John Beilein’s coaching career spans seven teams and 25 seasons. It started at a high school, moved up to a community college, advanced further to Nazareth and LeMoyne and then finally into Division I at Canisius and Richmond, where Beilein helped the Spiders enter the Atlantic 10.

Beilein may be well-traveled, but wherever he’s coached, he’s won. That’s why West Virginia named Beilein the university’s 20th head coach last April.

‘He has been highly successful at every school he has coached,’ West Virginia Athletic Director Ed Pastilong said, ‘and he has outstanding graduation rates at each stop.’

Beilein entered the Big East this season as the league’s only new coach but has quickly shown he belongs. The Mountaineers went just 8-20 a year ago and picked up only one conference win. This season West Virginia has started 11-6 and has already won two Big East games.

‘We have a tremendous group of kids, and that has been a savior,’ Beilein said. ‘We have a very team-oriented attitude.’

In his 25 seasons of coaching, Beilein has established a reputation for quickly improving programs.

Beilein took over Division II LeMoyne in 1983 and turned the program from a laughingstock into a contender. In nine seasons at LeMoyne, Beilein compiled a 163-94 record. In five seasons at Canisius, he led the Golden Griffins to an NCAA appearance and two NIT berths.

Perhaps Beilein’s greatest accomplishments came at Richmond. He helped turn the Spiders into a winning program and landed them a spot in the respected Atlantic 10 conference.

‘He averaged 20 wins a season,’ Richmond Athletic Director Jim Miller said. ‘The program had a few down years before he came, but he turned it around. He made us a very attractive candidate for the Atlantic 10 and recruited great kids.’

Among his early successes this season have been home wins over respected SEC opponents Florida and Tennessee. Earlier this month, Beilein also won his first Big East game against Miami. Now, following a three-game losing streak, the Mountaineers have responded with wins over local rival Marshall and Rutgers.

Beilein knows success may not come immediately but wants the Mountaineers to show improvement over the course of the season.

‘Are we going to win the Big East championship?’ Beilein asked. ‘I don’t think so, but I like that we are progressing.’

Rice family goes 0-2

Sunday was supposed to be a big day for the Rice family. Jerry Rice, a wide receiver for the NFL’s Oakland Raiders, looked to add another Super Bowl ring to his collection. His nephew, Darius, hoped to lead Miami to a Big East win over rival Syracuse.

Earlier in the week, Darius made the bold prediction that the Raiders would win by 15.

Needless to say, the day didn’t go as planned. It started badly when the Hurricanes fell to the Orangemen, 54-49, and Darius scored just 13 points. Later, in the Super Bowl, Uncle Jerry and his Raiders were dominated by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 48-21.

But the two share more than a rough day. Jerry and Darius are close and even play occasional pick-up basketball games.

‘When I was little, he used to give it to me,’ Darius told the AP. ‘But now I’ve beaten him like the last 15 times, so he doesn’t want anymore of that.’

At Super Bowl media day last Tuesday, some of the focus turned away from Jerry because of his nephew’s big performance on Monday night against Connecticut. He scored 43 points, including a game-winning 3-pointer.

‘He’s just playing fantastic basketball right now,” Jerry told the AP, “and I’m very proud of him.”

Shut out

Every Big East team has picked up at least one conference victory — except Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights fell to 0-5 in the league with Sunday’s 86-75 loss to West Virginia. Since starting 8-3, Rutgers has dropped six in a row to fall into the Big East West Division’s cellar.

Rutgers went 15-2 at home last season but is off to a 6-4 start at the Louis Brown Athletic Center this year. Head coach Gary Waters said the Knights have been hampered by inconsistency. Of particular concern is poor free-throw shooting.

Waters said six consecutive missed free throws cost Rutgers a home victory against Virginia on Dec. 21. He also said the Knights had several chances to upset Pittsburgh during a 70-63 home loss Jan. 12.

‘We’re not playing as well as we should be,’ Waters said. ‘We could have easily come out with only one loss in the Big East.’

Pitt’s vacation

With Big East play in full swing, most teams have seen their fair share of action. Not Pittsburgh. The No. 2 Panthers have played only two games in the last two weeks and don’t have another until Saturday’s road contest at Syracuse.

After defeating the Orangemen, 73-60, at home Jan. 18, Pitt had one week off to get ready for Georgetown. Perhaps that accounted for the Panthers’ sluggish performance in a 65-64 win over the Hoyas. If not for Julius Page’s last-second free throw, Pitt may have suffered its first home and conference loss of the season.

Both teams struggled through a physical contest.

‘It was physical, but you’ve got to expect that,’ Pitt head coach Ben Howland told the AP. ‘Georgetown wrote the book on physical.’

Apparently Hoyas head coach Craig Esherick had no problem with the tight officiating that led to his team’s 33 fouls. A few weeks after unleashing a tirade about the officials’ treatment of Mike Sweetney, Esherick showed nothing but love for the officials.

‘You’re not going to get me on a tirade today,’ Esherick told the AP. ‘I love officials. When I see guys in striped shirts, I just want to hug them.’

This and That

The Big East co-Players of the Week were Miami’s Rice and Notre Dame’s sophomore guard Chris Thomas. Rice averaged 28 points and 8.5 boards. Thomas averaged 25.5 points, 6.5 boards and 6.5 assists in two road wins over Providence and Boston College. … Rookie-of-the-Week honors go to West Virginia center Kevin Pittsnogle for the second time this season. He averaged 20 points in wins over Rutgers and Marshall. … Notre Dame landed at the wrong airport on its return home from Providence last week. The Irish landed at Elkhart Municipal Airport, about 12 miles from South Bend Regional Airport, their expected destination.

Published on January 27, 2003 at 12:00 pm