Program Building and Patience

In 2009, Villanova in their 8th season under Jay Wright made the Final Four over then Big East brethren Pitt in a classic game. In his 1st 3 seasons, Wright and the Wildcats made the NIT before finding their stride that culminated in that Final 4.

Following their trip to the Final 4 in 2009, the Wildcats tied for 2nd in the Big East and were a 2-seed that was ultimately upset by the 10-seed St. Mary's. They made the tournament in 2011 where they lost to George Mason. The bottom dropped out for Villanova in 2012 when they went 13-19.

Giving the trend, it might have been easy for the program to panic. Instead, they began to reload. In 2013, they were back in the tournament as a 9-seed. They would lose in the opening round to North Carolina but were back on track.

2014 was a brave new world for Villanova and the Big East. Football expansion and ESPN meddling brought the new Big East to us. Nova responded by becoming the flagship program by winning 3 consecutive regular season titles. Unfortunately for them, in '14 &15, their seasons were cut short in the round of 32. UConn, the eventual champion got them in 2014 and NC State would get them in 2015.

Matchups matter in March. Some are better than others and Villanova had two bad ones in back-to-back seasons. It was simpler to call them pretenders. Well, those pretenders rolled through their first 3 opponents with brilliant offensive performances. And when the offense faltered in the regional final against Kansas, a brilliant defensive game plan that smothered Perry Ellis carried the day.

In the end, Jay Wright had them back in their second Final Four of his tenure and fifth overall. Small minded journalists like Tom Oates slung their arrows and ended up looking like the boobs they are.

In Norman, Sooner fans are celebrating a Final 4 appearance for the 1st time since 2002. After Kelvin Sampson left for the Indiana job, they hired Jeff Capel from VCU. Capel would get them to an Elite 8 behind Blake Griffin in 2009. Despite lofty projections going forward, the bottom dropped out for the Sooners. A recruiting scandal mixed with poor play on the court forced Capel out and ushered in Lon Kruger.

Kruger had success everywhere he went except the NBA. He took Kansas State to an Elite 8, Florida to a Final 4, laid the groundwork for Illinois success under Bill Self & Bruce Weber and took UNLV to a Sweet 16.

At Oklahoma, starting over largely from scratch, his first year ended in a losing record. The Sooners bounced back making the NCAA Tournament in 2013, losing as a 10-seed to San Diego State. 

In 2014, they were upset by North Dakota State in a 12-5 matchup. The progress was evident, though as they had finished 2nd in the Big XII. They finished 2nd a year ago as well and made the Sweet 16 before losing to Michigan State.

A trendy pick to end Kansas reign in the Big XII, they finished tied for second instead but were still one of the nation's best teams. Lead by the incomparable Buddy Hield, Lon Kruger had returned Oklahoma to a Final 4 after inheriting a mess.

Of course, I called it on January 12 of 2013 that Kruger would do just that. Don't ask about the same prediction I made about John Groce at Illinois.

What all of this reinforces is, coaches need time and sometimes, a reboot during a tenure at a school. In a day and age of instant gratification, good things can still come to those who have the vision and patience for the building and rebuilding pains. Not everyone can reload like Duke, Carolina, Kansas or Kentucky. But you can still find success like Oklahoma and Villanova. Pay heed, Marquette fan.