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Tie Talk
By Angela Lento
It looks like ?Tie Talk? is going to become a weekly feature. Last week, Cincinnati Coach Bob Huggins was quick to notify me that it was great that he had cracked the fashion power index, but that he should be ranked higher.
Well, it did not take UMass Coach, Bruiser Flint long to respond. According to Bruiser, Coach Huggins needs to sport better ties.
Hmmm -- So how did Coach Huggins respond?
?Tell Bruiser, that he should make a better effort of getting on the tread mill.?
Wow!
On Tuesday evening, I was in attendance for the UMass-Rhode Island game and caught up with Coach Flint for his rebuttal.
?I can?t believe he said that,? laughed Flint. ?He?s got a lot of nerve. Tell him that exercise wouldn?t hurt him either. It looks to me like SkyLine Chili delivers to the basketball office at Cincinnati.?
Poor Bruiser! Early in the season it was Morgan State?s Chris Fuller who took shots at him so who will be next?
On Monday, Atlantic 10 media relations director, Ray Cella introduced each of the coaches, as usual, during the weekly teleconference. But this week, he added a little flavor, by asking coaches for their thoughts on Bruiser being ranked #1.
?I am going to have to check him [Bruiser] out, the next time he is on TV,? said Duquesne Coach Darelle Porter. ?He is pretty sharp, but I have some nice items too!?
Coach Porter was a little taken back that his name did not come up in the discussion regarding best-dressed coaches.
Do not despair Coach Porter, you are on my list.
And that was not the only thing that puzzled the Duquesne Coach. He was stunned to hear that another coach was on the list.
?I didn?t know that Coach [Bob] Huggins owned a shirt and tie,? said Porter with a laugh. ?I thought he just went with the mock turtlenecks.?
Since Coach Porter spends most of his time preparing for games, he can be excused for not being up on Coach Huggins fabulous look. The days of the mock turtlenecks are gone.
Now, casual for Huggins is a suit and tie. The Bearcat Coach is most often seen sporting three-piece suits. In the last four games, only once has he gone with the regular suit and tie look. On Thursday night, at Charlotte, we opted for a black pin striped three-piece.
It would be quite a jump, but going from #10 to #1 in the next Fashion Power Index, is not out of the question (Next FPI will be released on Monday, February 5).
As for Bruiser, well The Hampshire Daily Gazette ran a super piece on Flint. What followed was an abundance of emails from UMass fans. One stood out.
?I have to give props to Bruiser Flint for his sideline attire. He is a well-dressed man. I worked for Bruiser and the UMASS program for 8 years and we are very good friends, the best part of that friendship is being about the same size as Bru. When he cleans out his closet it is like Christmas Day!!! Now I too can be among the best dressed!!!?
- Bill Taylor
A STYLE ALL THEIR OWN
The other night, while I was checking out Portland State Coach, Joel Sobotka, who by the way looked very chic, I noticed that Sacramento State Coach, Jerome Jenkins was sporting the Adidas mock turtleneck.
Coach Jenkins had the Larry Eustachy (Iowa State) look happening so I decided that, hence forth, the mock turtle neck approach will be known as the ?Larry Eustachy look?.
While Coach Eustachy is not a candidate for best-dressed coach in America, his surely has a style all his own.
But he is not the only one. Here are some other fashion trademarks.
The ?KELVIN SAMPSON LOOK?: If Coach Sampson ever wore anything other than a blue- shirt; I don?t think I would recognize him.
The ?STEVE LAVIN LOOK?: I know I am not the only one who associates Coach Lavin with gel!
The ?RICK MAJERUS LOOK': Coach Majerus has the sweater look down to a science.
The ?TUBBY SMITH LOOK?: The blue-shirt with white collar is a Coach Smith trademark.
The ?JIM PHELAN LOOK': The bow tie is a dignified touch!
The ?LUTE OLSON LOOK?: If you are donning a blue blazer then you have the Lute Olson look. Someone pointed out that Coach Olson looks a lot like Paul Newman. I disagree; Paul Newman looks a lot like Lute Olson. Coach Olson is first class all the way!
