Columbia Tribune ranks Kruger third among Big 12 coaches

[OUHoops]

http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2011/jul/17/new-coaches-all-with-ties-to-league-seek-place-in/

New coaches, all with ties to league, seek place in Big 12

By Steve Walentik

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Four new coaches were welcomed into the Big 12 Conference as the annual coaching carousel spun around this spring.

Or maybe they were welcomed back. All four had ties to the league or one of its members before they were hired. Texas Tech Coach Billy Gillispie was credited with raising Texas A&M to national prominence before leaving for Kentucky back in 2007. Missouri Coach Frank Haith spent three years as Rick Barnes’ top assistant before he got his first chance to be a head coach at Miami, and he was also on the staff at Texas A&M when the conference came into existence in the 1996-97 season.

Oklahoma’s Lon Kruger never worked in the Big 12 before, but Kruger did spend four seasons on the bench at league member Kansas State in the late 1980s. Similarly, Texas A&M’s Billy Kennedy served as an assistant coach at the school when it was a member of the Southwest Conference in the early 1990s.

They have joined a fraternity of coaches, led by Kansas’ Bill Self and Texas’ Rick Barnes, that is among the most accomplished in the country.

Here’s a ranking of Big 12 coaches, new and old:

1. Bill Self, Kansas: It’s impossible to put anybody but Self atop this list. Not only has the 48-year-old led his team to at least a share of the Big 12 regular-season title in each of the past seven seasons, but he’s the only coach in league history to guide his team to a national title. Those accomplishments outweigh a few forgettable upset losses in the NCAA Tournament. His winning percentage, .746 for his career, goes up to .837 when one considers only his tenure in Lawrence, and he’s gone 107-21 in Big 12 play. Self does have one of his more daunting coaching jobs ahead this season after losing twin forwards Markieff and Marcus Morris early to the NBA.

2. Rick Barnes, Texas: There were plenty of people willing to criticize Barnes as the Longhorns slipped into a tie for sixth in the Big 12 standings in 2010, but the 56-year-old reminded how good he is when he guided a young Texas squad, led by sophomore Jordan Hamilton and freshman Tristan Thompson, to a 13-3 conference record and second-place showing this season. UT finished 28-8 overall. Barnes has now coached in 16 straight NCAA Tournaments, 13 of them at Texas. He’s going to have to restock the roster after losing Thompson, Hamilton and freshman Cory Joseph early to the NBA, but that’s nothing new for Barnes, who has made Austin a preferred college choice for elite basketball talent.

3. Lon Kruger, Oklahoma: The 58-year-old Kruger joins Self and Barnes as the only coach in the Big 12 to have led a team to the Final Four. He guided Florida there in 1994. He’s also steered Kansas State, Illinois and UNLV to the NCAA Tournament, making him one of eight coaches to lead four different teams into college basketball’s signature event. Kruger made four NCAA appearances in seven years at UNLV and averaged more than 25 victories over his last five years. It could take him a little while to turn things around in Norman, as the Sooners are coming off a 14-18 season that saw them go 5-11 in Big 12 play. There is some young talent on the roster, led by junior Andrew Fitzgerald and sophomore Cameron Clark, but Oklahoma doesn’t have a lot of depth.

4. Frank Martin, Kansas State: There were surely people who doubted if Martin would still be coaching the Wildcats by now when he inherited the program from Bob Huggins back in 2007 — and not because they figured he’d have landed a better gig. His hiring was seen as a move to keep Huggins’ highly ranked recruiting class, led by Michael Beasley, intact, and it worked. But Beasley only helped the Wildcats to one NCAA Tournament. The 45-year-old Martin’s now been to two more without him and has won at least 21 games in every season in Manhattan. The Wildcats have lost Jacob Pullen on the court and ace assistant — and recruiter — Dalonte Hill from the bench, so Martin will have his work cut out for him keeping K-State near the top of the Big 12 hierarchy.

5. Billy Gillispie, Texas Tech: Gillispie’s tenure at Kentucky was a time Wildcats fans would like to forget. The program went 18-13 in his first season and missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 17 years during his second, after which he was unceremoniously fired. Gillispie was arrested for drunken driving — his third such arrest — the next August and a month later entered an alcohol rehabilitation program. Those events make it easy to forget how successful he had been reviving programs at UTEP and Texas A&M, which he led to the Sweet 16 in 2007. The two years away from the college game might have helped Gillispie get things in order, and the 51-year-old will surely feel more comfortable being back in his native Texas. He might be the perfect man to resuscitate the Red Raiders, who have only made one NCAA trip in the past six years.

