Elite 8 Fashion Faux Pas by College Basketball Coaches

Summitt

When @si_vault tweeted out the picture below of Pat Summitt yesterday in honor of her being named co-Sportsman of the Year, my first reaction was the same stunned silence I would expect most people to experience…followed by what I also assume is a normal series of questions:

  • Where did she find that?
  • Why didn’t anyone try to stop her?
  • Why hasn’t she paid to have this photo destroyed?

Things like that.

Image Credit: @si_vault via Twitter

When that exercise in befuddled questioning concluded about 45 minutes later, I started thinking about the other poor fashion choices made by college coaches over the years, which led me to create the Elite Eight of Fashion Faux Pas.

8. Mock Turtlenecks

Yeah, I’m talking to you Mike Brey.

Image Credit: SI.com

To be fair, I’m not a fan of mock turtlenecks in any occupation, but come on; you’re a college coach who makes more than enough money to spring for an actual shirt and tie.

And if you’re going to “rock the mock,” at least have the common decency to stay away from color combinations like Brey is sporting above.

7. Gene Keady’s Combover

When you type “Gene Keady” into a Google image search, the first two options that come up are “Gene Keady hair” and “Gene Keady combover.”  As you can see from this photo, Keady is still pulling this off (or should I say pulling this over) now that he’s at St. John’s.

Image credit: IdiotsOnSports.com

Very few things in college basketball, or sports in general, can claim this kind of longevity.

6. Team-Colored Jackets

Look, I get the desire to rep your school’s colors, but is it worth it at the expense of looking like you shopped the Lloyd Christmas line?

sidney lowe bruce weber bruce pearl

Perhaps it’s no coincidence that two of these guys aren’t coaching this season; and with Bruce Weber, the jacket isn’t even in the top five most annoying things about him.

As for Bruce Pearl, who would have guessed that a guy who looks to have borrowed his jacket from a used car salesman would turn out to be morally objectionable?  Go figure.

5. Sweaters

Four words of advice if you want to get into coaching: Do not wear sweaters.

While Bob Knight’s sweater is iconic in Indiana lore, the times when he would roll it up over his stomach still stick in my mind.  Throw in Rick Majerus (who I could have included in the mock turtleneck section as well) and “Cosby sweater” pioneer Lou Carnesecca, and this should be reason enough to shut down the sweater industry as a whole.

Since I am focusing on coaches here, I won’t comment on the Saint John’s uni in that photo, but feel free to try the home version of our game and create your own caption.

4. The many looks of Bob Huggins

Obviously the yellow suit is Huggs’ most egregious wardrobe foul, but it certainly wasn’t his only foray into fashion hell.

Image Credit: Chron.com via WSJ.com

Over the years, he’s also combined the mock turtleneck with a suit and vest while at K-State, and he has more recently gone to the far more casual windsuit look.

In the end, it looks like we’ll have to wait until his autobiography to find out what bet he lost that led to him donning this mustard-colored atrocity.

3. Hawaiian Shirts

I can’t heap all the blame on the coaches here, as to some extent the locale for the Maui Invitational lends itself to some touristy fashion transgressions.  Even the announcers can succumb to this phenomenon.

Image Credit: ESPN on Google+

Still, this gives me a chance to show another picture of Rick Majerus, who has now managed to pull off three of these looks so far.

Image Credit: Hugging Harold Reynolds

2. Rick Pitino’s White Suit

This, along with the Fashion Police section of US Weekly, goes to show that even people widely regarded as competent dressers can fall victim to unfortunate wardrobe selections.

Image Credit: Andy Lyons/Getty Images via SI.com

Pitino’s foray into the Colonel Sanders collection was widely discussed, particularly when sweating/transparency issues necessitated a suit swap at halftime.

1. Tom Hodges

Seeing the Morehead State women’s coach atop this list might seem like a surprise, but after wearing suits from John Daly’s clothing sponsor LoudMouth Golf last season, he’s earned it.

Believe me, I was just as surprised as you probably are to know that Craig Sager isn’t somehow behind this, but let’s just let these fine ensembles speak — or should I say scream — for themselves.

Image Credit: NashvilleCityPaper.com

Image Credit: TheHoopDoctors.com

There are my Elite Eight fashion faux pas by college basketball coaches.

Are there are any I missed? Or any other notable examples of these eight you feel need to be shared?

