This is hardly akin to the hit HBO series (which I highly recommend), but the succession plan in place at Creighton has a shot to follow other seamless plans.
Greg McDermott is at peace. He certainly was at Big East media day, knowing that he has hand-picked Alan Huss to leave High Point and be his head coach in waiting.
Huss played and coached at Creighton. He gets it. He understands how to ensure Omaha has an elite program and is aligned with the president on down. “Been great to have coach Huss back, the value he adds to our staff and knowing that when the time comes he’s going to take over for me and that means the program will be in great hands,’’ McDermott told me at Big East media day in New York last week.
“The culture I was able to carry on from coach (Dana) Altman, he’ll be able to carry on from us,’’ said McDermott.
McDermott said it was critical to ensure that there was a plan after he was done, whenever he decides to retire. “You see programs get decimated when coaches leave and retire,’’ said McDermott. “You have to recruit a whole new roster and start your culture over from zero. I didn’t want that to happen in this program. It means a lot to me and it’s done a lot for me. I want it to be something that would be sustained long after I was gone.’’
Huss had to make a sacrifice too, by leaving a head coaching position. “I’m not sure if it weren’t Creighton if he would have agreed to it,’’ said McDermott. “The fact that he played there and coached there, his wife loves Omaha and they have a lot of friends and family there. That had a lot to do to pull him back and our relationship. We’re kind of co-coaching this team this year. I told him I’ll coach the wins and you can coach the losses. It’s been awesome to have him back.’’
Succession hasn’t always worked the way it was supposed to, but the best example has been at Purdue. Matt Painter, a former player with the Boilermakers, left a head coaching position at Southern Illinois to be the coach in waiting for his former head coach Gene Keady. Painter has since had a Hall of Fame career and will receive the John Wooden Award Legends of Coaching honor in April. He’s won five Big Ten regular-season titles, two Big Ten tournament titles, made six Sweet Sixteen appearances in the last eight seasons and played for the national title in 2024.
The most significant succession plans in the years to come will be in East Lansing and Spokane. Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo has had a slew of assistants go on to be head coaches and then return to Michigan State, but there still isn’t one name that is a lock to succeed him. At some point, that may have to happen. Gonzaga has also had a number of potential successors to Mark Few, from Leon Rice to Tommy Lloyd, but they both went onto successful coaching careers currently at Boise State and Arizona, respectively. The expectation now is that longtime assistant Brian Michaelson will be the next head coach at Gonzaga, whenever Few retires. If that holds, the Zags would be keeping their elite program in the family.
Here’s what else is happening in Katx’s Corner this week:
Injuries
The positive of having players on campus from June throughout the summer has been the ability to monitor their development and build chemistry with a restocked roster.
But having players practice and play for months before the season means there are simply more opportunities for injuries before the season tips. And this fall has been no different. The good news is that there is a long runway to get to the most meaningful games and none of the most significant names are season long. But this also means that players aren’t going to be rushed back for exhibition games. So don’t get wrapped up in the score lines or even some of the rotations in these exhibitions with a number of players sitting out.
UConn’s Braylon Mullins and Oregon’s Jackson Shelstad will be out at the beginning of the season. But other schools like Illinois, Washington, UNLV, Duke, Iowa State, San Diego State and Michigan have had to deal with injuries that have changed their rotations for an exhibition and/or practices.
Late add
Washington added Nikola Dzepina for the second semester. Coach Danny Sprinkle needed another big man and is hopeful the Serbian, who played professionally in Spain, will give the Huskies the necessary pop before the start Big Ten play. The Huskies will be a team to watch — one that could go from last in the Big Ten to the NCAA Tournament.
Chill on the G League players
London Johnson’s commitment to Louisville has set off alarms in the sport. But let’s settle down on suddenly thinking the flood gates are open from the G League to college basketball. Johnson skipped college after graduating high school in 2022 and instead played for the G League Ignite. He was draft eligible last June and wasn’t selected. He did have college eligibility remaining and hasn’t been more than five years since he graduated high school, paving the way for Johnson to suit up for Louisville.
These will be individual cases to be reviewed. We won’t see many players who went to college, didn’t get drafted and played in the G League heading back to school. If a player has already been in college, but still has eligibility remaining and isn’t drafted, then he is still likely to stay a professional. Most players don’t want to go back once they have had the amenities of being a pro athlete.
I am in favor of college players who aren’t drafted being able to return to college, but again, not as many will want to do that even with NIL money being a potential difference maker.
BYU coach Kevin Young had the most measured quote this past week at Big 12 media day, as reported by KSL sports: “It makes tons of sense to me. It’s the exact same thing as the European players,’’ Young said. “If you’re an NBA guy on an NBA two-way contract, the G League is no different than the Euro league. If you’re on a two-way, NBA contract? You’re an NBA player. If you’re not, what’s the difference of all these guys coming from all of these European clubs. Lot of things that make sense don’t actually happen, but for me this makes sense.”
