They're about as different as night and day, fire and water, chalk and cheese, Mario and Luigi and, well, Charlottesville and Blacksburg.
Virginia coach Dave Leitao and Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg, both talented bench generals, have done pretty well for themselves over the past few years. Each has been named the ACC Coach of the Year for his efforts, Leitao winning it after the Cavaliers blitzed through the conference last season and Greenberg getting the honor twice in four years for raising the Hokies from the dead. And that's about where the similarities end.
Last weekend, with Tech on the bubble to secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament after losing to No. 1 North Carolina by 2 points in the ACC semifinals, Greenberg was making his case for the Hokies to be in the Big Dance. At the postgame press conference, he cried. On ESPN, he declared, "If you don't think [Virginia Tech] is one of the top 65 teams in country, you're certifiably insane."
[Note: Greenberg got this wrong. In fact, after automatic bids are given to conference champions, the Hokies would have to have been one of the top 34 at-large teams to receive a bid.]
When ESPN bracketology guru Joe Lunardi (who knows more about tournament selection than almost anybody) counted Tech out of March Madness, Greenberg blasted him.
"Who cares? You think Joe Lunardi knows the exact field?" he said. "You think that his word is bond, and they're sitting there in Indianapolis going, 'Virginia Tech, they're out now?'"
Settle down, Daddy Warbucks. Something tells me the 10-person tournament selection committee sequestered on the 15th floor of the Indianapolis Westin surrounded by stats and computer printouts didn't appreciate its sanity being called into question. And I'm sure Greenberg's not getting an apologetic phone call from Lunardi anytime soon.
Let's flash back a year to see how he should have acted.
Last March, Leitao (a coach known for his outward composure and stoic demeanor with a few foot-stomping exceptions) broke down the Cavaliers' first-round tournament game against Albany.
Albany "has been to the tournament more times than we have, so they are going to come in with a very high air of confidence," Leitao said when asked about the Cavaliers' 13-seed opponent. "I'm sure they are looking at us as a team they know they can beat. ... We are going to have to make sure in gathering up the information that we need to, that we are prepared for what we will see on the floor and as much as anything, we have to be prepared psychologically to know we are in for a heck of a fight."
With that kind of deference, you'd think Leitao was coaching the Washington Generals against the Harlem Globetrotters.
Contrast this with Greenberg's miles-from-humility statement heading into the postseason.
"We whup up on the Big Ten every single year in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, and they're talking about maybe a fifth team in [the Big Ten included in the NCAA Tournament]?" Greenberg fumed after losing to the Tar Heels. "It's absolutely absurd. It's ludicrous."
Something was definitely ludicrous about this situation, but it wasn't the bracket selection. After all, it's not like the Hokies have been snubbed by the selection committee over and over. Last year, they were a five-seed in the Big Dance. Five! I'm perfectly willing to admit that the Cavaliers did not deserve to be a four-seed in that tournament, but the Hokies sure as hell didn't deserve to be a five-seed. The selection committee giveth and the selection committee taketh away
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