South region: Coaches' credentials abound

Together they have 24 Final Four appearances and five national championships. They are many of the household names in college basketball.

Some of the best head coaches in the men's game will square off in the Atlanta region, which many believe is the toughest draw in this year's NCAA tournament-- partly because of these leaders.

"It's a couple of guys who are in the Hall of Fame, and probably some guys that will be," said head coach Mike Krzyzewski, who was inducted into the Hall in 2001.

With the likes of Krzyzewski, Lute Olson, Roy Williams, Bob Huggins, Rick Pitino and Rick Barnes, there will be very few easy games in Duke's portion of the bracket.

Although ninth-seeded Arizona has had a disappointing year given its lofty expectations in the preseason, it can certainly do some damage under Olson's direction. He has guided past Arizona teams to five Final Fours and a national championship in 1997. Duke defeated Olson's Wildcats in the 2001 national title game.

Williams left Lawrence, Kan., for Chapel Hill, but even with a new team, he remains one of the best coaches in America. The active leader in winning percentage, Williams led Kansas to the Final Four the past two seasons, and lost to Syracuse in the title game a year ago. While his Jayhawks knocked Duke out in the Sweet 16 in 2003, the Blue Devils have beaten the Tar Heel alumnus in both meetings this season.

Huggins is no stranger to the Big Dance either, having led Cincinnati to the NCAAs for the 13th consecutive year. With only one trip to the Final Four, he might not have the tournament resume that some of the other Atlanta region coaches have, but Huggins' teams work hard and play defense, two of the key ingredients for success in March.

At Kentucky, Pitino's teams were national title contenders every year, and in 1992 he was on the opposite sideline when Christian Laettner nailed a buzzer-beater in overtime that sent Duke to the Final Four. As head man in Louisville, however, he hasn't enjoyed quite the same success in the NCAAs. For Pitino it will be a tough road to get to San Antonio as a No. 10 seed, but he has all of the credentials with four trips to the Final Four and a national title under his belt.

In just his sixth year as head coach at Texas, Barnes has proved that he is among the nation's elite leaders. He is looking to make a return trip to the Final Four this year after a disappointing loss to Syracuse in the national semifinal. Although statistically he may not compare with some of the other coaches in the Atlanta bracket, the years he spent in the always competitive ACC as Clemson's head coach have prepared him for tournament time.

The Atlanta region arguably has the best collection of college coaches ever within a single region. No one will be surprised if any of these masterminds take their teams all the way to the national title.