|
|
Down to the Trendy Two
By Angela Lento
What a weekend it was in Minneapolis. The hot topic wasn’t who was going to be crowned America’s best-dressed coach, but rather ‘how did Bob Huggins advance to the ‘Fashionable Four.’
“He wears that same three-piece suit all the time,” said Southeast Missouri State’s Tom Schuberth. The SEMO assistant was the runner-up in the Assistant Coach’s field and was one of the more stylish guys roaming the lobby at the Hilton, in Minneapolis. Every time I ran coach Schuberth he was decked out in one of his many Armani suits.
Schuberth and many others also had some thoughts on Wofford’s Mike Young being tabbed as the best-dressed understudy.
“You’ve got to be kidding,” said East Tennessee State assistant Tom Conrad. “I really have to question that call.”
Conrad was one of a long line of coaches who were seeking out Mike Young in Minneapolis. But according to Wofford Sports Information Director Mark Cohen, Mike was getting inundated with requests in the wake of his catwalk championship. In fact, ‘The United Way’ of Piedmont has booked him as a celebrity model for their fashion show in May.
The lobby was buzzing with talk of Young and Huggins, but fashion assistant Jackie Bracco easily stole the show. While many were impressed with her, Jackie was impressed by the fact that ESPN’s Rece Davis and Andy Katz were donning attire from Brooks Brothers. Amongst her many duties, Jackie is a buyer for the clothing company.
Davis and other media members were trying to get a line on who would emerge from the semi-finals on the catwalk.
Huggins and Bruiser Flint would be the first to sport their gear on the main stage and both had some pre-catwalk comments. Huggins laughed with the Editor & Chief Joe Dwyer about his wardrobe popularity.
“Joe, I know you aren’t listening to those guys,” he told Dwyer. “You and I know I should be No. 1 when it’s all said and done.”
Huggins and Dwyer laughed about his newfound star quality. He didn’t seem too concerned about his walk on the runway with Bruiser.
“Come on Joe, you know who deserves to win that matchup,” Huggins added.
While Huggins and Dwyer continued to converse, Bruiser chimed in with his own thoughts.
“Those ugly ties and chest protectors gotta go,” said Flint. “He’s just a beginner. He can’t sport his gear like me.”
Flint was all smiles while explaining to Jackie and me how he was going to advance. St. John’s assistant Mike Jarvis joined the discussion to lend his support for Flint. He also was happy to report that Hugo Boss had taken good care of him, after he cracked the fashion power index back in January.
“I faxed over a copy of the FPI and they sent me a lot of nice stuff,” said Jarvis. “It all worked out well.”
Well, almost everything worked out for the St. John’s assistant.
“Fang [Mitchell] made sure he let know that Stephanie Ready beat me in the tournament.”
The Coppin State head coach was letting everyone know that his lovely young assistant should have advanced farther. He also let it be known that he knew who originally put Bruiser’s attire together.
“Bruiser knows that my wife gave him all his fashion tips,” said Fang. “She use to drive him all over Philly because he didn’t have a car. During all those drives in the car he learned a lot.”
Bruiser just laughed it off, saying that Fang actually learned his sense of style from him.
Despite digging into Flint, Fang was of the opinion that Bruiser would in fact defeat Huggins on the catwalk, which was the overwhelming opinion of the crowd gathered in the lobby.
It was hard to find anyone who gave Huggins much chance to knock off Flint. It appeared that his lone supporter was Dwyer.
“I have always said that Joe is the smartest guy in the media,” said Huggins.
Bruiser was aghast.
“Damn, what’s up with that,” questioned Flint. “I thought Joe was my boy, but I know Joe is a big baseball fan so he can probably relate more to Huggins and his umpire look.”
While he took a couple of shots at Dwyer’s alliance with Huggins, Flint was one of many stylish coaches who were actually impressed with Dwyer’s snappy business casual look.
“He’s making his own fashion statement,” said Rice coach Willis Wilson who would take the stage in the second semi-final matchup against Texas A&M’s Melvin Watkins.
Flint acknowledged Wilson’s comments.
Rece Davis and Fox Sports’ Kevin Frazier appear to have some competition in the run for best-dressed media member.
But that is a matter of debate for the future. Now it’s time to decide the action of the day.
Marist coach Dave Magarity was on hand to introduce the competitors.
“Ladies and gentlemen, first up on stage is the very stylish Bruiser ‘Damn I’m Fly’ Flint.”
The crowd roared with approval.
“Now let me introduce, representing big men everywhere, Bob Huggins.”
Dwyer encouraged others to applause.
With the formalities out of the way, coaches scurried to one of the many mock bars set up in the lobby to fill their cups before the action began.
Flint was the first to wow the audience with his sporty beige sport coat.
Huggins countered with his three-piece suit and the crowd broke into a chorus of ‘Take me out to the ball game.’
