Beat writers: best coach you've ever worked with/interviewed?

I covered Bobby Cremins when he first arrived at Georgia Tech, and he was solid gold. I don't think he knew how to tell a lie and didn't care what anyone else thought, so he'd say anything that popped into his head. He was hilarious (often unintentionally), access was almost unlimited and he was great to hang out with on the road. Haven't talked to him much recently, but every time I do he remembers me and is still funny and candid. A great guy.

Loved, loved, loved dealing with Lefty Driesell. No coach has ever cracked me up more. He was fun and entertaining even when he was trying to be an ass. Always a spectacular quote.

I'll agree with whoever said Tommy West earlier. He was a go-to guy when he was an assistant and he's still one of the greats. I talked to him at C-USA media day and he kept me laughing the whole time with his stories about DeAngelo Williams.

I liked Dale Brown a lot -- great quotes, though he was usually full of it. He once ripped into me for asking him about things his players said to me, calling me a liar and telling me they never said that. But my first writing award was for a feature on Dale, and his quotes made the story.

I only covered Twins manager Ron Gardenhire for one series, but he was an absolute gem. A million stories and twice as many funny ways to say something mundane.

On the minus side: Maybe I caught him on a bad day, but Bruce Arena was the most condescending prick ever when I tried to interview him for a Q&A. It was set up in advance, so it's not like I ambushed him. But when I asked him about things like the state of soccer in America and what the future of the sport looked like, he was nasty and unresponsive. I'm sure he was asked about stuff like that all the time, but wasn't part of his job to be a representative of U.S. soccer?

 

Moddy - are you talking about Tim Welsh or the guy who used to be at Providence and is now at Louisville. ( name rymes with prick)

 

Previous poster gave bad info on Mickey Andrews: he's the best quote among assistant coaches with whom I've ever dealt.

My top three:

1. Bowden
2. Brian Billick
3. Rich Rodriguez

 

Dead on about Gardenhire. I caught him last season pre-game before he did his usual sitdown with the Minnesota media and he treated me like he'd known me forever and gave me some great stuff. Guys -- especially guys who have to talk every day like MLB managers -- don't have to do that kind of stuff.

 

All you need to know about Majerus and the local media -- well, notice press row being high above the court at the Utes' gym. The story goes (help me, Idaho) that Majerus had a huge meltdown with the officials and the media at courtside reported it. Next game their seats are all up in the rafters somewhere, where they have been ever since.

An exchange from the Mountain West media day the year the tournament was to be in Denver:

Reporter: You were a critic of having the tournament on UNLV's home floor. What are your thoughts on the tournament moving to Denver?
Majerus: I would prefer that the tournament be held at a neutral site.
Reporter: Do you feel that Denver is that neutral site?
Majerus: (sigh, eyeroll, slower) I would prefer that the tournament be held at a neutral site.

Heard he was a laugh a minute for the radio and TV guys, though.

 

Same old stuff no matter who the team was "Now, they're a good ball club..." but from a straight nice guy stand point, I have to throw in a guy I still keep in good personal contact with even in his retirement: Lou Henson.

 

I believe (anybody correct me if I'm mistaken) in that time span, Boeheim married about 30 years his junior ... I would guess that would brighten anybody's outlook on life.

 

Best line in one of Feinstein's books: "If a hemorroid could talk, it would sound like Jim Boeheim."

 

This goes back a while in hockey circles, but the media lined up outside of the visiting locker room whenever Don Cherry came to town as a coach. He'd always deliver a great postgame talk too -- never disappointed anyone. The home coach was more or less ignored.

 

Moddy, Calhoun could be the subject of a great book. It's classic American tragedy, in that it's sad but he got to be rich and famous anyway.
Way, way, way back, when Calhoun was at Northeastern, he sent me a THANK YOU note for an article I wrote in the Phoenix. Him, Gary Williams, and Mike Jarvis were the coaches in town, and they couldn't get arrested. Basketball meant Larry Bird.
Calhoun told me then whatever happened in his life, he didn't want to wind up with the bad attributes of the big-time coaches-he named some guys, but I'll keep that off the record. And yet, that's pretty much just what happened to him. Winning's a hard way to make a living, even when you're good at it.
Since we go way back, Calhoun's always got time for me. I know that used to be tough on the Horde, but you know, ours is a competitive racket, too.