The Legacy of Coach Nolan (ch2k8)

[nolan887]

FINAL FOUR: UCF FINALLY KNOCKED OFF IN OVERTIME THRILLER
SEFCU Arena
Albany, NY
April 4, 2015

Albany, NY - After an absolutely terrible first half, the UCF Knights came out of the locker
room and played their hearts out. Wisconsin started off the game on a 16-1 run and were in control for almost the entire game. The Badgers guard play was out of this world, and the Knights struggled to lock them down on the outside. Starting guards Hackstadt and O'Connor scored over twenty points a piece in Wisconsin's winning effort. The Knights shot only 21% from the floor in the first half, but Gilbert Logie strapped the team on his back with his 29 second half points and sunk the game tying three pointer with 2 seconds left in regulation. The Knights came out on a 7-0 run in overtime, but would again go cold from the floor and let Wisconsin score 10 unanswered, including a three pointer with 2.7 seconds left on the clock to seal their victory. Today's game marked the second time Coach Nolan has made the Final Four, and the second time he was sent home wanting. With only one graduating senior, six seniors, and an All-American player coming in next season, Coach Nolan is certainly in place to bring UCF back to the Final Four next season.

"We played one heck of a ball game today," Coach Nolan commented. "Shannon and Boyce were ice cold in the first half and really couldn't get it going all day. We have been up and down all season, but Shannon and Boyce are really our go-to guys this season so it was tough that they couldn't hit any shots. Logie played his heart out today and with him and Boyce playing at this level as freshmen, they look to be solid cornerstones of this team. To speak to rumors: I have no intention of leaving UCF, but if an offer comes in that I cant refuse, I won't rule anything out."

#3 Wisconsin at #5 Central Florida
April 4, 2015 1 2 OT F #3 Wisconsin 38 32 10 80 #5 Central Florida 25 45 7 77 Top Performers Wisconsin - Stats C.C. Hackstadt - 23 Pts (3-7 3pt), 5 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Blk Edwin O'Connor - 21 Pts (3-9 3pt), 3 Reb, 1 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 Blk Central Florida - Stats Gilbert Logie - 29 Pts (7-11 3pt), 2 Reb, 1 Ast, 3 Stl Pearson Shannon - 12 Pts, 6 Reb, 3 Ast, 4 Stl	Team Stat Comparison WISC UCF FG Made-Attempted 33-69 25-64 3P Made-Attempted 10-23 9-18 FT Made-Attempted 4-10 18-30 Rebounds 45 33 Assists 23 17 Steals 6 12 Blocks 4 1 Turnovers 14 6

In other news, New Mexico's Cinderella run was ended by the hot Maryland Terrapins. Maryland has been shooting lights out all season through the tournament and has scored over one hundred points in three of their five games. Wisconsin is also running hot after their upset over #1 Georgia Tech in the Elite Eight and a win over the red hot UCF Knights in overtime. The championship game will be held on Monday, April 6th where the 2014-15 National Champion will be crowned.

[nolan887]

national champ crowned and some big named coaches retire, but i'll keep you guys in suspense and do my updates tomorrow.

[nolan887]

i had no reason to leave UCF with 6 upcoming seniors after a final four run, but **** happens... did i leave or will i bring UCF to national champion glory for the first time ever next season???

[Deuce2223]

Loved see the Pac-10 playing well, and loved see the Broncos in the the NCAA.. Looking forward to tomorrow and next season..

[nolan887]

NATIONAL CHAMPS CROWNED: MARYLAND BRINGS HOME THE TITLE
April 6, 2015

Albany, NY - Head Coach Stew Morrill has fought his way through the ranks and finally landed the ultimate W, crowning his Maryland Terrapins 2015 NCAA National Champions. Since his days at Utah State, Morrill has done nothing but produce raw power on the basketball court and this year was no different. The Terrapins played in a very tough ACC this year and finished tied for fourth place, but were able to get hot at the right time and roll through the tournament. To speak to the power of the ACC, they had six teams make the tournament this season. Wisconsin had been running hot as well, but looked sluggish and tired from their overtime thrill ride against UCF on Saturday. This year marks the second in a row where the most prolific offensive team in the tournament has pulled out the only six win streak that really matters. Maryland has waited for thirteen years for another championship to brought back to College Park and the city is sure to be rocking for days.

[nolan887]

2014-15 SEASON WRAP UP

Orlando, FL - After an exhilarating finish to a fantastic tournament, the yearly awards have been announced. Coach Nolan who many feel was snubbed last season won the C-USA coach of the year award this year and many of his players received awards as well. With only one graduating senior and a trip to the Final Four this year, UCF will look to have another great season in 2016. This season was the second time Nolan ever coached a team to 30+ wins, both occurring at UCF. Nolan has done a great job turning this program around and we are all looking forward to see just how good he can make the Knights. The University of Central Florida has officially offered Coach Nolan a three year contract extension and hope to see him return next season.