The peanuts and cracker jacks didn’t seem to faze Huggins as he continued to make his fashion statement.
The two style mavens exchanged sporty looks and as they reached the halfway point, it was all even.
“No worries,” said Huggins. “Bruiser is the one who should be concerned.”
Flint didn’t agree with Huggins comments.
“Come on now,” laughed Flint. “I have stuff I haven’t even broken out yet.”
By this time, the lobby crowd had grown in size, many of who were gathered around Bracco who seemed to be holding court. While she was so busy socializing Wilson and Watkins emerged from their dressing rooms to take in the action.
“It’s exciting,” said Wilson. “Huggins is hanging right in there. It will be an interesting finish.”
Wilson and Watkins had dined together the night before and exchanged a few laughs about their date on the catwalk.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” said Watkins. “We’ve really enjoyed the notoriety at Texas A&M. Willis and I are good friends and it’s always tough when you face a friend.”
Watkins and Wilson took advantage of the large crowds forming at the bar to find seats for the second half.
Taking up a seat in the front row were Tom Conrad and Joe Dwyer who seemed to be enjoying the flow from the tap more than the flow of action on the runway. Sam Houston State’s Darby Rich, and his lime green shirt, and Tom Schuberth joined Conrad and Dwyer to take in the festivities.
The second twenty minutes began with Flint using his changing styles to gain crowd approval. He jumped to an early lead forcing Huggins to go deep into his closet for some rather regal suits.
The majestic momentum shifted back to Huggins as he closed the gap.
But just as it appeared that the Cincinnati coach was ready to surge ahead, Flint responded with Ferragamo. The shoes worked wonders and Flint stepped up his lead.
Huggins did not opt for a tailor timeout. Instead he made changes on the fly. The strategy seemed to be working, as Huggins hung tough.
With time running out, Flint offered up his version of the ‘box and one.’ He turned to his blue-textured Canali suit, with blue striped shirt and blue and yellow tie. It was the equivalent to making a three-point shot and getting fouled in the process.
The move broke the Huggins run.
It was clear at this point it that the former UMass coach was going to advance.
Huggins was gracious in defeat as he shook hands with Flint and wished him luck in the finals.
Bruiser turned to the judges gave a wink and stepped off the stage to await his opponent in the catwalk championship.
The intermission gave the crowd a chance to grab refills at the bar.
Once again, Dave Magarity did the introductions.
“Introducing, in this corner, from Houston, Texas, making his second consecutive appearance in the fashionable four, Willis Wilson.”
From the back of the gallery a chant echoed -- ‘Shops in Houston, shops in Houston.’
“And in this corner,” yelled Magarity. “From College Station, Texas, the current No. 1, Melvin Watkins.”
The Aggie supporters made their presence felt as well, with cheers of ‘Melvin, Melvin.’
While Flint was the prohibitive favorite in the first semi-final, this contest was a toss up.
Watkins made a steady climb up the regular season FPI and entered the tournament as the nation’s No. 1.
On the other hand, Wilson was a model of consistency, climbing as high as No. 2 and never falling lower than No. 6 nationally.
“This is for fashion bragging rights in Texas,” said Wilson. “Melvin and I are good friends, but you have to put all that aside at this point.”
As the lights dimmed and the spotlight shined brightly on the center stage, Wilson showed why ‘Bee’ is one of the most sought after tailors in America.
The regal Rice coach looked stunning as he struck a pose, modeling a wide variety of dapper attire.
Not to be outdone, Watkins’ trademark four-fold gained points with the judges.
Back and forth the fashion frenzy went, with neither classy contestant gaining more than a tie’s length lead.
As the contest approached halftime, Wilson threw Watkins off stride with his business casual look. Watkins didn’t have an answer and Wilson headed off to the dressing room with a slight advantage.
Jackie Bracco actually emerged from her ever-increasing fan club to speak with Wilson.
“The business casual look seemed to earn my friend Joe Dwyer some points in his media event so I thought I would see if it could work for me,” Wilson told Bracco.
At this point, Dwyer, Conrad, Schuberth and the dapper Darby Rich were well into the consumption of adult beverages and didn’t seem to notice that the event had reached the half. Their little gathering began to get a little more fired up when Fang Mitchell and Bob Huggins joined them.
While everyone else braced for the second half action, that group was making a fashion statement of their own. They all were sporting Miller Genuine Draft cups.
Kent State’s Gary Waters, Maine’s John Giannini, Sam Houston State’s Bob Marlin and other notables grabbed seats in the now popular ‘MGD’ contingent.
None among them noticed that Watkins and Wilson had returned to the stage.
Watkins had adjusted nicely to Wilson’s change to the more casual approach and surged ahead.
Wilson responded with some quick tailoring from ‘Bee’ and re-took the lead. There was little doubt that this was going to go down to the wire.
