Long snags top WAC honor, NCAA berth|[3/14/06]
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, March 14, 2006
The Western Athletic Conference’s Coach of the Year is a little disappointed.
Chris Long, who earned the honor on Sunday, watched as his Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters earned a No. 11 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The team is scheduled to play Florida State on Saturday night at 7 in Denver.
The Lady Techsters (26-4) won the WAC, then finished the regular season ranked No. 17 in the Associated Press’ poll and No. 16 in the coaches’ poll.
“I thought we might get a little higher seed,” Long said. “We’re the 16th best team in the country according to the college coaches. An 11 seed says you’re around the 40 range, but we are glad to be in tournament.
“We are excited about playing Saturday. The way to get respect is to win.”
The team will meet Florida State (19-9), an at-large selection from the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Seminoles finished fourth in the powerful ACC, which saw two teams from that conference earn No. 1 seeds in the tournament. The winner of Saturday’s first-round game will play either Stanford or Missouri State on Monday.
Long was an assistant at La. Tech until last season when head coach Kurt Budke left for the Big 12. The university tapped Long to lead one of the most storied programs in the country and he did not disappoint.
La. Tech received the automatic berth after winning both the regular season and tournament titles. The Lady Techsters kept their streak of being one of only two programs to have participated in all 25 NCAA Tournaments alive.
“We’re not satisfied just getting in,” Long said. “I’m proud of this team whether we win a game or not. They’ve done some great things this year; everything I’ve asked of them. However, our intention is to go win.”
The former Warren Central basketball player began coaching on the junior high level at Vicksburg High, then moved to the head coaching spot in 1998 when Doc Stephens left the Missy Gators.
He spent two seasons with the Missy Gators before joining one of his players, Catrina Frierson, at La. Tech.
He spent four seasons as an assistant under legendary women’s basketball coach Leon Barmore and then Budke.
His team breezed through the WAC, winning the regular season, and defeating New Mexico State for the conference championship.
On Monday, players and coaches gathered at the Ruston school to find our where they would be dancing.
Sixty-four teams are battling to dethrone LSU as the national champions. The tournament Final Four is scheduled for April 2 and 4 in Boston.