NCAA Champions: #4 Maryland Terrapins: 30-7 (10-6 ACC)
NIT Champions: Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Coach of the Year: Stew Morrill, Maryland, 613-298 Lifetime Record, Back-to-Back conference coach of the year
Player of the Year: C - Robin Conklin, Senior, Mississippi State: 24.2 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 2 BPG
Mid-Major Player of the Year: SG - Darrnell St. Fort, Senior, Gonzaga: 24.5 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 3.9 APG, 1.3 SPG

Defensive Player of the Year: PF - Owen Brickens, Senior, Xavier: 7.7 RPG, 1.1 SPG, 2.1 BPG
Big Man of the Year: C - Robin Conklin, Senior, Mississippi State: 24.2 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 2 BPG
Freshman of the Year: SF - Marty Li, Michigan State: 9.1 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.1 SPG, 1.0 BPG
First Team All American:
PG - A. Matheus, SR, Florida
SG - D. St. Fort, SR, Gonzaga
SF - S. Mendoza, SSR, Texas Tech
PF - O Brickens, SR, Xavier
C - R Conklin, SR, Mississippi State
Second Team All American:
PG - K. Winans, SR, Arizona
SG - L. Dennis, SR, Louisville
SF - C.C. Hackstadt, JR, Wisconsin
PF - C. Warren, SR, Georgia Tech
C - W. Lufkin, SR, Rhode Island
Freshman All-American:
PG - C. Dennehy, Louisville
SG - J. Johnson, Texas A&M
SF - M. Li, Michigan State
PF - L. Norman, Texas A&M
C - F. Clement, UNC

Conference USA Awards:
Conference Coach of the Year: Charles Nolan, 30-6 (12-4), 185-82 Lifetime
Conference Player of the Year: C - Tom Braun, Senior, Marshall: 22.7 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 1.0 SPG, 1.8 BPG
Conference Freshman of the Year: C - Michael Boyce, UCF: 9.7 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 1.0 SPG
First Team All-Conference:
PG - G. Corrigan, JR, Houston
SG - J.J. Bone, JR, UCF
SF - M. Jelenic, SR, UTEP
PF - P. Shannon, SR, UCF
C - T. Braun, SR, Marshall
Second Team All-Conference:
PG - J. Wisniewski, SR, MemphisSG - S. Thues, SO, Tulsa
SF - L. McKinney, JR, Memphis
PF - N. Peterson, SR, Southern Miss
C - T. Ravello, SR, Memphis
Freshman All-Conference:
PG - F. Cox, Memphis
SG - S. Burks, Tulane
SF - F. Haigler, Rice
PF - K. Clemons, Marshall
C - M. Boyce, UCF

[nolan887]

BREAKING NEWS: RICK PITINO TO RETIRE, NOLAN LANDS AT LOUISVILLE

Louisville, KY - After missing the NCAA tournament this year and finishing strong making the NIT Final Four, Rick Pitino has decided to call it quits. Pitino, a God to most around Louisville, finishes his career with a lifetime record of x-x, and x national titles under his belt. "There comes a time in every coach's career when there is just no more left in the tank," said Pitino. "We finished strong this season and with six seniors leaving, it was as good a time as any to move on from coaching. I want to thank everyone for their support in this great career and I wish the best of luck to whomever takes over here at Louisville."

Coach Nolan said last week that he was not actively seeking another job, but he would not rule out any job offers and he was at the top of the list for all teams looking for a coach. Louisville went to Nolan first and they were able to strike up a two year deal almost immediately. "This is something you can't say no to," Nolan explained. "I don't feel great about leaving UCF after only two seasons, but this is the opportunity of a lifetime for me. I wish the Knights the best of luck this season and I hope I left Skinner with a solid lineup to work with. I look forward to talking more at the press conference next week."

After a fairly uneventful off season last year, the coaching carousel almost spun out of control this season with openings in the Big East, Pac-10, SEC, Big 10, and A-10.

