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A whole lot of hugging usually goes on after an NCAA final. Even Indiana's hard-boiled Knight couldn't resist embracing guard Quinn Buckner after the Hoosiers turned back Michigan 86-68 in an all-Big Ten final in 1976 at Philadelphia.
Joe B. Hall of host Kentucky didn't get to enjoy his magic moment for long. He got a shock enroute to his NCAA championship in 1978 at St. Louis. Thinking that the game was in the bag, Hall started taking out his starters so they could enjoy standing ovations. But Duke finished with a rush, which caused Hall to have to rush his starters back into the fray.
At Indianapolis in 1980. Louisville's Denny Crum had the satisfaction of winning it all against his alma mater, UCLA, 59-54. Wooden had retired by then, but he was present to see the triumph by Crum, his former player and assistant coach.
Smith, Knight and Pete Newell of San Francisco and California are the only coaches who have won all three major basketball titles, the NCAA, the Olympics and the NIT. Rupp came close, directing NCAA and NIT champions and serving as assistant coach of the championship 1948 US Olympic team at London.
He was aide to Bud Browning of the Phillips Oilers, who beat Kentucky in a series to decide the head coach.
How did Rupp feel about being an assistant coach?
"He told us," said Ralph Beard, a Kentucky star, "thanks a lot, you @#$(@(&$(@. for making me the assistant coach!"
Smith and Knight will coach against each other in the Senior All-American Classic on April 27 in Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.
Championship coaches are one-two-three in all-time victories. Rupp leads with 875. That's the official NCAA figure, but Rupp went to his grave claiming 880. Anyway, Rupp's official total is more than second-place Phog Allen, who won 771 and coached Rupp at Kansas. Henry "Hank" Iba of Oklahoma State is third at 767. Other championship coaches in the top 15 are UCLA's John Wooden (sixth with 667), North Caro^ Una's Frank McGuire (13th with 550) and Dean Smith (14th with 524) and Florida's Norm Sloan (15th at 523).
By percentage, championship coaches are led by Rupp (.822 during 41 seasons at Kentucky). Clair Bee, who never won the NCAA, was .827 during his 21 years, most spent at Long Island.
Wooden is fourth at .806 and his pupil. Crum, is fifth at .782. Dean Smith is sixth at 771 and Phog Allen is seventh at .768. The only other championship coaches in the top 20 are Al McGuire (15th at .739) and Knight (17th at .736).
CM. Newton Critiques The Coaching Champs
Sallie India Linebaugh
By EARL COX
The Louisville Times
Vanderbilt University's CM. Newton, one of the most respected coaches in the game, played for one of Adolph Rupp's four national championship teams at Kentucky.
Newton has directed teams against coaches of seven of the last 10 national championship teams. He coached against all but John Wooden. Jud Heathcote and Jim Valvano. In addition, he was administrator on the Olympic staff of Bobby Knight, who directed two of Indiana's national champions. Knight calls Newton "the finest gentleman in our business."
Newton's capsule comments on Rupp and the coaches of the last 10 champions:
Adolph Rupp, Kentucky  "A
master coach, a master organizer. He got the absolute maximum out of personnel. He had ability to recognize players, like Bill Spivey (who became an all-America) and others. He had great players, but he also developed great players.''
John Wooden, UCLA  "A master of achieving a level of consistency. You never saw his teams where they weren't prepared to play. He was just so consistent. That's what you have to do to win the way they did during that time frame (10 NCAA championships in 12 years). It
didn't make any difference who or where they were playing."
Al McGuire, Marquette  "Al had
the unique ability to play a particular game. He was much like (Tennessee's) Ray Mears in that sense. Al could point to one game and get a team ready to play."
Bobby Knight, Indiana  "The best teacher of basketball I've ever been around. He has the understanding of basketball and ability to teach it in a way that few have. He's like Coach Rupp in that sense. He has a perspective on basketball that few have. Some of the things he does offensively and defensively  I don't know if they are original, but he has a grasp of the game that not many coaches have. More importantly, he gets it over to his players."
Joe B. Hall, Kentucky  "Joe is a good basketball coach. He has been in a no-win situation because of following Coach Rupp. He has had a bad rap. He has proven that he can sustain a good basketball program and that's a mark of a good coach."
Jud Heathcote, Michigan State
 "Jud is kind of a throwback to the old-time coach. In these days when basketball is a business, Jud probably would coach for nothing. He's different."
Denny Crum, Louisville  "Just an outstanding coach. He probably has a soundness in his approach that not many have. What he does is not fancy, but he does it well and that's been a characteristic of most of his teams."
Dean Smith, North Carolina "Innovator and  motivator.   He  is innovative with styles of play and is a great motivator with players."
Jim Valvano, North Carolina State  "The team he won it with and the way they won it . . . reflected his approach. They were a team that seemed to like to have a lot of fun playing but were business-like. He has a lot of fun with what he's doing and he knows what he's about."
John Thompson, Georgetown -
"First of all, John gets the maximum out of his players. I played him early in his career before Patrick Ewing and the history of his teams was that they played so hard. He won't let them play any other way. His teams reflect his personality."
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