Dirty Dozen Coaches
by rjkarl on Feb 4, 2009 2:00 PM EST
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PrintRather than simply saying "Who are the best coaches in college basketball?" I am going to divide this into Best, Overrated and Best Young coaches.
BEST
1. Bo Ryan - There's no one I'd rather have coaching my team in a big game than Bo Ryan. Year in, year out, he gets more out of his talent than any coach in the country.
2. Rick Pitino - His style regarding shooting threes has changed the game. His teams always play hard. Most importantly his teams seem to peak at the right time each season.
3. Ben Howland - All he does is win and win big. He gets to the Final Four. His teams are among the most prepared in the country. His players buy into to his system and execute it well.
4. Mike Montgomery - What he did at Stanford prior to his failed NBA jaunt was nothing short of miraculous. It seems like he is doing the same thing at Cal.
MOST OVERRATED
1. Roy Williams - With the talent he has had at KU and UNC, he should have won several more NCAA titles.
2. Mike Brey - Every year ND is supposed to be the hot team. Every year they disappoint.
3. Jim Boehiem - One of the Top 6 recruiters of all time but a mediocre game coach. He gets great talent and plays the softest schedules of any major school.
4. Paul Hewitt -His star has waned. He isn't very good.
BEST YOUNG
1. Sean Miller - He's a great coach. He gets everything out of his talent. He'll be in a major conference for a very long time.
2. Scott Drew- What he's done at Baylor is nothing short of a miracle. He's destined for a much bigger job.
3. Anthony Grant - He's done very well at VCU. Let's see if he can do it on top.
4. Jeff Capel - He's brought OU back to the top. It looks like he'll keep them there.
Wright at Nova and Painter at Purdue are close to being on the lists.
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Great work
I think another guy I’d throw in the overrated pile is Rick Barnes. Stay with me on this, but Barnes has got to have more talent thrown in his lap than any other coach in America and he is never really able to do anything with it. He always chokes in the tournament and consistently gets some of the best players in the Big 12 (and often the nation).
He also doesn’t know how to coach the players he has—he has guys playing out of position (see-Daniel Gibson) and doing the things they aren’t necessarily best at doing. Sure he’s had success, but with the teams he’s had, I really believe he should have had more success.
As to Scott Drew: I’m with you on that one. Scott has always been one heck of a recruiter. It’s his personality; he is just a likeable, dynamic personality and when you are in a room with him, you tend to believe anything he tells you. If I was a recruit and I heard him tell me we could win the Big 12 at Baylor, with the genuine smile he has—I’d know he believes it, and I’d start to believe it too. His game-coaching needs work and always has; even when he was at Valpo he’d let his style dictate the game, even when the team wasn’t hitting shots. There are times this year (and last) when it would be better for Baylor to slow it down—but they are crippled by their style.
Bah da da da da da da da, Go Deacs.
I agree that Mike Montgomery doesn’t receive enough credit for the job he has done at Cal this year. This is a team that went 6-12 in conference last year, lost two of their starters to graduation, and now are a projected 7 seed in the big dance.
I would have liked to see Tony Bennett on the young coaches list, he really has no significant talent on that team from year to year, but Washington State always puts out a maximum effort on both ends of the floor.
I’m no fan of K, but look at Duke’s roster this year versus their record. I think he fits under the “best” category.
I also have to mention the lack of love for Hewitt. Very good recruiter, marginal practice coach, spotty bench coach….but he can develop players, and occasionally beats a team much better than his…
Go Deacs.
Roy Williams
Don’t feel like he’s overrated. Has quite a few final fours and almost never has a bad team. Winning only one championship shouldn’t be a knock. Dean Smith only has 2 and Knight has 3……
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