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November 3, 2009
While reading the Athlon 2009-2010 College Basketball Preview magazine, I came across this sentence: “The nation’s hottest coach has become high priest at one of the game’s most venerable cathedrals.”
The identity of the “nation’s hottest coach”? According to Athlon, it’s Kentucky’s John Calipari. A few years ago, Billy Donovan had a two-year reign as college basketball’s “hottest coach.” Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski had a long run at the top, John Wooden a longer one.
Usually, though, it’s a title with a high turnover rate.
UConn’s Jim Calhoun, Georgetown’s John Thompson and Jim Boeheim of Syracuse battled for Big East supremacy through the years. Thompson retired in ‘92 and the finish line is too close for Calhoun and Boeheim to join the ranks of “hottest” coaches. Rick Pitino’s sex scandal bumps him out of consideration, at least for a while. Pitt’s Jamie Dixon lacks a Final Four appearance. Purdue’s Matt Painter could get one this year and join the list. Dixon’s former boss, Ben Howland of UCLA, has the record for winning and great tradition to help him on the recruiting trail, but Howland doesn’t have the gift of working the TV cameras as well as most elite coaches. His televised NCAA Tournament press conferences reveal his obsessively controlling nature. Rick Barnes consistently keeps Texas in the running but lacks sizzle.
Tom Crean made the list when at Marquette, but takes a hiatus while refurbishing an Indiana program that had reached the depths. His name will reappear when the Hoosiers return to the national radar.
The criteria for listing the “hottest” coaches in college basketball could be summed up by answering two questions: 1. What man would you want heading your basketball program starting today? 2. What man would you least want in charge of your most hated rival?
The 10 hottest college basketball coaches:
1. Bill Self (Kansas): Gets the nod over runner-up because of comeback victory in 2008 title game and wooing Xavier Henry to Lawrence.
2. John Calipari (Kentucky): Best college basketball coach without a national title could contend for one in his first season in Lexington.
3. Roy Williams (North Carolina): Two national titles since moving to Chapel Hill and showing no signs of aging.
4. Tom Izzo (Michigan State): Could make it six Final Four appearances in his 15th season. Despite all the success, he doesn’t appear to have a conceited bone in his body, a big plus while recruiting in living rooms.
5. Mike Krzyzewski (Duke): Not quite recruiting the talent he once did but should be rejuvenated by bringing the Olympic gold medal back home.
6. Jay Wright (Villanova): Debonair nice guy can really recruit the New York City area.
7. Billy Donovan (Florida): It’s so difficult to stay on top. Consecutive titles were followed by consecutive NIT appearances.
8. Anthony Grant (Alabama): Made a name for himself coaching Virginia Commonwealth to an NCAA Tournament victory against Duke in 2007 and the name has grown ever since.
9. Sean Miller (Arizona): Seems like just yesterday that he was a 14-year-old ball-handling prodigy blowing away Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show. It’s on YouTube. Isn’t everything?
10. Bruce Pearl (Tennessee): Not afraid to show madcap personality, which draws him plenty of national media attention.
Comments
MOHAWK91 (anonymous) says...
You could have said that Calipari is the best college coach without a Final Four apperance. Maybe he will get one to stick at Kentucky.
November 3, 2009 at 8:39 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
klineisanazi (anonymous) says...
How could Roy not be ranked above Cal? He should probably be ranked number one.
Does anyone doubt he will win at least one more at Carolina?
November 3, 2009 at 8:52 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
plasticJHawk (anonymous) says...
I was wondering when mention of Jay Wright would come up. He was larger than life a few years ago.
November 3, 2009 at 9 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
OmaHawk88 (anonymous) says...
I agree with klineisanazi--Roy has back to back Final Fours with a national championship; and his 2005 championship is likely still fresh in the minds of many recruits. Cal certainly hasn't reached that level.
November 3, 2009 at 9:15 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
KUGuyInTarheelLand (anonymous) says...
Haha mohawk. Priceless. I tip my hat to you sir.
November 3, 2009 at 9:36 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
sanchez (anonymous) says...
Interesting that you would hold Pitino's scandals against him, but not Self's. The Kansas off-season has been terrible, maybe worse than Louisville's, and had he not won the Championship game, you could reason that his Final Four would be wiped out. Darrell Arthur and Derrick Rose were in the same boat, but the NCAA isn't going to wipe away a title.
November 3, 2009 at 9:57 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
KUFan90 (anonymous) says...
Sean Miller? Over someone like a Rick Barnes? I don't think so.
November 3, 2009 at 10:02 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
daverinoku (anonymous) says...
