Wildcat Larry
03-30-2006, 09:42 AM
TUSCALOOSA -- Alabama coach Mark Gottfried is perhaps the most popular college men's basketball coach in America this week.
On Tuesday, he was a guest on Fox Sports Net's "March Madness Coaches Show." Between Monday morning and Tuesday evening, that was one of 31 interview requests made to the university's media relations department.
Everyone is looking for insight into the NCAA Final Four. And Gottfried, whose team played three of the four participants in Saturday's semifinal matchups, has a better perspective than anyone.
In the other semifinal matchup, America's Cinderella team, 11th-seeded George Mason, will play Florida. Billy Donovan's Gators have not lost a game since an 82-77 setback on Feb. 26 to Alabama.
"I think Billy's got a tough job," Gottfried said. "Every human being in the nation outside of someone who pulls for Florida is pulling for George Mason. Everybody on the globe is pulling for an upset, and he has to get his team ready to go against that."
"I look forward to watching the UCLA-LSU game," said Gottfried, whose team lost 62-59 in the closing moments to UCLA in the second round of the NCAA tournament and was the last team other than Florida to defeat LSU. "UCLA defends phenomenally well. What they did to Memphis was astounding to me. Memphis, which we saw up close and personal (in a November loss) had 39 points with 20 seconds to go.
Montgomery Advertiser (http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060330/SPORTS/603300353/1002)
On Tuesday, he was a guest on Fox Sports Net's "March Madness Coaches Show." Between Monday morning and Tuesday evening, that was one of 31 interview requests made to the university's media relations department.
Everyone is looking for insight into the NCAA Final Four. And Gottfried, whose team played three of the four participants in Saturday's semifinal matchups, has a better perspective than anyone.
In the other semifinal matchup, America's Cinderella team, 11th-seeded George Mason, will play Florida. Billy Donovan's Gators have not lost a game since an 82-77 setback on Feb. 26 to Alabama.
"I think Billy's got a tough job," Gottfried said. "Every human being in the nation outside of someone who pulls for Florida is pulling for George Mason. Everybody on the globe is pulling for an upset, and he has to get his team ready to go against that."
"I look forward to watching the UCLA-LSU game," said Gottfried, whose team lost 62-59 in the closing moments to UCLA in the second round of the NCAA tournament and was the last team other than Florida to defeat LSU. "UCLA defends phenomenally well. What they did to Memphis was astounding to me. Memphis, which we saw up close and personal (in a November loss) had 39 points with 20 seconds to go.
Montgomery Advertiser (http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060330/SPORTS/603300353/1002)
