July 6, 2009

With Derrick Rose's suspected fraud on a standardized test, Tim Floyd's resignation as coach of Southern California and the reports of Connecticut coaches illegally using an agent to recruit players, it has been an ugly couple of months for college basketball.

But the spin cycle of news about NCAA malfeasance took a brief pause Friday, when Holy Cross hired Sean Kearney as the coach. He replaced Ralph Willard, who left to become Rick Pitino's top assistant at Louisville.

The hiring of Kearney, Notre Dame's longtime associate head coach, is being celebrated in coaching circles as a win for the blue-collar grinders, the guys who did not play at Duke, were not mentored by Bob Knight and did not have Dick Vitale scream their name until they were hired.

For the complete article by Pete Thamel of the New York Times click here