Marshall Wins Coach of the Year, Sampson to Houston?
For Men’s NCAA Basketball, only 16 teams still have a season while the remainder are looking ahead to the 2014/2015. Also at this time it’s awards season for college basketball players, teams and coaches. On Monday, the latest nod went to Wichita State’s Gregg Marshall as he won Coach of the Year from the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA).
Called the Henry Iba Coach of the Year award, this is the first time Marshall has won it and he’ll receive his hardware in Oklahoma City on April 14. Marshall’s competition included nine additional finalists.
The honor comes as the coach’s Wichita State team went undefeated during this year’s regular season, grabbing a 34-0 record after it won the the Missouri Valley conference tournament. The team entered the NCAA tournament with a No. 1 seed–a first for the program–but saw its perfect season end on Sunday against No. 8 Kentucky in the Round of 32.
Wichita State
In his seven-year tenure at Wichita State, Marshall has a .701 career winning percentage with a 174-71 record. Just last season Marshall took the Shockers to the Final Four and has made it to the Big Dance three straight times.  Prior to his current role, while at Winthrop, Marshall took that team to seven Big Dances.
USBWA president Kirk Wessler said via a statement, “Gregg Marshall has established himself as one of the nation’s top coaches, first at Winthrop and now at Wichita State. But the job he did this season — coaching his team to an unbeaten regular-season record and the historic accomplishment of becoming the first team to win 35 games without a loss — was transcendent.”
Four Coach of the Year awards remain. How many more will Marshall collect?
Meanwhile, with Wichita State out of the way, the odds to win it all includes the following: No.1 Florida (10/3), No. 4 Louisville (5/1), No. 4 Michigan State 5/1 and No. 1 Arizona 6/1 and No. 1 Virginia at 9/1.
In other NCAA Men’s college basketball coaching news, on Monday Houston lost its head coach, James Dickey, due to personal reasons. Dickey had been with the program for four years and amassed a 64-62 record. In the 2012-2013 season, the team’s 20-game win record got them an invitation to the CBI while this season the Cougars had a 17-16 overall record (8-10 in the American Athletic Conference play).
Dickey said in a statement, “This has been a difficult decision to make. I continually preach to my players about being an everyday guy, and the balance of your personal and professional life is a major part of it. With that being said, I have a family matter that requires my time and energy, and I will regretfully step down from my current position at the University of Houston. I am extremely appreciative of Mack Rhoades for the opportunity and for the value he brings professionally and personally.”
Kelvin Sampson
Rumors have already started swirling about his replacement and this includes Houston Rockets assistant coach Kelvin Sampson, reported CBSSports.com.
Yes, that coach Sampson.
He brings experience including head coaching roles at Oklahoma, where he took the team to the Final Four back in 2002. At Indiana, things didn’t go as well as he received in 2008, a five-year NCAA “show-cause order” after allegedly conducting “impermissible” recruit phone calls while at both schools. Sampson jumped to the NBA with the Milwaukee Bucks as an assistant coach before heading to the Rockets.
UNC’s Marcus Paige to Return
On Monday, UNC fans learned that sophomore point guard Marcus Paige took will be back next season. This is good news for the team as the player ws vital. For the season, he had the following averages: 17.5 points, 4.2 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.5 steals. He also found success in 3-pointers, shooting 38.9 percent for the season (86 shots) as well as from the free throw line with his 87 percent average.
Next up, the team will await to hear if junior forward James Michael McAdoo will return.