Comment below.

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Follow me on Twitter (@andybottoms) for my non-fashion thoughts on college hoops, and check out the latest edition of the Bottoms Line podcast.

12 Things We Learned Over Thanksgiving Weekend

Rick Majerus, with a Billiken (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Congratulations to the British Columbia Lions, who defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 34-23 in front of a crowd of 54,000 to win the 99th Grey Cup. I’m not sure that Vancouver deserves nice things, considering how the city responded to losing the Stanley Cup, but I can’t imagine that Winnipeg is too torn up about the loss. After all, the Jets are back!

Anyway, here’s what we learned this weekend:

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Youth Served for Second Season of Majerus Era at Saint Louis U.

Kevin LischGuards Kevin Lisch and Tommie Liddell III not only will have to be leaders this season for Saint Louis University, they might have to play the role of big brothers.

Lisch and Liddell are the Billikens’ two standouts and both are returning senior starters. But after that you’ll find eight freshmen decorating the roster. And two of them are expected to be in the starting lineup when SLU opens against Missouri-St. Louis on Nov. 14 at the brand new Chaifetz Arena.

Rick Majerus’ charges finished 16-15 in his first campaign at SLU after successful stops at Utah, Marquette and Ball State. Now, he’ll have to hope his first true recruiting class can pick up the slack. SLU figures to be one of the youngest teams in Division I.

Kwamain Mitchell, a dimunitive 5-foot-10 guard who hails from Majerus’ hometown of Milwaukee, is expected to be the Billikens’ point guard. The other frosh who could start is 6-10 Brett Thompson from Vienna, Ill. When he signed a letter of intent with the Billikens last year, Majerus said Thompson reminded him of former Utah standout Michael Doleac. Fellow freshmen Brian Conklin (6-6) and Willie Reed (6-9) figure to see extensive playing time at forward.

But if the Billikens’ want to entertain any thoughts of playing in the NCAA Tournament, Lisch and Liddell will have to have big senior seasons. Lisch averaged 14.6 points per game as a junior while Liddell contributed 12.3 ppg as he struggled to acclimate himself to Majerus’ system (He scored 15 ppg as a sophomore).

Majerus has been brutally honest with the media in the preseason when assessing SLU’s chances. But in his last two coaching stops, Majerus’ second seasons have yielded big results.

After going 14-14 at Ball State in 1987-88, the Cardinals bounced back with a 29-3 record. Majerus parlayed that success into a gig at Utah. In his first year in charge of the Utes, Majerus went 4-2 before stepping aside due to heart surgery. In 1990-91, the Utes made it to the Sweet Sixteen with a 30-4 mark and a No. 10 ranking in the final Associated Press poll.

The Billikens would be hard-pressed to duplicate that success with a lineup full of freshmen while venturing through the Atlantic 10 Conference, where SLU will be presented with numerous long road trips out east.

But there’s no reason to think SLU can’t be marginally better with a home to call their own in Chaifetz Arena. If Majerus can get the most out of Liddell and Lisch continues his strong play at both ends of the court, the Billikens have a chance. Then fans will have to hope the freshmen can grow up quick and prevent opponents from just locking down on the senior stars.

New Chaifetz Arena Gives Rick Majerus, Saint Louis Billikens Hope in 2008-09

rick-majerus

rick majerus saint louisThe splash that Saint Louis University made last year with the hiring of Rick Majerus and his wool sweaters as its men’s basketball coach has, to this point, only resulted in displaced water.

The Billikens never could get on a roll last season and finished their maiden voyage under Majerus with a pedestrian 16-15 record, good for a ninth-place finish in the Atlantic 10 Conference (Note: There are 14 teams in the league).

Granted, Majerus should be given a pass for last season. For the most part, the former Utah, Marquette and Ball State coach, and ESPN analyst, inherited the roster from outgoing coach Brad Soderberg; and that roster wasn’t exactly chock full with highly-touted recruits. Never was that more evident than when the Billkens shot blanks in a miserable 49-20 loss at George Washington on Jan. 10. The Billikens made the highlight shows that night — for all the wrong reasons.

The 2008-09 season brings hope for SLU fans. The biggest reason for hope is in the form of Chaifetz Arena, the school’s new $80.5 million, 10,600-seat on-campus facility just off Highway 40 and less than two miles west of their old home, the Scottrade Center.

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