I have made it a point to bring attention to my friend Donny Harnum’s website, which looks like the poster from the movie, “A Bronx Tale.” Mr. “MAAC Daddy” has gotten a lot of attention for his interesting splash page, but another friend of mine has a nice intro page. Nebraska’s Barry Collier looks like he had one too many cups of coffee on his splash page (coachbarrycollier.com).

The funny thing about that image is that it’s the exact opposite of the man himself. I have known Barry for years. Both of our wives get along very well and I am sure they both talk about how they ended up marrying guys like Barry and me. No question that we both overachieved.

Speaking of those that have overachieved, I still have no idea what Karen was thinking when she decided to marry my pal Seth Greenberg. That is a question I plan to pose to Mr. Clean in the coming weeks. Mr. Freeze is one of my future targets for a 5-on-5 segment. He is still chirping about how I took his idea for the 5-on-5 feature. Apparently Mr. Shiny Dome believes the Q&A feature is something that I created for the first time in the history of sports journalism.

We’ll get to Yul Brynner in a couple of weeks, but now it’s time to fire off the questions to Barry Collier..

DAVE MAGARITY: Last season you made a nice run in the NIT. A lot of people don't realize how important the postseason is in regards to preparing for the following season. Talk about that.

BARRY COLLIER: Our success in the NIT (3 games including a road win over Creighton and a home win over Niagara) should serve us well during the current season. We had a nice road win at Creighton and a home win over a very good Niagara team that you are familiar with. The "win and advance" vs. lose and put away the uniforms" nature of the post season is a pressure packed experience that can not be underestimated. It should be especially valuable late in the year.

MAGARITY: My friend Pat Kennedy seems to have picked up where Kelvin Sampson left off in terms of moving forward with the NABC. In your opinion, what is the most important thing facing coaches today?

COLLIER: The NABC's task is to represent the coaches as "guardians of the game". More input and greater involvement by the membership is the NABC's goal but I do understand as well as anybody the frustrating dilemma facing coaches. We are incredibly busy with our individual jobs as coaches that we have little time for anything else and at the same time we want more influence in matters of the game.

An even greater challenge for all coaches is to positively influence the NCAA legislative process on our own campus and within our conferences. This is a tough but worthwhile effort when we see the changes that have come (albeit slowly) over the years.

While we have numerous opportunities to improve as an organization, I think the NABC has made tremendous progress in recent years.

MAGARITY: You have coached at both the major and mid-major level. Do you now have a better appreciation for the difficulties of scheduling and other issues that face mid-major coaches?

COLLIER: Scheduling at every level, indeed at each school, has unique challenges. Home games, competitive and experience building games, season ticket sales, post season positioning, schedule strength, budget/guarantee games, conference strength, etc. are among the numerous considerations for each school. These concerns are different at each school and in the end; I believe that each school must do what is best for itself.

MAGARITY: It's obvious that both Rita and Annette under-achieved when they chose their mates and both have had to deal with being a coach's wife. Talk a little about how tough coaching can be on a wife and a family

COLLIER: On our blind date, it was clear that they were much more blind than us! I think that coach's wives are "little angels on earth." The time that coaches put into their jobs is incredible and their wives are amazing teammates who enable them to focus during the season. Hopefully, each of them feel a part of the team, special and appreciated.

MAGARITY: I am thinking Val Kilmer would be a good choice to play the role of Barry Collier. Who would you pick to play you in a basketball film?

COLLIER: Don Knotts, deputy Barney Fife. Impressive physique, authoritative command, excels at bud nipping and lucky with women.

 >>> CollegeInsider.com