Every school's pressure is different

Every college basketball season brings with it coaches on the rise, coaches on the hot seat and coaches who are in a honeymoon period. I know -- I have been all three.

The honeymoon is an unofficial grace period that a coach is given to prove himself as he builds a losing program or maintains a winning program. Each new coach faces a unique honeymoon situation. Some get the equivalent of 10 days in Maui; others get two nights at the Newark Holiday Inn.

Replacing a legend is never an easy task for a coach, because it invariably ensures a short honeymoon. When you replace a Dean Smith, John Wooden or John Thompson, your success will be compared with theirs -- an impossible measuring stick.

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