Team	Who's Out	Reason	Who's In	Previous	2014-15 Record	NCAA Finish
Louisville	R. Pitino	Retired	C. Nolan	UCF	30-6 (12-4), 1st C-USA	#5, Final Four
Florida State	L.Hamilton	Retired	K. Dambrot	Akron	23-8 (14-2), T-1st MAC	#5, First Round
Stanford	T. Johnson	Fired	B. Marlin	Vermont	21-10 (13-3), T-1st AEC	#14, First Round
Cincinnati	R. Bennett	Fired	P. Clark	Texas A&M CC	23-7 (14-2), 1st Southland	#14, Second Round
South Carolina	D. Loos	Fired	J. Wooldridge	UC Riverside	21-9 (12-4), T-1st Big West	#13, First Round
Iowa	M. Cronin	Fired	C. Alexander	Tenn. State	18-12 (13-7), 4th OVC	none
Purdue	G. Marshall	Fired	M. Menzies	New Mex. State	20-12 (9-7), T-4th WAC	#12, First Round
UCF	C. Nolan	NewJob	A. Skinner	Long Beach St.	15-13 (9-7), 4th Big West	none
Richmond	C. Mooney	Fired	K. Matera	Evansville	18-14 (13-5), 1st MVC	none

[nolan887]

Louisville, KY - A press conference was held today in regards to Charlie Nolan being named the new head coach of the Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team. Alongside Coach Nolan were Director of Athletics Tom Jurich and several members of the local media. Reporters from local news network WHAS11, WLKY.com, and the Courier-Journal were in attendance.

AD Tom Jurich: "Thank you all for coming. Before we open up the floor to Coach Nolan, I just wanted to take this opportunity to say a few words about our hire. We know the kind of basketball everyone has grown accustomed to here at Louisville and we went out looking for the best available coach. Coach Nolan was at the top of everybody's lists this off-season with his expiring contract and luckily for us this was an offer he couldn't turn down. After consistent success with teams nobody gave a chance, we are eager to see what Coach can do with our team. Without further ado, I would like to introduce to you Charles Nolan, the new Cardinals basketball head coach."

Coach Nolan: "Thanks Tom. Hello everyone, and thank you for coming out. I just have a few things to say and then I'll open up the floor for questions. Firstly, I want to let you all know that I had no plans on leaving UCF after our great run this past season, but coaching at Louisville is a job that I just couldn't turn down. I know there are high expectations here and I have big shoes to fill with Rick deciding to hang it up, but I am up for the challenge. I'll tell you right now that I will not leave Louisville without at least one national championship title."

Reporter: "Coach, what did Pitino leave you with and how will you go about getting players to sign this season?"

Coach Nolan: That is a good question. With six seniors graduating this past year, I certainly have my hands full with recruiting this off-season. I am very grateful for Rick to leave me with such a great team already and he has signed on PF E. Austin, a 6'-8" four star recruit out of Troy, Michigan where he was Mr. BB. Austin was the #7 power forward in this recruiting class and the #86 overall player. Rick also got SF P. Monroe to sign on here. Monroe is a 6'-5", four star recruit out of Chicago and he was the #15 SF on the board and #93 overall. We lost three forwards and three guards this past season, so I will be looking to sign some guards and maybe another big man. I like to have a twelve or thirteen player bench so I can keep scholarships open, but we will deal with that when the issue arises."

Reporter: "Coach, how do you think the players will respond with a new head coach? Many of them came to Louisville to play for Coach Pitino."

Coach Nolan: "Well we all know how great of a coach Rick Pitino was, but I think my resume speaks for itself. I think I have done a good job everywhere I have coached, its not like I am just some shlub off the streets who is going to coach the Cardinals. I've got five 20+ win seasons under my belt and in my entire career I have only missed the NCAA tournament once, and that year we were chosen to the NIT. I was also chosen as Conference USA coach of the year last season and I have never had a player transfer out on me. So to answer your question, I think we will be just fine."

Reporter: "With such a prolific career at smaller, little known schools, what are your goals for the team now that you are coaching in a power conference."

Coach Nolan: "I have the same goals for every team I coach and that is play your best every game. If we play to our potential every game, we will win them all. My goals for the team are to win the Big East Tournament, make the sweet sixteen, and win a national championship. I also want to coach this team to a top 10 ranking in the AP polls. I don't know why, but I always get snubbed in the polls and have never cracked the top 20, even when we had an RPI of 4 last season."

AD Tom Jurich: "I think we've got time for one more question and then Coach Nolan needs to get back to recruiting and getting to know his new team."

Reporter: "Coach, what is your outlook for this season, where do you see your team headed into the NCAA tournament this year?"

Coach Nolan: "Well the Big East is always a tough conference, and to say we are going to win it is a bit overzealous. I would like to finish in the top four in the conference and have a first round bye in the Big East Tourney. I think this team is good enough to make the NCAA Tournament with or without the conference tournament bid. Although we lost a lot of seniors last year, you guys saw how good Dennehy was as a freshman, he is only going to get better. Having a big time player like this Freshman All-American on the floor will only lead to good things for us this season.

I would like to thank you all for coming out today and I look forward to your continued support this season."