The Halfcourt Trap Vol. I, No. 3.

Sitting at the epic Marlins-Giants tilt yesterday afternoon, inspiration for this week’s column came from above. The sun beating down on me brought thoughts of coaches who will feel the glare of the spotlight in ‘07-’08. So, here are a half dozen coaches who will stand on center stage this season. Notice the distinct southern flavor of the list.

1. Bummed On The Bayou? John Brady had his team in the Final Four two years ago. He followed that up with a dismal season in which the Tigers missed the NCAA Tournament. Brady has never been wildly popular with the LSU fan base. He would be well advised to get the Tigers back to the Big Dance.

2. IF AT FIRST… Frank Broyles called what seemed like 90% of the NABC membership before hiring Dana Altman, who promptly got out of Fayetteville on the first thing smoking after realizing what he had signed up for. That brings us to John Pelphrey. The Pitino/Donovan protege Broyles turned to after Dana’s Dash. Do you really want a guy who was only moderately successful in the Sun Belt butting heads with the likes of Pearl, Donovan, etc.? Pelphrey inherits a talented team from the overmatched Stan Heath. He would be wise to win immediately. Hiring the classy and underrated Rob Evans as an assistant was a shrewd first move.

3. Starting All Over Again. After leading Southwest Missouri State to the Sweet 16, Steve Alford’s coaching career appeared to be on track to match his decorated resume as a player. However, after falling short of expectations at Iowa, Alford now heads to the desert to resurrect his reputation. New Mexico see Stevie Wonderful as their ticket to the big time. If Alford fails to deliver, and do so quickly, his career may be buried in The Pit.

4. The Wildcat In Winter. Lute Olsen has been the standard bearer in the PAC 10 for the last 20 years. Tim Floyd, upon taking the USC job, said as much. However, the resurgence of UCLA under Ben Howland, the top shelf recruiting of Floyd, the burgeoning power Lorenzo Romar has built at Washington, and a general upgrade in the league’s talent has knocked the ‘Cats from their perch. The consensus is that Arizona has lacked the toughness required of championship teams. Olsen has reached into his past for Kevin O’Neill in an attempt to rectify that deficiency. Whether or not the attitude adjustment takes will decide where Arizona fits in the PAC 10 race this year.

5. Champaign Nightmares? Bruce Weber was the toast of college basketball in ‘04-’05. His guard oriented squad ran itself to within an eyelash of a National Title. The ensuing years haven’t been so kind. Weber has seen his team fall back to the Big 10 pack on the floor and watched as numerous high profile recruits left the Land of Lincoln for other destinations. This has Illini fans on edge. If Weber can’t stem those simultaneous tides and win now that all of Bill Self’s recruits are gone, his stay in Champaign my be nearing an end.

6. My New Kentucky Home. The head basketball coach at the University of Kentucky is always in the spotlight. However, after the highly respected and woefully underappreciated Tubby Smith jumped out of the pressure cooker for a new start at Minnesota, the new Top Cat was certain to draw even more national scrutiny. After an ill fated, and somewhat delusional, courtship of Billy Donovan, Mitch Barnhardt hitched his wagon to Billy Gillispie. Good choice. The tireless Gillispie is exactly the type of manic, 24-7-365 hoops junkie that the Commonwealth needs at the helm of their flagship program. The basketball world will be watching intently as Billy Clyde battles the aforementioned Donovan and Bruce Pearl in an epic game of Last Man Standing atop the SEC East for years to come. Barnhardt may well come to the conclusion that Donovan’s rejection is the best thing to ever happen to UK hoops.

From sunny South Florida, this is your humble hoops correspondent signing off until next week.