Final Four notebook: On coaches, conference rematches and remembering a real Cinderella

The blue blood aspect of this Final Four cannot be overstated, both in terms of the programs represented and the coaches.

You already have heard that Duke, Kansas, North Carolina and Villanova have a combined 61 Final Four appearances and 17 national titles. A Duke title would move the school into a tie for third with UNC with six, behind UCLA (12) and Kentucky (eight). And titles by Kansas or Villanova would move those schools into a tie for sixth with UConn (four) for most championships, behind UCLA, UK, UNC, Duke and Indiana.

But this is just the fourth Final Four where three of the coaches come in with at least one national title ring. Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski has five, Villanova’s Jay Wright has two and Kansas’ Bill Self has one. And while first-year North Carolina coach Hubert Davis obviously is seeking his first title, he has a title ring from his time as an assistant on UNC’s 2017 title team.

The other three Final Fours where three of the coaches had national titles:

2015: Kentucky’s John Calipari, Michigan State’s Tom Izzo and Krzyzewski
2009: UConn’s Jim Calhoun, Izzo and North Carolina’s Roy Williams
2001: Izzo, Krzyzewski and Arizona’s Lute Olson

As for the programs involved, this is the 11^th time each team at the Final Four has won a national title and the first time each school has at least three national titles.

The other Final Fours with four former champs:

2018: Kansas, Loyola-Chicago, Michigan and Villanova
2015: Duke, Kentucky, Michigan State and Wisconsin
2014: Connecticut, Florida, Kentucky and Wisconsin
2012: Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville and Ohio State
2009: Connecticut, Michigan State, North Carolina and Villanova
2007: Florida, Georgetown, Ohio State and UCLA
1998: Kentucky, North Carolina, Stanford and Utah
1995: Arkansas, North Carolina, Oklahoma State and UCLA
1993: Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan and North Carolina
1992: Cincinnati, Duke, Indiana and Michigan

Conference rematches in Final Four

The Duke-North Carolina semifinal will mark the 10^th time conference rivals have squared off in the Final Four. Here’s the complete list.

Year	Conference	Round	Matchup
2016	ACC	semifinal	North Carolina-Syracuse
2000	Big Ten	semifinal	Michigan State*-Wisconsin
1989	Big Ten	semifinal	Illinois-Michigan*
1988	Big Eight	final	Kansas*-Oklahoma
1987	Big East	semifinal	Providence-Syracuse
1985	Big East	semifinal	Georgetown-St. John’s
1985	Big East	final	Georgetown-Villanova*
1981	ACC	semifinal	North Carolina-Virginia
1976	Big Ten	final	Indiana*-Michigan

NOTE: Team in bold won game; teams with asterisks won national title.

This is the 25^th time in Final Four history that at least two teams from the same conference have advanced to the national semifinals; it’s the seventh time two ACC teams have advanced. The Big Ten leads with eight, while the SEC has four and the Big East and Big Eight/Big 12 have three each.

All hail Joe Williams and Jacksonville

Joe Williams, who guided Jacksonville University to the 1970 title game against UCLA, died Saturday at 88 in Enterprise, Miss. JU was perhaps the ultimate Final Four Cinderella. There have been surprise title winners, for sure, most notably NC State in 1983 and Villanova in 1985. But they were power conference schools. At the time, Jacksonville was an independent in just its fifth season in the NCAA after moving from the NAIA ranks. In 1970, the school had 2,200 students, making it the smallest school to ever reach the Final Four.

Going into the 1969-70 season, the Dolphins were a combined two games over .500 in their NCAA history. They opened the season 13-0 and moved into the AP top 20 for the first time. Jacksonville lost at No. 18 Florida State 89-83 on January 27, then didn’t lose again until the national title game. JU got revenge at home against the Seminoles on February 18, and that victory likely cemented the NCAA bid. Twenty-five teams received bids that year.

Williams had no problems recruiting Black players — which helped him stand out at that time in the South —  and his star that season was future Hall of Famer Artis Gilmore. JU put up huge offensive numbers behind Gilmore, a 7-foot-2 center, and guard Rex Morgan, who later became coach of Jacksonville Arlington Country Day, a powerhouse high school program before it shut down in 2018. Gilmore averaged 23.2 points and 22.2 rebounds (yes, 22.2), while Morgan averaged 18.2 points as the Dolphins became the first NCAA Division I team to average 100 points a game (100.4, to be exact).

In the first round of the NCAA tourney (which was not seeded in those days), Williams guided the Dolphins to a 109-96 victory over 12^th-ranked Western Kentucky in the first round. Western Kentucky had a notable 7-footer of its own in Jim McDaniels, and while McDaniels had 29 points and seven rebounds, Gilmore was even better: 30 points, 19 rebounds and nine blocks. JU beat seventh-ranked Iowa 104-103 in the second round on a last-second tip-in by 6-11 power forward Pembrook Burrows III (Burrows later became a Florida Highway Patrolman; no telling how many drivers meekly told the truth when a 6-11 deputy strolled up to their car). Gilmore had 30 points and 17 rebounds against the Big Ten-champion Hawkeyes.

In the region final, Adolph Rupp and top-ranked Kentucky were expected to send the interlopers home, but thanks to five double-figure scorers (including three off the bench), JU prevailed 106-100. Gilmore had 24 points and 20 rebounds to outduel UK’s Dan Issel, who had 28 and 10.

The Final Four that year was UCLA and three mid-majors. In addition to the Bruins and Jacksonville, the other finalists were the Bob Lanier-led St. Bonaventure and the Lou Henson-coached and Jimmy Collins-led New Mexico State. But Lanier had been hurt in the region final, robbing the basketball world (for a few years, at least) of a Gilmore-Lanier matchup in a national semifinal. With Lanier sidelined, Gilmore had 29 points and 21 rebounds to lead JU to a 91-83 victory.

JU’s magic ran out in the final, with UCLA prevailing 80-69. Gilmore did his part, with 19 points and 16 rebounds. But UCLA still owned the boards, outrebounding the Dolphins 50-38 thanks to 18 rebounds from Sidney Wicks and 11 from Steve Patterson. UCLA’s frontcourt of Patterson, Wicks and Curtis Rowe combined for 53 points in the victory, which gave the Bruins their fourth title in a row.

A week after the 1970 title game, Williams left JU for Furman, where he coached until 1978; he then coached at Florida State from 1978-86.

Williams had earned an English degree at Tulane and was a junior high teacher in Jacksonville when he turned to coaching in the late 1950s. He was a flashy dresser on the sideline, and he preferred his teams to play with an up-tempo style. At Furman, where he once had been an assistant, he guided the Paladins to five NCAA tournaments in his eight seasons. Williams led FSU to two NCAA appearances in his time there.

Jacksonville has returned to the NCAAs four times since 1970 but lost in the first round each time. Still, Cinderella’s first dance was one of the most memorable in tournament history.