With just a few steps to go on the runway, Watkins and Wilson were separated by a mere cuff link. Even the ‘MGD’ crew paused from the preoccupation to check out the finish. Although it was safe to say that at least a couple members of the group were having a tough time actually visualizing the action on the catwalk.
But not everyone’s vision was blurred.
As the two competitors hit the end of the stage one contingent, not the ‘MGD’ group, roared with approval.
Pandemonium broke out in Texas. Bruiser Flint’s opponent in the championship would be Melvin Watkins.
“It’s a tough loss,” said Wilson. “I want to wish Melvin all the best in the championship and I also want to thank the fashion ladies for all of their support this season. Reaching the ‘Fashionable Four’ was quite an honor.”
“Facing coach Flint won’t be easy,” said a victorious Watkins. “All of this has been great and it’ll come down to one final match.”
So the semi-finals were over.
Flint was off to celebrate his win, while Watkins caught up with Wilson for some post runway discussion between friends.
Schuberth continued to argue that his Armani was more stylish than Darby’s lime green shirt, while Bob Marlin chuckled at the mere site of the shirt.
Jackie got back to her fan club and the ‘MGD’ crew grew in numbers still unaware that the action on the main stage was complete.
No question, all will reconvene tomorrow for the title tilt.
Be sure to listen to Angela Lento talk fashion on the 'Adam Paul Show' at 2:30 (EST) every Friday.
CLICK HERE TO SEND ANGELA YOUR COMMENTS
(Head Coach: 3-8-2002) 1. Bruiser Flint
2. John Calipari
3. Gary Waters
4. Willis Wilson
5. Jay Wright
6. Paul Graham
7. Tubby Smith
8. Rick Pitino
9. Melvin Watkins
10.Mike JarvisPlaying Catch with Satchel Paige
The Captivating Conference Champions
Coach Brent Encourages Players to Build Professional Look
The Renaissance Man and Wrestling Alligators
Coaches Give Fashion Statements on Coaches
A Look at New Jersey's Stylish Coaches
Feb 4 FPI: John Calipari Remains No. 1
Sideline Style Poll is Clothes Call
Being No. 1 Suits Rutgers' Gary Waters Just Fine
Jan 21 FPI: John Calipari Tops Fashion Power Index
Carter, Felton, Lutz and Scruggs Combine Coaching and Style
Terry Gets Rave Reviews in North Carolina
Jan 7 FPI: Gary Waters Tops Fashion Power Index
Though Styles Differ, Smith and Pitino at Top of Their Game
December FPI: Georgetown and Drexel Top The Lists
Jesse "The Body" Ventura and a Kid at Delaware
Musical Talent in Kansas and Wyoming
The FPI, The Natural and a 7-Footer from Wal-Mart
Pennsylvania: America’s Most Stylish State
In Search of Bigfoot with Dale Brown
Auctioning off Auburn coach Cliff Ellis
UCLA's Steve Lavin Talks Fashion
John Feinstein Plugs Fashionable Four
(Assistant: 3-8-2002) 1. Wayne Brent
2. Gary Stewart
3. Steve Sauers
4. Ronny Thompson
5. Tony Jones
6. Patrick Sellers
7. Reggie Hanson
8. Lew Hill
9. Tom Schuberth
10.Jennifer Johnston
AMERICA EAST:
Tom Brennan
ATLANTIC COAST:
Skip Prosser
ATLANTIC SUN:
Don Maestri
ATLANTIC 10:
Bob Hill
BIG EAST:
Gary Waters
BIG SKY:
Joel Sobotka
BIG SOUTH:
Pete Strickland
BIG TEN:
Jerry Dunn
BIG 12:
Melvin Watkins
BIG WEST:
Kevin Bromley
COLONIAL:
Bruiser Flint
CONFERENCE-USA:
John Calipari
HORIZON:
Ed Schilling
IVY LEAGUE:
James Jones
METRO ATLANTIC:
Don Harnum
MID-AMERICAN:
Stan Joplin
MID-CONTINENT:
Homer Drew
MID-EASTERN:
Cy Alexander
MISSOURI VALLEY:
Barry Hinson
MOUNTAIN WEST:
Charlie Spoonhour
NORTHEAST:
Bobby Jones
OHIO VALLEY:
Kyle Macy
PACIFIC-10:
Paul Graham
PATRIOT LEAGUE:
Sal Mentesana
SOUTHEASTERN:
Tubby Smith
SOUTHERN:
Bob McKillop
SOUHTLAND:
Mike Deane
SOUTHWESTERN:
Lafayette Stribbling
SUN BELT:
Dennis Felton
WEST COAST:
Michael Holton
WESTERN ATHLETIC
Willis Wilson
Take a stroll down last season's Runway to the Fashionable Four
Copyright © 2001, College Insider.Com and Gametyme, Inc., All Rights Reserved.
