Of the more than 1,000 Division-I men’s basketball coaching hires of this century, which are the best?
This impossibly difficult and arbitrary exercise is not ranking the best coaches hired since 2000. It’s ranking the best hires, weighing, among other things, the program’s history, state of the program when the coach was hired, expectations, and, of course, the success of the coach.
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
Coaches are eligible for multiple selections, though there are no repeat coaches in the top 25. Several, including John Beilein, John Calipari, and Bill Self, were considered for two appearances. And only one program has multiple hires, though, again, several more were considered, including John Beilein and Bob Huggins (West Virginia), and Jamie Dixon and Kevin Stallings (Pittsburgh).
Gotcha. Pittsburgh’s hire of Kevin Stallings, which proved to be one of the worst hires of the last two decades, is light years away from this list.
MORE: Projecting Lost Tourney Money
Twenty of the 25 are active college basketball coaches, 17 of whom are active at the program for which they made the list (e.g. John Calipari, Kentucky), leaving three active coaches at programs for which they didn’t make the list (e.g. Rick Pitino, Louisville).
No coach hired in the last four years (2017-2020) made the list, and only three coaches hired after 2010 made the list, all of whom were hired in the 2016 cycle. The most popular year is 2007, during which five of the top-25 coaches were hired, only three of whom are still active college basketball coaches.
The top 25 college basketball head coach hires since Jan. 1, 2000:
25. Tommy Amaker
Harvard (2007)
Before Tommy Amaker arrived in Cambridge in 2007, Harvard basketball had one 20-win season and one NCAA Tournament appearance in more than a century of existence.
Amaker won 21 games in his third year and reached the tourney in year five, the first of four straight berths. He’s done the impossible at Harvard.
24. Steve Pikiell
Rutgers (2016)
Steve Pikiell didn’t officially lead Rutgers to their first NCAA Tournament since 1991…but Steve Pikiell did lead Rutgers to their first NCAA Tournament since 1991.
After building Stony Brook from a Divison-I newbie into a four-time conference regular-season champion, Pikiell is doing what his five predecessors couldn’t at Rutgers: Win.
23. LeVelle Moton
NC Central (2009)
The most underrated coach in American sports, LeVelle Moton should be a household name nationally. Instead, he’s a household name in the MEAC.
He’s rejected interest from other programs who could comfortably double or triple his salary to remain at his alma mater, where he’s won three MEAC regular-season titles and four MEAC Tournament titles.
22. Leonard Hamilton
Florida State (2002)
Every Florida State coach from 1966-2002 made the NCAA Tournament within his first two seasons. Leonard Hamilton didn’t make the dance until year seven. It took Hamilton time to get rolling, but the once-journeyman coach is now rolling entering his 19th season.
21. Mark Turgeon
Wichita State (2000)
Wichita State from 1989-2000: 127-188 overall, 72-120 in conference play, and zero NCAA Tournament berths.
Wichita State since plucking Mark Turgeon from Jacksonville State in 2000: 459-211 overall, 240-120 in conference play, and eight NCAA Tournament berths. And that’s including 9-19 in his first season.
Gregg Marshall deserves an infinite amount of credit for post-2007 Wichita State but it was Turgeon, who over six seasons, initially transformed the downtrodden program into a mid-major power.
20. Mike Brey
Notre Dame (2000)
Fifty-one regular-season wins and three tourney whiffs over the last three years has put some heat on Mike Brey. Recent struggles, however, don’t cloud a Hall of Fame résumé.
In the 10 seasons before Brey’s arrival, Notre Dame averaged 14 wins, had one 20-win season, didn’t finish above .500 in conference play (since joining the Big East in 1995), and had zero tourney appearances.
In 20 years, Brey is averaging 22 wins with 15 20-win seasons and 12 tourney appearances.
19. Dana Altman
Oregon (2010)
Like others on this list, off-the-court issues complicate Dana Altman’s legacy.
On the court at Oregon, he’s delivered unprecedented success and stability to a program that imploded during Ernie Kent’s final years.
18. Dave Rose
BYU (2005)
BYU lost to San Diego in the quarterfinals of the 2019 Mountain West Tournament to end its season. Days later, head coach Dave Rose announced his retirement after 14 seasons.
That loss to San Diego cost the Cougars a 20th win on the season. Had they won one more game, Dave Rose would’ve won at least 20 games in each of his 14 seasons. Instead, he’s just a four-time conference champion with 301 Division-I wins and four NCAA Tournament wins (over eight appearances).
17. Chris Beard
Texas Tech (2016)
Chris Beard bounced around these rankings more than any other coach. If 2019 was any indication, he could be one of the best hires in college basketball history. For now, Texas Tech might have a rare lifetime head coach who’s rewriting program history.
16. Matt Painter
Purdue (2005)
Only 14 active coaches have more NCAA Tournament wins than Matt Painter, who’s 15-12 in 12 appearances, the last 11 at his alma mater.
Gene Keady built the Purdue program but went just 73-79 with one tourney appearance in his final five years, leaving behind a rebuild job for Matt Painter, who needed just one season to return to the tournament and win 20 games.
15. Thad Matta
Ohio State (2004)
This wasn’t a difficult hire for Ohio State, but that doesn’t make it any less fantastic for a program reeling from Jim O’Brien’s controversial dismissal.
Ohio State had spurts of success in the decades prior to Matta’s arrival from Xavier but never were the Buckeyes reeling off 30-win seasons and fighting for Final Four berths.
14. Jamie Dixon
Pittsburgh (2003)
Ben Howland laid the foundation for Pittsburgh’s resurgence but it was Jamie Dixon who built the Panthers into an annual championship contender.