Hottest College Basketball Coach?
Sherri Coales of Oklahoma, hands down (or maybe "hands on")
November 3, 2009 at 10:06 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
PikesPeakSmitty (anonymous) says...
Nice post Daver.... after an internet search, she just edges out Jay Wright's slicked back hair for hottest coach!
Love the post Mohawk.
I agree w/ you all... coach Roy #1, that is, until after this March and KU wins it again!
10 days til season tip-off.... unless Hofstra forfeits after studying our lineup.
November 3, 2009 at 10:20 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jwliddell (anonymous) says...
sanchez, what scandals has Self been involved in??
November 3, 2009 at 10:38 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
wissoxfan83 (anonymous) says...
Lists like these are so subjective, but I'll put in my two cents worth.
Roy #1 An overwhelming obvious choice.
Self #2 Needs some more successful years to pass Roy
Izzo #3 Many outside the Big 10 don't realize what a great consistent coach he is.
Coach K #4 His amazing long run of success overshadows his very recent failures.
Donovan #5 Back to back NT's.
November 3, 2009 at 10:49 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Rock_Chalk_25 (anonymous) says...
sanchez...you are an idiot. Can you really believe our off-season was worse than Louisville's? Their coach slept with another woman (while married), kept it quiet for 6 years by using hush money, and possibly created an elaborate scheme to have his one of his staff members marry this woman to keep her at bay.
What did our coach do in the off-season? Keep the most important piece of our NC puzzle intact by swaying the Henry's to come and stay in Lawrence and he diligently worked to put the brawls behind everyone and in the rear-view mirror. Plus, can we really blame HCBS for a testosterone-feuled fight between two star athletes when he was hundreds of miles away at the time? I think that future recruits (and hopefully future Hawks') will see that the Pitino's and Calipari's are capable of making you just as good as player as Self but only half the man. Their expertise lies only with basketball (plus selling used cars and sexing up randon women I guess), while OUR coach is renowned for his ability to coach in aspects in life other than basketball. That is why Bill Self is hottest coach in America--besides Sherri Coales daverinoku...lol
November 3, 2009 at 10:57 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ttoulouse (anonymous) says...
sanchez - I don't think the NCAA would hesitate to take away a title, and 2008 would have been interesting if that were the case. But you're basically saying that the NCAA "picked" KU by investigating Rose instead of Arthur?? Dumb.
And the issues in this off season weren't related to Self, it was dumb players making dumb decisions. Pitino's issues were HIM being dumb. Plus they happened a decade ago, so I doubt current players really could care less unless it affects his status at Louisville.
November 3, 2009 at 11:02 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
reubend (anonymous) says...
One might argue that Pitino's sex scandal puts him higher in consideration, not out of it altogether.
November 3, 2009 at 11:11 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Maxhawk (anonymous) says...
Roy is number 1 by a wide margin and after that it's a toss up
Self is in that second tier somewhere.
November 3, 2009 at 11:21 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
beakem_in_LA (anonymous) says...
"The criteria for listing the “hottest” coaches in college basketball could be summed up by answering two questions: 1. What man would you want heading your basketball program starting today?"
If that's question #1 (presumably the most important piece of criteria to consider), I'm not putting Calipari anywhere close to the top of this list. Yes, he gets talent and wins a lot of games with said talent. But of all the players he's coached how many of them, according to the NCAA, have been to a Final Four? Of all the games he's won at Memphis and UMass how many Final Four appearances (again, according to the NCAA) have his teams made?
It's one thing to have good, solid, winning seasons like the many 30+ win seasons we had with late 90s Roy and not make a Final Four because of the many enjoyable wins before March. But sometimes with Cal, even those wins, and the entire season gets erased.
Why start an entire program with a cheater whose accomplishments get nullified by King NCAA, time after time (literally)?
November 3, 2009 at 11:31 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jayhawkerjoel (anonymous) says...
Sanchez is a troll.
His posting skill is limited to dropping Baby Ruth chocolate bars into our swimming pool.
He wants you to be Bill Murray and take a bite out of what he left.
For the sake of the children, please make KUsports.com a "No Troll Feeding Zone."
November 3, 2009 at 11:37 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
rawkhawk (anonymous) says...
Self's team recently beat Roy's team. At one point 40-12. Self should deserve higher honors at this point in time...
November 3, 2009 at 12:35 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
waywardJay (anonymous) says...
Well Wait a minute......
Roy could have had 3 in 4 years had he not run into a buzz saw in Kansas, did we forget that ???