THE THREE-FOLD
The Runway to the Fashionable Four has had me out at various arenas getting close up looks at coach?s wardrobes, but during the two-hour time frame I only get a chance to view two staffs. With the help of the DirecTV package, I can see dozens of coaches in less time.
Needless to say, I watch a lot of ESPN. College Hoops Tonight is great because if I am at a game, I can catch all the highlights at midnight. Highlights = Coaches, which means attire.
And then there are the hosts and analysts that deliver the highlights. Now, I can honestly say that I have seen all of the ESPN personalities.
Taking into account their roles and differences in salaries I give the nod, of best-dressed on-air personality, to Rece Davis. Rece has a wide array, in his wardrobe, ranging from ?dapper? to ?majestic.?
It was a close call between Davis and the very well polished Jay Bilas. The former Duke star does a super job of being objective and informative. However, he makes me cringe with his handkerchief.
He goes with the simple fold and it does not do justice for his otherwise classic look.
When it comes to the handkerchief, Texas A&M?s Melvin Watkins is one of the best, but a tad better is Kent State?s Gary Waters (left).
Coach Waters has the best ?three-fold? in the business so I called him to find out his secret.
?To be exact, I use to take a lot of time of folding and pressing to make sure it looked just right,? he explained. ?It takes a lot of time so I made a change. I use The Tom James Company for a lot of my stuff, especially my custom fitted shirts. One of the first things I asked them was ?do you have pre-folded handkerchiefs?? Well, they do so I cut corners a little bit now and insert the pre-pressed handkerchief in my breast pocket.?
There you have it -- A Style Secret. If you CLICK HERE, you can order them for about $15.00 each.
By the way, Coach Waters loved the phrase ?three-fold? so we will add that to our fashion jargon.
If Jay Bilas goes three-fold, he will complete the package.
TEXAS
There has been quite a stir over Sam Houston State assistant, Darby Rich. Darby, who was rated #1 in the first assistant coach?s FPI, has since dropped to eighth. But his stock has not dropped with the fans -- In particular, the women.
Adorable, hot and sexy are just a few of the terms that women have used, in their emails, to describe Rich.
As pointed out recently, his fall to eighth has more to do with recently nominated assistants then any fashion faults on Darby?s part. Also remember this -- ?It?s not where you start or where you are, but where you finish.?
In addition to his fabulous look, Darby is very down to earth. To sum up in two words -- Polished and Polite!
MORE TEXAS
Amber Hooks, from Stephenville, Texas, emailed me to bring to my attention assistant coach Jason Hooten.
Coach Hooten is a Division II assistant at Tarleton State, in the Lone Star Conference. Hooten, who played varsity basketball under current head coach Lonn Reisman for two years, came back to Tarleton in August 1993 after serving as a part-time assistant coach at Weatherford Junior College.
Hooten assists Coach Reisman in all aspects of the men's basketball program, with particular emphasis in recruiting and scheduling. During his time at Tarleton, the Texans have posted a combined 161-92 record, including a 109-82 ledger as a coach and a 52-10 mark as a player.
Oh yeah, he?s a good-looking man with a well-polished approach to attire. Sorry ladies, Coach Hooten got married last summer.
EVEN MORE TEXAS
Just before the opening tip-off, of the TCU-Rice game, Owls Coach Willis Wilson told his players that if they beat the Horned Frogs he would let them shave his head.
Well, Rice beat TCU so a few days later; prior to the Owls game with Hawaii, he let his players play ?barber.?
But, it was not the Michael Jordan look, but rather the five-O?clock shadow on the head look that Wilson got. Still, it looked very nice (pictured right).
However, while observing the new-look dome, I noticed that Willis? jacket came off. Coach Wilson that is a fashion foul! The reduction in hair won?t affect his FPI, but the reduction in attire might.
BO KNOWS FASHION
There has been quite an outpouring of support from Wisconsin for UWM Coach Bo Ryan.
Here is what they are saying about ?Regal Ryan.?
?Bo Ryan, of UW-Milwaukee, definitely gets my vote for best dressed coach in college basketball. It only took one viewing of the Bo Ryan Show to realize that "Bo knows fashion". Look out Esquire; we may have a new cover model.?
