I had to pass along this article from the LA Times about the coach schmoozing from the Final Four. Every year, I read an article with some variation on this. This one, though, gets a little more into the little NABC product expo.

By mid-morning Friday, most of the coaches head to the Henry Gonzalez Convention Center to check out the products at the expo hosted by the National Assn. of Basketball Coaches.

A big draw is giveaways provided by the participating companies. Any business slow to catch on was reminded in a letter from the NABC, which included the following in bold type:

“The NABC highly encourages companies to utilize gift-giving opportunities to bolster traffic at your booths.”

Then there are the shoe company parties for the coaches

The meeting adjourns and it’s party time. Friday night is the craziest on Riverwalk because, in addition to coaches, fans have arrived by the thousands, most wearing the colors of their favored school. Barges carrying school bands and cheerleaders float along the river, a meandering yet raucous voyage that ends near an ESPN platform where analysts are on the air, predicting the next day’s winners.

For coaches with enough clout to score an invitation, shoe company parties are an alternative to the open-air celebration.

The Adidas bash is at the swanky Club Rive only a few blocks from the Hyatt, and coaches under contract with Nike or Reebok are not welcome. Shoe companies pay a major portion of the salaries of top coaches — Adidas pays Howland $375,000 a year — and the annual Final Four parties bring together everyone with allegiance to a particular brand.

Two coaches whose teams are coming off successful seasons — Jamie Dixon of Pittsburgh and Bo Ryan of Wisconsin — are the big Adidas draws. Six break dancers entertain on a circular dance floor, there is a generous buffet of beef tacos, chicken flautas and guacamole, and free drinks are poured by bartenders wearing T-shirts bearing the latest Adidas slogan: “Impossible is nothing.”

A live mannequin in an Adidas ensemble stands frozen on a platform above the crowded room. And although a rock band plays, the music is not so loud that revelers can’t carry on a conversation — or cut a deal.

The story focuses a bit on an assistant coach from Geneva College in Beaver Falls. Worth reading in full.