. However this team could meet Kentucky if both advance to the Sweet 16 because Tubby Smith’s Wildcats are lurking in the West Region as a No. 8 seed. Although this is not one of Smith’s best team’s he seems to do his best work with under achieving squads.

Kelvin Sampson’s Indiana Hoosiers are a No. 7 seed and could meet UCLA in the second round if they get past Gonzaga.

Another tough out in the West will be Virginia Commonwealth, which won 27 games against just 6 defeats and will open the tournament against No. 3 Pittsburgh. Black coach Anthony Grant, another of the rising stars in the profession leads Va. Commonwealth.

Last, but certainly not least is Tevester Anderson of Jackson State who has the toughest task of them all when his Historically Black University takes on the No. 1 Seed and defending national champion Florida Gators in the Midwest on Friday.

Published in : Sports, Basketball