- Andy Neary (Oconomowoc, Wisconsin)
?The best-dressed coach in college basketball has got to be Bo Ryan of UW-Milwaukee! The best men's clothing store in Milwaukee has sponsored Coach Ryan and they provide him with all of his sideline wear. They really keep him up-to-date with all of the latest trends. The store is Harley's: The Store for Men.?
- Jason Clark (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
?I think Bo Ryan is definitely the best dressed coach in college basketball. He is always up to date with the current trends and styles. He is definitely a winner.?
- Matt Houk (Waukesha, Wisconsin)
?I really like your feature on best dressed coaches in college basketball. There are many coaches I could name that dress very well, most of whom you already have on your site. In looking at your website and reading some of the comments from other viewers, I have to agree that the coach at Milwaukee, Bo Ryan, really looks slick. Your comment about him getting better with age is very fitting.?
- Lance Hobbins
I love the ?Bo Knows Fashion? comment! It looks like Bo knows how to lead by example, as well. Assistant Coach Rob Jeter is well put together!
FASHION SPOTLIGHT
If personality and character were major factors in the fashion power index, Marist assistant Steve Sauers would already have been crowned best-dressed under study in the nation.
But Steve has an unfair advantage because I have gotten to know him very well, over the past five years.
On the sidelines, Dapper, Debonair, Striking and well-tanned are all good words to describe his ?look.? When he adds the touch of gel, he takes it to another level.
Coach Sauers is Dave Magarity?s top assistant and he has been at Marist for 11 seasons. He has hit the international scene as an assistant for the junior and senior national teams in Nigeria. Steve has also conducted coaching clinics for club and national programs in Warsaw, Poland and Lagos, Nigeria.
In 1990, Steve graduated from the State University of New York at Albany, where he lettered all four years and served as team captain. Steve got a long pretty well with his coach, Richard ?Doc? Sauers. Yes, ?Doc? is his father.
In his time at Marist, he has not only displayed a flair for fashion, but he has established himself as a very bright-young assistant.
In the past few years it has become ?fashionable? for athletic directors to hire ?young? assistant coaches.
Hello!!! Any A.D.?s need the phone number to Marist College?
Once the game starts, he is all business, but off the court, he exudes ?gentlemen? qualities.
Everything that an administration, in search of a coach, would want!
FASHION FOOTNOTES
During Tuesday?s Connecticut-St. John?s game, analyst Bill Raftery talked up Coach Mike Jarvis and ?deuce? (Mike Jarvis II). He went on for a good two minutes about ?deuce? being ranked #10 in the assistant coach fashion power index. Thanks Mr. Raftery!
On Wednesday, I received a great email from Alison, in Manhattan:
?Best dressed Assistant coach? Look no farther then the suave and debonair Michael Jarvis the 2nd! That guy is smooth as silk. As Rod Stewart says "You wear it well"...and Junior, you do just that!?
Wow! Since my last column, nobody has gotten more emails, on his behalf, then Alabama?s Mark Gottfried. So I ask the question, where is the support for Kentucky?s Tubby Smith?
On Super Bowl Sunday, I tuned into the Marist-Manhattan game to get a view of the styles of the Marist staff. Coach Magarity loosened the tie, which is a fashion foul, but assistants Steve Sauers and Eugene Burroughs looked very dignified. There was a guy at press row that had a very trendy look going as well, MAAC media relation?s director, Shawn Brennan gets high marks!
EMAIL OF THE WEEK
?Kent State assistant coach, Garland Mance has been conscientious about his appearance since he began his career as a restricted earnings coach, when "restricted earnings" meant "struggling for a foothold, and barely squeaking by". He drove a 1983 Oldsmobile cutlass supreme, and lived in the "sugar shack", but kept his wardrobe TIGHT because he has always wanted to reflect professionalism. In my opinion, he was then and continues to be now, one of the sharpest, and best dressed assistants in Division I basketball. It's all about style and personal taste, and Garland Mance exudes both. He gets my vote.?
- Tabatha Elliot
Be sure to listen to Angela Lento talk fashion, this Friday (February 2) on the 'Adam Paul Show.'
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