Columns, Podcasts

College Basketball Tonight – April 2, 2017

Welcome to the Final Four special edition of College Basketball Tonight. Only two teams and one game remain, that being the national championship game on Monday night between Gonzaga and North Carolina.

Three head coaches join us during this special edition to talk about the national semifinals and the championship game, as well as about their programs and some larger subjects in college basketball.

College of Charleston head coach Earl Grant is the first to join us. Grant just completed his third season at the helm, leading the Cougars to 25 wins and a berth in the NIT, and they are well-positioned to contend in the CAA next year. The Cougars have a team that is now experienced and more importantly has grown together.

Next up is Radford head coach Mike Jones, who just completed his sixth season leading the program. This past season was a challenge for the Highlanders, a young team that had some adversity to overcome, and Jones talks about how they worked through that and grew from it. The Highlanders are in the Big South Conference, which is as competitive as any in the country and has seen plenty of dogfights for the regular season title and conference tournament seeding in recent years.

Finally, we are joined by new VCU head coach Mike Rhoades, who is enjoying a homecoming. Rhoades was an assistant coach under Shaka Smart before becoming the head coach at Rice for three seasons, and with Will Wade moving on to become the head coach at LSU, Rhoades comes back to an area and a job he loves tremendously. Rhoades not only offers insights on the program he now leads, but also on what he accomplished at Rice and the importance of tournaments like the CBI, which Rice competed in this season.

All three give their thoughts on the national semifinal games from a coaching standpoint, and help us to get an idea of what we can expect in the national championship game.

We hope you enjoy the show and share with your fellow basketball fans.

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