Dixon broke the program record for wins in his first season (31-5) and tied it again five years later. He delivered the program’s first-ever 1-seed (2009) and did it again two years later.
And then Pittsburgh kicked Jamie Dixon to the curb so they could hire Kevin Stallings.
13. Bob Huggins
West Virginia (2007)
Similarly to Ben Howland at Pittsburgh, John Beilein laid the foundation at West Virginia before Bob Huggins built a skyscraper at his alma mater.
Huggins has nearly as many tournament appearances (nine) as his four predecessors combined (10) and is the only coach in program history to reach three Sweet Sixteens in four years.
12. Randy Bennett
Saint Mary’s (2001)
Hired two years after longtime conference foe Mark Few, Randy Bennett hasn’t flirted with Final Four contention as often as Few but has 440 wins in 19 seasons, including at least 20 in each of the last 13 seasons.
Often mentioned as a potential candidate elsewhere, where he could earn more than six figures, Bennett has led the tiny school to seven tourney appearances and three tourney wins since 2004.
11. Rick Pitino
Louisville (2001)
Often mentioned as the best coach in America (when he’s actually coaching), Rick Pitino battled several off-the-court controversies during 16 highly successful seasons at Louisville before finally meeting his demise in 2017.
He inherited a storied but tired program from Denny Crum in 2001 and brought immediate success and stability, winning at least 20 games each year and winning the Cardinals’ third national championship.
10. John Beilein
Michigan (2007)
Bill Frieder and Steve Fisher won big at Michigan. Brian Ellerbe and Tommy Amaker did not, leading Michigan basketball through a decade of mediocrity before the Wolverines plucked John Beilein from West Virginia in 2007.
He won 21 games in year two, reached the national championship in years six and eight and left Michigan in 2019 with 278 wins over 13 years.
9. Bill Self
Kansas (2003)
Bill Self has done a lot at Kansas: Fourteen straight Big 12 regular-season titles, one national championship, three Final Fours, and (with the 2020 tournament) 17 straight top-four tourney seeds. Could another coach have done that at Kansas?
That’s the impossible question for Self and others at blue-blood programs. And I don’t know the answer, which leaves him below other blue-blood coaches who’ve had more tournament success…
8. John Calipari
Kentucky (2009)
…like John Calipari, whose Memphis hiring came one spot shy of making the list, too.
Calipari is averaging more than 30 wins at Kentucky and reached four Final Fours in five years, something no other college basketball coach has done this century.
7. Roy Williams
North Carolina (2003)
…and like Roy Williams.
North Carolina’s academic scandal complicates Roy Williams’ legacy, though the results are undeniable as Williams ignited his sleeping giant alma mater with five Final Fours and three national championships.
In the two years prior to Williams’ return to Chapel Hill, his alma mater won just 27 total games and had a two-year tourney drought for the first time in 1973-74.
6. Scott Drew
Baylor (2003)
Scott Drew could’ve reeled off 20-win seasons and NCAA Tournament appearances at Valpo while waiting for a strong offer. Instead, he took a tough Baylor job in August 2003, three months before the season started and two months after the murder of Baylor basketball player Patrick Dennehy.
At the time, Baylor had one tourney appearance in the expanded era and only one 20-win season in 60 years. Seventeen years later, Baylor has won at least 20 games in 11 of the last 13 years and was on their way to a ninth tourney appearance under Drew.
5. Bo Ryan
Wisconsin (2001)
Wisconsin basketball sucked for a long time. Years of sucking.
Decades, actually, of sucking before Stu Jackson led them to 18 wins and the NCAA Tournament in 1994, their first tourney appearance since 1947. Dick Bennett had some success in the late 1990s and reached the Final Four in 2000 but it wasn’t until Bo Ryan’s arrival in 2001 that Wisconsin basketball became the picture of consistency.
The former longtime Division-III coach didn’t miss a tourney in his 15 years, leading the Badgers to a top-six seed 11 times.
4. Brad Stevens
Butler (2007)
Butler played in back-to-back national championships. That’s not talked about enough.
The Bulldogs were good before Brad Stevens was promoted to replace Todd Lickliter in 2007 but they weren’t contending for national championships until shortly after the first-time head coach took over.
3. Gregg Marshall
Wichita State (2007)
Wichita State might have their Mark Few in Gregg Marshall, one of the most sought-after coaches in college basketball who’s rejected advances from bigger programs with, arguably, more potential.
To Wichita State’s credit, their commitment with upgraded facilities and salary bumps for Marshall and his staff have made it easier for the future Hall of Famers to turn down other opportunities.
2. Jay Wright
Villanova (2001)
Villanova had a nice run under Rollie Massimino in the ’80s and earned three straight top-four tourney seeds under Steve Lappas in the ’90s but they stumbled through several seasons in between and after; six tourney whiffs in 10 years before Jay Wright was hired away from Hofstra in March 2001.
Wright, one of only three coaches in the last 45 years to win two national championships in three years (Billy Donovan, MIke Krzyzkewski), has dominated the Big East for most of the last decade.
1. Tony Bennett
Virginia (2009)
I first played fantasy football as a 10-year-old in 1998. It was a six-man year-long rotisserie league without computers. After we drafted 20-player teams, the league commissioner, a friend’s dad, drafted 20-player team with the leftovers like Tim Biakabutuka and Kevin Faulk. He didn’t win the league but competed.
Tony Bennett wouldn’t just compete; he would win the damn league.
Bennett is the guy who could win at Alcorn State or Tennessee Tech with a bunch of leftovers. Tony Bennett could win at any program with any players.
