Ray Glier

Player of the Year? That's easy.

J.J. Redick. He played in the tougher conference; he played harder on the defensive end.

Adam Morrison deals, no question about it. But he made more turnovers while handling the ball less against weaker competition. His scoring average was better — barely — but he did not have to score in the cauldron of the ACC and with fans booing and hissing and screaming they hate you.

Morrison could go inside. Redick could not. Yeah, so.

Redick busted his butt to get back on defense; I've seen Morrison stand there and watch it go to the other end.

Maybe Morrison makes as many plays in the ACC as he did in the West Coast Conference, but we'll never know. He went to Gonzaga, Redick went to Duke. More pressure on J.J. and he performed. Life is tough.

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I have a better question than who is Player of the Year. Are either of these two 'Melo? Are they even D-Wade?

Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade were the two best players in the 2003 NBA Draft. 'Melo led Syracuse to the national title and Wade took Marquette to the national semifinals.

Neither of these guys is as good as 'Melo or Wade, but Redick, whose legs appear to have failed him in recent games, has a better chance of leading the Blue Devils to the Final Four because he has a better supporting cast than Morrison.

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Morrison and Gonzaga do not look fit enough to get to the Final Four and last week's WCC tournament showed why. The Zags had to escape. What do they do against somebody like UCLA or North Carolina or LSU, all potential No. 3 seeds, when we get to a Sweet 16 matchup?

They stop, that's what. The first 10-for-24 day Morrison has in the tournament, Gonzaga loses.

Q: Why isn't Bruce Weber getting more attention for the coaching job he has done this season?
— Kevin M. Ducey, Champaign, Ill.

A: I have decided I want a commission on the guys I made look good this season. Weber. Roy Williams. Jamie Dixon. Billy Donovan. I'm going to the beach after the Final Four with my haul.

That's your answer. There are a lot of guys out there who look like John Wooden (well, not quite) because they regrouped after mass desertions. The handicappers bagged them as trash and left them on the curb. Now they look like geniuses.

Illinois lost Deron Williams and Luther Head. Carolina lost seven scorers and didn't have a point guard. Pittsburgh lost veteran bigs. Florida lost 75 percent of its points.

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Now look at them. Say what you want, but Florida has Final Four skill. Illinois' defense is sensational. Pitt lost bigs, but kept Carl Krauser. Carolina's Williams has brought along his team like no other coach.

Then you throw in Bruce Pearl. He's my choice as Coach of the Year because he energized a football school. There are no more echoes in Thompson-Boling Arena — and far fewer seats for Kentucky fans, who used to pile into UT's arena and make it half blue, half orange.

Tennessee actually had better talent last year, when it was 14-17. The Vols were picked to finish fifth in the preseason, not in the entire SEC, but in the SEC East.

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Which of those four guys listed above — Williams, Dixon, Weber or Donovan — turned around a situation like that. None of them. It's not even close who should be Coach of the Year in I-A.

As for Weber, he makes his case for Coach of the Year when his team locks down on defense. No team I watched this year beats the ball to the man better than Illinois. The Illini are closing out before the pass is there and that's why they get so many steals and deflections. They get into gaps, too, and keep the ball out of the middle.

You go from a dynamic offensive team, to a team that thrives on defense. He also brought along role players to support Dee Brown and James Augustine. But it's a crowded card for Coach of the Year and that's why Weber has been left off to the side in the discussion.