Red Storm rising
St. John’s played a wild, electric double-overtime game — a loss to title contender Michigan. It was an exhibition. And it was at Madison Square Garden. Let that marinate for a moment. That would NEVER have happened under Steve Lavin, Chris Mullin or Mike Anderson. Nope.
Yet, St. John’s will play its most games ever at the current Madison Square Garden (the school said it’s the most at MSG since the early 1950s) with 13, plus the Michigan exhibition. The Red Storm are able to do this because they have a team that is a Final Four contender and they have a Hall of Fame coach in Rick Pitino.
Pitino has done everything the Red Storm wanted when they hired him. They have made St. John’s an event in New York. And when the Garden is rocking, it rivals Allen Fieldhouse and Cameron Indoor Stadium for homecourt advantage. The sustainability is based on the Red Storm’s win-loss record. If they win at a high clip and are a Big East and national title contender, then having the majority of their games at MSG — where they can make more money — makes the most sense. If the Red Storm were to slide in a post-Pitino era (there is no reason to believe that is happening anytime soon), the numbers would dictate moving back more games to Queens.
Follow Ackerman’s lead, please
Val Ackerman gets it. The Big East commissioner had multiple panel discussions on the state of the game the day before Big East media day, and more conference leaders should follow suit. Drawing more attention to the sport in October is a must, and getting her league in the news cycle (while also gathering a number of stakeholders all in one place for high-level discussions) is good for the game.
Ackerman would still love to see the men’s and women’s Final Four at one site. There is no indication that will happen before 2032, if at all, and there are only a few cities where it could be pulled off with enough hotel rooms and venues that are close together. But they do exist. Indianapolis would be perfect, with the men at Lucas Oil Stadium and the women at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Atlanta and New Orleans could also do it with their NBA arenas close to their domed football stadiums. Ackerman’s point is that the majority of college administrators all congregate at the men’s Final Four, so why not combine the two events? We shall see if there is ever enough movement to pull it off, but she said she’d like to see it at least once and then judge if it was a success with a chance to happen more often.
Diverse television deals are a smart play
I know the ACC and SEC have exclusive television deals with the ESPN networks, as well as their conference networks (owned by ESPN), but diversifying a league is clearly the best-case scenario for exposure in the present and future. The Big Ten, Big East and Big 12 are all on a number of platforms, airing games nearly every night of the week and giving them loads of exposure opportunities and various revenue streams. Other leagues working out linear and streaming deals, such as the new Pac-12 and the reformatted Mountain West, would be wise to do the same. Of course, money talks, but getting your conference in front of multiple audiences and streaming services is the way to go in the sport.
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Headline opener on TNT
Credit the Field of 68 for creating plenty of content on Nov. 3 in South Dakota and South Carolina for teams from mostly one-bid leagues. More, not less, on opening night is needed. But there needed to be at least one headline doubleheader on opening night. That’s why I’m thrilled to be on the TNT team for a blockbuster opening night in Las Vegas. Reigning champ Florida plays Arizona in the opener, and the second game will feature top prospect AJ Dybantsa making his debut with BYU against Villanova under the direction of new coach Kevin Willard.
Final Four weekend
I cannot stress enough how unique Final Four weekend will be in April. I was in Indianapolis in late September and early October to help promote the event; the men’s Final Four will be at Lucas Oil Stadium April 4 and the championship game April 6, and the NIT semifinals will be on April 2 at Hinkle Fieldhouse. As if that weren’t enough, the men’s Division I semifinals are April 4, and on April 5 there will be a tripleheader at Gainbridge Fieldhouse with the Division II title game, the Division III championship game and then the NIT final. The men’s title game will cap the wild weekend at Lucas Oil Stadium on Monday, April 5. Having all three championships in the same city was supposed to happen in Atlanta in 2020, but the pandemic canceled all of it. Not every Final Four city could pull this off, but the ones that could manage it should try. This should be a tremendous celebration of the sport.
A hidden gem at Harvard
Caught the Providence-Harvard exhibition game over the weekend. It’s a snapshot in time. But Tommy Amaker (18 seasons at Harvard…time is flying) has lots of size, some shooting and a hidden gem that could create some havoc in the Ivy League. Mark down 7-foot freshman center Kenan Parrish from Northfield Mount Hermon (Mass.). He’s going to be trouble in the Ivy with his size, reach, ability to pick and pop and run the floor. He’s agile, bouncy and is only going to get better. The Crimson went to four straight NCAA Tournaments from 2012-2015, and while Yale is still the favorite in the conference this season, don’t sleep on Harvard.
