Top College Coaches

[NYC Duke Fan]

I think that the following are the top college coaches now, based upon recruiting and game day coaching :

Jim Calhoun, Billy Donovan,Tom Izzo, Bob Knight, Coach K, Lute Olson, Rick Pittino and Roy Williams. I did not rank them and you can if you want.

I think that Ben Howland will soon be joining the group.

[dukie8]

I think that the following are the top college coaches now, based upon recruiting and game day coaching :

Jim Calhoun, Billy Donovan,Tom Izzo, Bob Knight, Coach K, Lute Olson, Rick Pittino and Roy Williams. I did not rank them and you can if you want.

I think that Ben Howland will soon be joining the group.

i wouldn't put lute on that list. yes, he is great recruiter and yes he won a nc 10 years ago, but he also probably is tops on the list of pissing away a lot of talent. this year is exhibit a. a great coach never would have wasted so much talent over the years. boeheim also is on the outside looking in on this list. way too much talent wasted over the years. i think that gary williams is close but not there. he does get a lot out of not that much talent.

[Cameron]

I'd also take Calhoun off that list as well. I know he has a couple of national titles, but a great coach doesn't win one and then play in the NITs a couple of seasons later and then win the whole thing again and then miss the whole tournament again. That is a medicore coach who wins with talent alone, not on coaching ability. That is what that is.

[dukie8]

I'd also take Calhoun off that list as well. I know he has a couple of national titles, but a great coach doesn't win one and then play in the NITs a couple of seasons later and then win the whole thing again and then miss the whole tournament again. That is a medicore coach who wins with talent alone, not on coaching ability. That is what that is.

that's ridiculous. you are aware of whom he recently has lost to the nba draft? what is he supposed to do when he loses gay, boone and m williams early last year? check out some other guys he lost to the nba lottery in recent years: okafor, gordon, villanueva and butler. this doesn't even get to the fact that, gulp, he outcoached k in 1999 and 2004. it's also not like he is plucking top 25 guys every year and rolling the ball out like, say lute does. guys like okafor were completely off the radar screen and passed over by duke. i'm not a fan of him (he is, afterall, from uconn) but the guy can flat out coach.

[Buckeye Devil]

If the criteria is having won a national championship, you are excluding a lot of great coaches. All of the names you mentioned have a NC to their credit. If you would have asked this question in 1990, you would have excluded Coach K from the list? He would have had 4 Final 4's to his credit and 2 runner
up finishes, and great recruiting, but no national championships. Yet I dare say that he was among the top 6-8 coaches in 1990.

My point is, there are great coaches who are superb game day coaches who recruit top talent consistently, but have not yet won a national championship (and might not). That doesn't necessarily mean that they are not among the top coaches today.

[dukie8]

If the criteria is having won a national championship, you are excluding a lot of great coaches. All of the names you mentioned have a NC to their credit. If you would have asked this question in 1990, you would have excluded Coach K from the list? He would have had 4 Final 4's to his credit and 2 runner
up finishes, and great recruiting, but no national championships. Yet I dare say that he was among the top 6-8 coaches in 1990.

My point is, there are great coaches who are superb game day coaches who recruit top talent consistently, but have not yet won a national championship (and might not). That doesn't necessarily mean that they are not among the top coaches today.

let's hear some examples and we can debate them. now that royo and boeheim have their nc's, i'm not aware of any current guys with 4 final 4s and no ring.

[Troublemaker]

Agreed, Calhoun definitely has to be included. Great eye for talent, for finding diamonds in the rough. He develops them and then when they're upperclassmen, they compete for championships. I'm pretty much expecting another late tourney collision between Duke and UConn in 2009. Remember, UConn was an NIT team in 1997. Two years later, they won the national championship.

[houstondukie]

tubby smith

[Jumbo]

this doesn't even get to the fact that, gulp, he outcoached k in 1999 and 2004.

I thought Calhoun outcoached K in 1999. I thought K kicked his butt in 2004. I rarely blame games on officiating, but I will always believe Duke got hosed with some absolutely ridiculous calls in 2004, especially against Shelden and Shav. I thought K's decision to play Shelden in the first half was the right move. I thought Calhoun was idiotic for holding Okafor out for so long in the first half (saving a guy for the second half by sitting him that long with two fouls never matches the minutes he loses on the bench). Fact is, Duke was up nine late, got a couple of ridiculous whistles and awful breaks, and blew the lead. But I think K coached a better game, and that one, in some ways, burns me up more than the 1999 loss.

[dukie8]

I thought Calhoun outcoached K in 1999. I thought K kicked his butt in 2004. I rarely blame games on officiating, but I will always believe Duke got hosed with some absolutely ridiculous calls in 2004, especially against Shelden and Shav. I thought K's decision to play Shelden in the first half was the right move. I thought Calhoun was idiotic for holding Okafor out for so long in the first half (saving a guy for the second half by sitting him that long with two fouls never matches the minutes he loses on the bench). Fact is, Duke was up nine late, got a couple of ridiculous whistles and awful breaks, and blew the lead. But I think K coached a better game, and that one, in some ways, burns me up more than the 1999 loss.

whether you agreed or not with calhoun's decision to pull okafor for what seemed like the entire first half, it worked as he fouled out our 2 bigs and then proceeded to murder us almost single-handedly for the win. how many big games was duke up big, only to blow the lead and lose? i guess it is better than unlv '90 but these types of losses sure are piling up.