I have no problem with the line up because part of coaching is recruiting and Self is mowing Roy Down in that catergory..... Kline asked if any of us Doubt roy will get another at UNC..... I think he's done. His style has gone Passe, and people are more emulating self's game than Roy's anymore.....
In this respect, the top 2 are correct.... It's BIll and Jon and the rest of the party right now.... i think I might bring Jay Wright into the mix if he knocks Jon or Bill off this year..... Our Past history playing against Jay's teams has not been the best..... remember the Egg we layed and the game Lowry punched one of our guys in the stones ?
bill, jon, tom Jay and then roy's how i would have the top 5.... but that's just me
November 3, 2009 at 1:30 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
drgnslayr (anonymous) says...
I don't care who the "hottest" is... I care who the "best" is.... and that is clearly Coach Self!
Fires burn out quickly. Only takes a drunk to pee on 'em. "Hottest" is a great title for a "flash in the pan." Unzip your trousers fellas and aim at Calipari!
November 3, 2009 at 2:46 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Firebirdguy31 (anonymous) says...
"dirty" sanchez doesn't know what he's talking about. He's probably a Mizzery fan with no life reading/posting on KUsports because there's nothing to read on the Tigger website.
November 3, 2009 at 3:25 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
phognasty (anonymous) says...
Roy is by far #1. 3 final fours in 4 years with 2 national championships. No one can match those numbers as of recently. If Self can lead the Hawks to another title this year, i think that puts him @ #1. Calipari has ZERO final fours to his credit. Left 2 schools in violation and somehow manages the #2 spot above Roy. Thats rediculous. It goes Roy, Self, Izzo..... and everybody else.
November 3, 2009 at 3:30 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
NavyHawk (anonymous) says...
It's difficult and truly subjective to pick a number one from the elite coaches in this group. Kind of like comparing cars or motorcycles, no matter what the numbers say the final choice is left to the individual buyer.
Bill's (.81/.81) record at KU is better than Roy's (.80/.78) overall/conference won/loss. Roy's record at UNC is (.83/.75) overall/conference. Throw out Bill's record at ORU and Tulsa (two lesser quality Div 1 schools) and Bill's overall won/loss record at Illinois and KU is .79 (throw out ORU and it's still .78) to Roy's overall .81 at KU/UNC. Roy has two National titles at UNC, Bill has one title at KU but the 2004 Illinois team he recruited went 37-2 the year he came to KU and lost in the Championship game that year. Could he have won it all with that team had he not come to KU? To our benefit we'll never know, however; it showed early on that Bill Self could truly recruit great talent!
As a Kansas fan I pick Coach Bill Self as number one coach in college basketball!
rcjhgku
November 3, 2009 at 3:49 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
cap10d (anonymous) says...
Athlon is crazy. I'd take Self over any of them, but yes Roy should be #1 and Self #2 and Izzo #3. Just something else for the Kentucky fans to talk sh!t about. Its kinda funny that Memphis fans thought so highly of Cal till he left and now UK fans are the same way. They actually think they are going to win it all this year. Was reading some posts on espn when preseason All-Americans were announced and all they could talk about was Cole and Sherron dont deserve to be there and Wall does.Man I wish UK was on the schedule. Hell I doubt they even win their league. Talk about overrated.
November 3, 2009 at 4:22 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
OakvilleJHawk (anonymous) says...
I think there should be a difference between the "hottest" coach and the coach with the most sustained success. Flash in the pans can be the hottest coach.....the greats have sustained excellence.
Quite frankly, how can you argue with Roy's 7 Final Four appearances and 2 NC's???? This is over a span of 21 seasons. I think Coach Self is beginning the cycle that Roy may be nearing the end of. But unlike coach K and others, Roy has 3 FF's and 2 NC's in the last, what...5 or 6 years??
At least two more NC's and numerous FF's are in HCBS's future, if he wants it.
November 3, 2009 at 5:06 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
kvskubball (anonymous) says...
cap10d...
Same stuff over at CBS Sports...
I try to tell them that UK's team this year is much more like KU's team from LAST year, and that it is a reasonable expectation for them to achieve a Sweet 16 birth, and most of them go bonkers and start talking smack, like you mentioned. They are going to be seriously Debbie downers if their team flames-out early!
November 3, 2009 at 5:42 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
kvskubball (anonymous) says...
My list of 'hottest' coaches?
1 Roy Williams - you're the hottest until you lose it, and he hasn't lost it, as his recruiting indicates - still rolling on up to the top!
