Check out the Associated Press’s men’s college basketball Coach of the Year voting.
Mizzou’s Mike Anderson finished FIFTH.
What a joke. A guy leads a team to a 15 win improvement (from 16-16 to 31-7) and an Elite Eight berth, falling just short of the final four to a powerhouse team… with a bunch of nobodies (at least when you consider recruiting and future NBA potential)… yet gets only 5 votes?
I’m thinking these AP guys don’t watch a bit of college basketball.
John, I agree with you that Anderson should have won Coach of the Year. However, it’s probably appropriate to clarify that the voting was finished before the tournament began. In fact, it may have even been done right after the regular season was over. At that point, Mizzou was a great story, but still equivalent to KU, if not a little bit behind KU. In the postseason is where Mizzou really proved that they were ahead of KU this year. Since the voting had already happened at that point, I can see how it happened.
However, like I previously said, I agree with you that Anderson should have won.
Jeff Lebo didn’t get a single vote. Auburn’s tear down the stretch was pretty good. If there were a “coach of the last half of the season” award, Lebo should get at least a few votes. But no. =)