Coaches questions: Who was the toughest coach you ever faced?
ESPN’s coaches really know their stuff.
Seth Greenberg‘s 22-year coaching tenure features head-coaching stops at Long Beach State, South Florida and Virginia Tech. He posted a 383-293 record in that span. You’ll remember him best from his time with the Hokies, from 2003-12, when he was a two-time ACC Coach of the Year.
Seth Greenberg and Dan Dakich give you an all-access pass inside the world of college basketball. Listen now!
Seth’s podcast mate is Dan Dakich, the former Indiana team captain. Dakich became an assistant coach under Bob Knight from 1985 to 1997 before taking the head-coaching reins at Bowling Green. He served as the Hoosiers’ interim head coach in 2008 as well.
And there’s Fran Fraschilla, who coached for 23 years, including head-coaching stints at Manhattan, St. John’s and New Mexico. Fraschilla led his teams to three NCAA appearances and five NIT trips. He also served as an assistant coach at Providence under current Volunteers coach Rick Barnes.
This trio can draw up out-of-bounds plays, speak with authority on life in the ACC, Big East and Big Ten, and explain a coach’s innermost thoughts. But tell us something we may not know!
Seth Greenberg: “Jerry Tarkanian. My first year at Long Beach State, we played him. He’d never lost at Long Beach Arena. We had a decent team and came up with a great idea to have our college president, Curtis McCray, sit on the bench with us, because it was a big deal that Tark was coming back here, playing a first-year head coach. Game starts — this was Larry Johnson, Greg Anthony, Stacey Augmon … they kicked the living crap out of us. The first half ends, we’re down 20 or so; we go to the locker room, and when we came back out, McCray wasn’t sitting with us anymore. He wasn’t gonna watch the demolition.”
Dan Dakich: “Here’s a guy who is a good coach who isn’t that well-known: Steve Hawkins, Western Michigan. We used to beat Western Michigan while I was at Bowling Green, but we could never beat Steve. He can get guys to play really, really hard. He demanded that the ball go inside. He didn’t always have to have the biggest, strongest guys. They ran the floor hard and posted up really, really tough. Not a lot of guys do that, particular today. Makes it unique a little bit.”
Fran Fraschilla: “One of my greatest memories was going toe-to-toe with an unknown Division II coach getting his first opportunity at Division I at Canisius. His name was John Beilein. When I watch him today, I have flashbacks to four years of battles between the Griffins and my Manhattan Jaspers. I was fortunate to have a very good team that took pride in its defense, but playing against Beilein’s offense, even at that time, was like trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube. The same headaches and challenges he presents now, I lived with and at times had nightmares about 25 years ago.”
Seth Greenberg: “It’s between Tom Izzo and John Calipari, but probably Izzo, because of what he does with four-year guys, and the way they do it. Attention to detail, intensity in his teaching. Relationship-building. Ten, 15 years ago, you just coached hard. Nowadays, you coach hard, but relationship-building matters much more. He does that.”
Dan Dakich: “Really would’ve liked to play for Tom Izzo, because he’s kind of no-B.S. I don’t wanna be friends, don’t want to hear about anything other than basketball. Just push me. Be fair. So if I played football, I’d probably like Nick Saban.”
Fran Fraschilla: “Jay Wright. The perfect mix of tough and demanding but fun. He hasn’t changed a single bit since I remember him as a young assistant at Villanova 30 years ago — maybe his wardrobe has been upgraded. It’s fun to see him coach his team and give them the freedom to have success on both ends of the floor without his players worrying about making a mistake and being yanked out of the game.”
For more from ESPN’s stable of college hoops coaches, tune in weekly for the Courtside with Greenberg and Dakich podcast.