Bob Huggins
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ChongoChingi
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Maybe the most underrated football coach
AdaSooner
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Not by me. Huggins' body of work at the Univ. of Cincy., K-State and WVU easily puts him in my top 3 or 4 in the Big 12 and top 15 to 20 or so nationally. He has taken his teams to the NCAA tourney 20 of the last 23 season, with two final four appearances during that time.
He made his mark at the University of Cincinnati. That's where I developed an interest in his style of coaching. Most of his teams were so physical and tough, no one wanted to play them, especially on their own floor. He proved himself again at K-State. Now he's doing it at WVU, only his style has changed somewhat to more of a full court pressing team than he used when he was at the U of Cincy.
I haven't given this much thought. I just can't imagine more than two or three coaches in the Big 12 I would rank above Huggins. Self and Kruger come immediately to mind. Tubby Smith ranks pretty high with me too. Beyond that, there is no one else. Certainly not Ford, Drew, Johnson, Weber, Prohm or even Smart. Athlons ranking Shaka Smart ahead of Huggins in their pre-season publication was an absolute joke. They ranked him ahead of LK too. Smart is a good coach, but he hasn't accomplished enough in my mind to put him in the top three of the Big 12.
He made his mark at the University of Cincinnati. That's where I developed an interest in his style of coaching. Most of his teams were so physical and tough, no one wanted to play them, especially on their own floor. He proved himself again at K-State. Now he's doing it at WVU, only his style has changed somewhat to more of a full court pressing team than he used when he was at the U of Cincy.
I haven't given this much thought. I just can't imagine more than two or three coaches in the Big 12 I would rank above Huggins. Self and Kruger come immediately to mind. Tubby Smith ranks pretty high with me too. Beyond that, there is no one else. Certainly not Ford, Drew, Johnson, Weber, Prohm or even Smart. Athlons ranking Shaka Smart ahead of Huggins in their pre-season publication was an absolute joke. They ranked him ahead of LK too. Smart is a good coach, but he hasn't accomplished enough in my mind to put him in the top three of the Big 12.
stormspencer
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Totally agree with you on Huggins. I can't stand his style of play, but there is no question regarding his success and effectiveness throughout his career. He's been a winner everywhere he has been.
As for Shaka, I'm not saying he's a bad coach or anything, but he built his reputation with one magical run in the NCAA tournament in 2011. His next four NCAA appearances, he went 2-4 (0-2 in last two appearances). And I would bet most people didn't know that he never even won a regular season conference title while at VCU. I think he's a good coach, but runs somewhat of a "gimmick" system that will not translate very well nor consistently in power conferences. More importantly, I definitely do NOT think he was an upgrade over Rick Barnes at Texas.
Smart is the Texas coach and if you are going to sell a lot of magazines, you pump up Texas as much as possible.
AdaSooner
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I realize that. I'm just saying I don't buy what Athlons is trying to sell. I doubt if anyone outside of the Texas Longhorns are buying it either, which doesn't do much for Athlons' reputation nationally. Not that it was ever that great. I have picked up a copy on occasion off of the newsstand on over the years, mainly because it's one of the first publications available.
DenverSooner
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I don't disagree with your conclusions on Smart but I think one great run and 2-4 from a kid major program is actually really good. The power five teams virtually always have a talent advantage over the mid majors. Those schools are typically an underdog in the first round and at best a slight favorite. They rarely get top seeds were the first round is a gimme.
I know many disagree but I personally believe a coach that s consistently getting to the Tournament is a good coach. I think a lot of coaches could win big at Kentucky, Duke and Kansas but I am not sure every respected coach could win at a mid major. When I say this I am not saying coaches would necessarily do as well as Coach K r Self just that it is not all that hard to win 20 games and make the Tournament at some schools.
stormspencer
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I agree with your thoughts on getting to the tournament consistently and how that achievement is somewhat under-valued by many fanbases. And I do think Smart is a good coach. But I think his reputation may in part be the product of playing in a weaker conference. And in his last two NCAA appearances, VCU was the higher seed and the favorite.....and lost.
And I still don't think he is an upgrade over Rick Barnes.
Wait you blame Shaka for not winning his NCAA tournament games when Barnes couldn't even make it?
stormspencer
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I beg your pardon....check the stats before you post. Barnes made the tournament 16/17 seasons at Texas. And he took Texas to (2) Sweet 16s, two Elite 8s and to the round of 32 five times. He also lost to the eventual National Champion twice....maybe more because I didn't research that far back.
Foolish post.:facepalm
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