[FireOgilvie]

tubby smith

He's JV compared to the rest of these varsity coaches. He won a NC on Pitino's guys and then did an above average job before basically getting forced out at UK.

[Jumbo]

whether you agreed or not with calhoun's decision to pull okafor for what seemed like the entire first half, it worked as he fouled out our 2 bigs and then proceeded to murder us almost single-handedly for the win. how many big games was duke up big, only to blow the lead and lose? i guess it is better than unlv '90 but these types of losses sure are piling up.

I think we tend to lose track of how many other teams blow big leads on a regular basis in the Tourney. In the last round alone, Tennessee and USC did it. Vandy had a handy lead over Georgetown. Butler was up early on Tennessee.

As far as that Duke-UConn game goes, there's no way I can second-guess Coach K because I was actively first-guessing Jim Calhoun the minute he sat Okafor. Seriously, there were just some ridiculous calls in the second half -- particularly against Shav and Shel -- that killed Duke. Otherwise, Calhoun allowed his team to get down by such a margin that they had to play an almost perfect last three minutes (and catch a few breaks from Duke) to win. Seriously, if any number of 10 plays goes another way (Ewing doesn't ignore his transition D responsibility and chase a rebound in the corner, leaving Anderson open for a transition three, Deng doesn't hoise a quick shot, etc.), UConn loses. That's way too close a margin, with way too much lucky involved, to consider Calhoun's strategy superior. I loved the way Coach K went for the jugular, believe that Calhoun never did make up for Okafor's lost minutes despite his finishing the game against Horvath, and, as I said, find that to be one of the most frustrating losses I've ever witnessed as a Duke fan.

The 1999 game? You can take Coach K to task for that one and I won't argue much. I thought UConn's game plan was better and K didn't adjust well, and his end-game play (one-on-one with Trajan) was a very poor choice. But I love the job he did in the 2004 game, and will always be bitter that he wasn't rewarded for it with a win.

[mgtr]

So, if you were looking to hire a top coach, which ones of these guys are movable? Maybe Donavan, Izzo, and Pitino. Why go any deeper into the coaching cadre if you can get one of these? I would think Pitino is the most movable of the bunch, followed by Izzo and Donavan.

[gw67]

If I was looking to hire a new coach, I would start with Few and Crean. Few, because he continues to be competitive with kids that the big schools pass by, his players improve while they are at Gonzaga, he is recognized as an outstanding offensive coach and he has a great demeanor on the bench. Crean is similar and on top of that he has good pedigree (Izzo) and the folks around the USA basketball team of a couple of years ago were amazed by his attention to detail and work habits and raved about his basketball knowledge. They may be bad guys (I doubt it.) but picking from afar, those would be my choices if I were allowed to pick.

gw67

[Buckeye Devil]

let's hear some examples and we can debate them. now that royo and boeheim have their nc's, i'm not aware of any current guys with 4 final 4s and no ring.

I think the point is being missed with the Coach K 4 Final 4's point. I am not saying that there are coaches with that accomplishment, but simply that he would not have been on the list 17 years ago since he did not have a NC at that time.

My error was saying that a lot of great coaches would be excluded. For starters, I would put Howland there now, even if he doesn't win it all. He had great success at Pitt and now UCLA. I would put Thad Matta there now. He had a very near miss against Duke to get to the Final 4 in 2004 with Xavier and now has got there with OSU. He is a great recruiter, motivator, and game coach. I also am very impressed with John Thompson, Jr and the job he has done in resurrecting G'Town. Granted he is not there yet, but he soon will be, esp. if the Hoyas knock out the Heels today.

[dukie8]

I think the point is being missed with the Coach K 4 Final 4's point. I am not saying that there are coaches with that accomplishment, but simply that he would not have been on the list 17 years ago since he did not have a NC at that time.

My error was saying that a lot of great coaches would be excluded. For starters, I would put Howland there now, even if he doesn't win it all. He had great success at Pitt and now UCLA. I would put Thad Matta there now. He had a very near miss against Duke to get to the Final 4 in 2004 with Xavier and now has got there with OSU. He is a great recruiter, motivator, and game coach. I also am very impressed with John Thompson, Jr and the job he has done in resurrecting G'Town. Granted he is not there yet, but he soon will be, esp. if the Hoyas knock out the Heels today.

there is no way that howland and matta are on this short list...yet. all of the other guys have ncs, multiple final 4s appearances and have been in the business a long time. matta hasn't even played in a final 4 (it will change next weekend) and i question calling him a great game coach. he has fantastic players this year and, in several games in the year's ncaat against inferior opponents, his team has not shown up ready to play. moreover, he has the most dominating guy in college basketball who has been vanishing on offense until what seems like a lightbulb goes off and they realize in the middle of the 2nd half that they need to start banging it in to him.