2 Bill Self - taking a team to the final four is great, Roy's done that at two different places, but both places are expected to be there and have the recruiting clout that makes it a definite possibility, but Coach Self has taken 3 different teams to the Elite 8, and got the tri-fecta two years ago, breaking through to the FF and winning the NC in one fell swoop. Then last year's National COY, and taking a re-tooled team within a 5 minute stretch of advancing to another Elite 8, and having this year's team primed to take a shot at all the trophies available, and if he does... all the sudden he has the same number of NC's that Roy and Dean have and just one short of achieving Super-Star Coaching status, IMO. Three national titles is the bomb!
3 From here, it is really a flavor of the month/year....
One title Izzo has been hot and seems to be primed to continue to be.....So I give him an edge over Two Title Calhoun -who seems just short of malingering like Bobby Bowden (OK, not that bad - but not 'hot' anymore) and Three Title Coach K - who seems ready to get some sizzle back if he can get some players to stick around for more than a year. Donovan at UF, needs to rediscover his sizzle...he hasn't been able to find enough studs that want to work hard enough since he won his second title!
Then the next group are the 'gotta gets', they aren't really 'hot' yet because they haven't won the whole canole. Howland - 3 FF's in a row...but never more than a bridesmaid...Jay Wright is amping the sizzle meter, but let's see what he does the year after reaching his first FF...Barnes at Texas is keeping the burner warm, but needs another trip back to the FF to amp it up to being 'hot' at anything other than recruiting! and of course Paper-Clip, who's 2 Final Fours are like a mirage or seem to have been achieved with smoke and mirrors! He's definitely a media darling and recruits kids great, and won a lot of games in a middle-class conference...With success at UK, which will probably come, then he joins the group above. Pearl is IMO, perhaps the best coach to not make the Elite 8. I think he can win bigger and amp the meter. I'd take him over Paper-Clip because while they both are over-marketed, Pearl strikes me as the more 'honest' salesman, if there is such a thing!
November 3, 2009 at 6:19 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
kvskubball (anonymous) says...
And to finish my ideas about hot coaches...
IMO, everyone else is over-rated if you think they have any real sizzle factor! Pitt's Dixon is a very good coach, but hasn't made the FF...Grant???? What has he done? The media goes all ape-out over him, but no real accomplishments to-date. How many NCAA tourney games has he won??? Few - he's reached his glass ceiling at Gonzaga, or at least it seems that way... Sean Miller is a potential gem, but he's only been to I think one Elite 8...
Coaches we seem to have forgotten???
Tubby Smith...one NC and doing good things, not great yet at Minnesota...
Matt Painter...not a 'sexy' pick, but a very good coach, who could get Purdue to it's first FF in what seems like forever....but hasn't gotten past two Sweet 16's yet.
Paul Hewitt at GTech might see his star go back into ascendency if he can lead a talented group to a deep NCAA title run, to add to his previous FF (That was a KU - Ouch)
Remember this NAME: Brad Stevens at Butler - he has All-Star Coach written all over him, but right now, he's just like a hot-shot high school graduate - He's all potential, now he's got a team that will give us a chance to see if he's really got "IT", and how much he does have.
Another coach who is doing a great job where he is, but wouldn't be mentioned on many of these lists is Fran McCaffery at Siena - he's been 'small' school all the way, but has been to two tournaments in a row and will probably make it 3 in a row. He's won a game in each of those two tourneys. Hey, I'm not hot-shot super stud looking guy and so I have a 'soft spot' in my heart for guys like McCaffery who have to BE better than the competition because he's not likely to be able to 'out sell' them!
Rock Chalk!
How about some up and coming Big 12 coaches for the 'early sizzle factor group' -
Mike Anderson at MissedYou took his team to the Elite 8 as did
The Dookie trained coach at OU who is doing so well, and is definitely 'hot' in the recruiting wars... Jeff Capel is doing good things....
November 3, 2009 at 6:20 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
mizzousucks89 (anonymous) says...
thirty five minutes!!!!!!!!
November 3, 2009 at 6:25 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
memhawk (anonymous) says...
If anybody considers Cal "hot", I've got a comparison. Ever seen a pile of fresh, steaming cow manure that has just been dropped? You know the kind, with the flies buzzing around just lying there in a field. That's the kind of "hot" I'm talking about!
November 3, 2009 at 6:34 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
mizzousucks89 (anonymous) says...
http://www.justin.tv/sremlahc10
pass = phog
November 3, 2009 at 6:41 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Jaminrawk (anonymous) says...
Really happy to see Anthony Grant listed. Loved the way he coached at VCU and as a Donovan apprentice, he is going to be dangerous in his return to the SEC at Alabama.
November 3, 2009 at 11:31 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )