Muse Machine rehearsal
.JPG)
Celebs come out for TV's '24'
.JPG)
Stars turn out for film gala
Coles not afraid of area rivals
Coach says he schedules his RedHawks, who play Wright State today, for exciting games, not just victories.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
As much as Wright State coach Brad Brownell likes rivalry games, and games played against nearby opponents, Miami's Charlie Coles takes it to another level.
"I like them, in most situations," said Brownell, whose Raiders host the RedHawks tonight at the Nutter Center. "I think they're good for a lot of people. The one thing is, being in separate leagues, it's not quite as intense."
Extras
Wright State plays in the Horizon League. Miami is in the Mid-American Conference.
Coles, who grew up in Yellow Springs and played at Miami in the 1960s, has nearby schools WSU, Dayton, Cincinnati and Xavier on his schedule.
"Scheduling has become a big thing in college," Coles said. "Guys work as hard at scheduling as they do recruiting. When you lose, there is a chance it doesn't look good for the (NCAA) tournament committee. That doesn't apply to me. I'm thinking of playing good teams, teams our kids will be excited to play.
"I grew up playing Dayton and Xavier twice. We won some of those games. They were fun to play in. Most of those games with Dayton were televised, and the good people of Yellow Springs and Springfield could see those games. When we played those games at home, we'd get big crowds.
"We're excited to go to Wright State. They have a good team and a good coach. Why not play?"
Wright State and Miami have played 22 times and every year since 1999. Miami holds a 15-7 advantage, but lost last season on a last-second shot by DaShaun Wood.
It was a game originally scheduled for Wright State, but when a suitable date could not be found, Coles offered to take the game at home and play the next two at WSU. That's why next year's game also will be played at the Nutter Center.
"It was pretty nice of Brad to do it," Coles said. "We wanted to work it out. That's a coach who wants to play. And they won. It was a good move on their part."
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2157
or mkatz@DaytonDailyNews.com.