howland probably is the closest to making that list. he has back-to-back final 4s and this year is a wip which may lead to a nc. there is no doubt that he is a great coach and my guess is that within 5 years he will be on the list without question. he just needs a little more time. don't forget that his team this year is very young and he could return everyone.

thompson is way too young and isn't even in the group just under this list...yet. even if gtown beats unc today (god, i hope they do) and gets to the final 4, that isn't enough to match what the other guys have done over 20+ years.

i can't stand calipari because of how arrogant and corrupt he is but he also is on the sub list and could get on this list over the next 5 to 10 years -- particularly if he goes to uk. who negotiates a clothing allowance in his contract with a university?

[dukie8]

I think we tend to lose track of how many other teams blow big leads on a regular basis in the Tourney. In the last round alone, Tennessee and USC did it. Vandy had a handy lead over Georgetown. Butler was up early on Tennessee.

As far as that Duke-UConn game goes, there's no way I can second-guess Coach K because I was actively first-guessing Jim Calhoun the minute he sat Okafor. Seriously, there were just some ridiculous calls in the second half -- particularly against Shav and Shel -- that killed Duke. Otherwise, Calhoun allowed his team to get down by such a margin that they had to play an almost perfect last three minutes (and catch a few breaks from Duke) to win. Seriously, if any number of 10 plays goes another way (Ewing doesn't ignore his transition D responsibility and chase a rebound in the corner, leaving Anderson open for a transition three, Deng doesn't hoise a quick shot, etc.), UConn loses. That's way too close a margin, with way too much lucky involved, to consider Calhoun's strategy superior. I loved the way Coach K went for the jugular, believe that Calhoun never did make up for Okafor's lost minutes despite his finishing the game against Horvath, and, as I said, find that to be one of the most frustrating losses I've ever witnessed as a Duke fan.

The 1999 game? You can take Coach K to task for that one and I won't argue much. I thought UConn's game plan was better and K didn't adjust well, and his end-game play (one-on-one with Trajan) was a very poor choice. But I love the job he did in the 2004 game, and will always be bitter that he wasn't rewarded for it with a win.

my biggest gripe with the 1999 game is that we had brand, by far the best player in the country, and he touched the ball so little on offense. he took 8 shots in the whole game and it wasn't like he was in foul trouble (he played 38 minutes). we did, however, hoist up 19 3-pointers. everyone remembers langdon trying to take moore off the dribble (which everyone knew wasn't his strength) but we never would have been in that situation if we had worked the ball in to brand more on offense and let him destroy voskuhl or whatever other goon they stuck on him.

[3rdgenDukie]

my biggest gripe with the 1999 game is that we had brand, by far the best player in the country, and he touched the ball so little on offense. he took 8 shots in the whole game and it wasn't like he was in foul trouble (he played 38 minutes). we did, however, hoist up 19 3-pointers. everyone remembers langdon trying to take moore off the dribble (which everyone knew wasn't his strength) but we never would have been in that situation if we had worked the ball in to brand more on offense and let him destroy voskuhl or whatever other goon they stuck on him.

The problem is that what the officials let Voskuhl and Freeman get away with against Brand would have been considered a felony in many states. They absolutely brutalized him. I remember one replay in which Voskuhl literally wrapped up Brand and threw him to the floor. Packer was trying to describe what happened and was just speechless. Contrast that with the way Okafor was protected five years later, and it makes the bile rise in my gut.

[BobbyFan]

my biggest gripe with the 1999 game is that we had brand, by far the best player in the country, and he touched the ball so little on offense. he took 8 shots in the whole game and it wasn't like he was in foul trouble (he played 38 minutes). we did, however, hoist up 19 3-pointers. everyone remembers langdon trying to take moore off the dribble (which everyone knew wasn't his strength) but we never would have been in that situation if we had worked the ball in to brand more on offense and let him destroy voskuhl or whatever other goon they stuck on him.

Calhoun had his PF come over to provide the hard double team. As powerful as Brand was, he couldn't overcome bodies of both Voskhul and Freeman. Battier was the beneficiary of the double teams, but he missed a few open shots as he was not yet the offensive player he would later become.

Coaching and strategy aside, the difference in the game was William Avery's poor performance. With Calhoun deciding to assign Moore to Langdon, Avery was free to exploit the defensively challenged El-Amin. For whatever reason, Avery was just completely out of rhythm and at times seemed clueless with the ball, as he never provided the offensive boost that Calhoun was clearly willing to concede.

If it weren't for Trajan's big performance (save for the last 2 possessions), the game wouldn't have been close.

[keithg]

"that's ridiculous. you are aware of whom he recently has lost to the nba draft? what is he supposed to do when he loses gay, boone and m williams early last year?"

at least what Roy did last year..after he lost Williams, McCants, Felton and May. I think Calhoun is overrated.