Previous success helps return to glory

Norm Roberts of St. John's has a tough job. So does Ben Howland of UCLA. Ditto for John Thompson III of Georgetown. All are trying to return once-proud programs not to respectability but to national prominence.

It is not easy to build or rebuild any program, anywhere, in any league. But it is much tougher to get something going at a place that has not had anything going there before. Roberts, Howland and Thompson have an advantage that few coaches have: They have tradition.

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Jay Bilas

College Basketball analyst

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• College basketball analyst for ESPN and ESPN Insider
• Played and coached at Duke
• Practicing attorney