Three weeks in March. Sometimes that’s all it takes to make a career.

Imagine John Wooden, in his tweed hat and blazer, properly directing great UCLA teams onto the court at the Final Four. Remember Al Maguire jumping and yelling and even dancing in the Big Dance.

Think of Bob Knight hollering at a referee, seemingly painting with spittle on a canvas of black and white. Recall Nolan Richardson squatting in front of the bench with his hands cupped around his mouth as he shouted a play to his Razorbacks squads.

Now picture Stan Heath — formerly of Kent State — with his proud posture, pointing and pacing the very sidelines Richardson once did.

For years, the NCAA tournament has been a showcase presumed to skyrocket college athletes’ stock in the professional draft. Sometimes, one on of those tournament runs etches a player’s lasting impression into the annals of basketball lore.

Lately, coaches have taken to converting the NCAA stage into bigger money and better opportunities. Heath’s mannerisms were one of the indelible images of March Madness 2002 as he guided the Golden Flashes to their first Elite Eight and he parlayed his tournament exposure into a chance for the vacated Arkansas job.

But does that mean he’ll join those coaching greats in our memories of March past?

The facilities and recruiting range of the University of Arkansas should provide ample opportunity, but many coaches have bent under the pressure of steering such a high-profile program. Gary Williams lifted any shell off his back by taking Maryland to the title, but it took him 13 years.

In today’s game where back-to-back losing seasons can mean a job (see: Bob Bender), few coaches have the stamina to trace such a course. Kelvin Sampson and Mike Davis were lucky to reach the Final Four in there fifth and second seasons, respectively. Now, their careers don’t seem to have a horizon.

But can either last anywhere near as long as Mike Krzyzewski? Can anyone anymore?

Maybe it doesn’t matter. At least now we have a preview of who might be in that place 10 or 20 years down the road

Davis, Sampson and Heath are just a few members of a new generation of young coaches, several of whom displayed during this tournament their potential to ascend as the next great basketball minds.

I had the change to speak with Mike Davis in Chicago, soon after he was named Bobby Knight’s interim replacement. His calm genuineness impressed me so, I was moved to write:

Rooting against Mike Davis to secure the Indiana job after this year would seem to undermine the basic foundation of college basketball — the human relationships that exist within it.

Davis proved the last few weeks that his positive relationships with players and old-fashioned family loyalty can survive and succeed in today’s college basketball.

Ernie Kent set an example, proving that coaching is more than recruiting and off-season workouts. Developing young men is possible during the season too.

The plans laid by Kent, Heath, Davis, Sampson, Quin Snyder and Ben Howland should be followed by other young coaches hoping to turn their three weeks in March into ageless memories.