6. Scott Drew, Baylor: Drew continues to attract elite prospects to Waco, Texas, with top-10 recruit Quincy Miller headlining the crop of newcomers joining heralded sophomore Perry Jones III on this season’s squad. His problem has been getting the most out of the assembled talent. Jones and LaceDarius Dunn, the Big 12’s all-time leading scorer, weren’t enough to get the Bears a winning conference record, much less an NCAA Tournament berth, last season, when they finished 18-13 overall. It was only two years ago that the 40-year-old guided Baylor to a second-place finish in the conference standings and its first Elite Eight appearance since 1950, but take away that year, and his winning percentage at the school is .478. That has to be considered a disappointment no matter the circumstances when he took over.

7. Travis Ford, Oklahoma State: Three straight 20-win seasons and a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances are nothing to sneeze at, but Oklahoma State — a school that has played in six Final Fours — has come to expect more, and it’s time for the 41-year-old Ford to start delivering. He has a contract that runs through 2019 and within two years will pay him more than $2 million annually, so it’s time his Cowboys do better than 9-7 in league play or make it out of the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. They clearly took a step back last season without James Anderson around to carry the scoring load, and they finished 6-10 in league play. But the addition of LeBryan Nash gives Ford his first marquee recruit to build around.

8. Frank Haith, Missouri: Mike Alden’s decision to appoint Haith as Mike Anderson’s replacement was one of the more confounding of the year. Missouri fans have heard all about his record over seven seasons at Miami, where he went 43-69 in Atlantic Coast Conference play and led the Hurricanes to only one NCAA Tournament appearance. They’ve also read plenty about how Coral Gables, Fla., is an impossible place to win and that Haith, once considered among the premier assistants in the country, will do better with more resources in Columbia. Only time will tell. The 45-year-old does have a chance to succeed early, as he inherits a veteran roster, the core of which has been to three consecutive NCAA Tournaments. If he can tighten up the Tigers’ defense, they should be able to score enough to be near the top of the Big 12 standings.

9. Billy Kennedy, Texas A&M: Kennedy brings more than a quarter century of college experience — including 13 years as a head coach — with him to College Station, but the 47-year-old is getting his first chance to lead a major program. He’s previously been in charge at Centenary, Southeastern Louisiana and Murray State and has made a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances. Kennedy, who spent a year working as an assistant under Haith at Miami, found his greatest success two seasons ago at Murray State — with MU assistant Isaac Chew a part of his staff. The Racers went 31-5, won the Ohio Valley Conference regular-season and tournament titles and played their way into the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Don’t be surprised if Kennedy is in the mix for a Big 12 title this season, as Mark Turgeon left him one of the Big 12’s most talented rosters.

10. Fred Hoiberg, Iowa State: It’s still too early to really evaluate the 38-year-old Hoiberg, who took advantage of a soft nonconference schedule to finish 16-16 overall in his first season as a head coach. To his credit, the undermanned Cyclones were competitive early in the Big 12 season, but they only found a way to win three times against league competition. Things should go better for Iowa State this season with the addition of several talented but troubled castoffs from major programs, including one-time Minnesota recruit Royce White and former Michigan State starter Chris Allen.

 

[TINY]

Wow, high praise!

I think I would put him @ 4 behind Martin for now.

However, for some strange reason, I feel like Kruger is going to win a national title at OU. OU is the best program he has coached at in NCAA, IMO. Remember, Florida was not good when he took over there and he went to the Final 4.

 

[OKURanger]

However, for some strange reason, I feel like Kruger is going to win a national title at OU. OU is the best program he has coached at in NCAA, IMO. Remember, Florida was not good when he took over there and he went to the Final 4.

I got the same feeling while reading the article. Because of the level of competition in the Big 12, if he can assemble some talent he'll make deep runs in the NCAA Tourney.

I think Lon sees OU as his last dance and he clearly understands what he's doing. An NCAA Championship would be a heckuva way to end the career of the coach who is considered the best rebuilder in the business!

 

[Sawyer]

Wow, high praise!

Ehh... not really. The Big 12 is extremely short on coaching accolades at the moment. A 15 year old final four run is probably the second greatest achievement any Big 12 coach has on his resume. That's kind of sad for the conference as a whole.

 

[NickZepp]

Ehh... not really. The Big 12 is extremely short on coaching accolades at the moment. A 15 year old final four run is probably the second greatest achievement any Big 12 coach has on his resume. That's kind of sad for the conference as a whole.

When Scott Drew is not last on your list in conference coaches that's sad. As good a recruiter as Drew is, he's a horrific coach.

 

[WTSooner]

When Scott Drew is not last on your list in conference coaches that's sad. As good a recruiter as Drew is, he's a horrific coach.

While I certainly wouldn't want Drew coaching OU, he did take Baylor to an Elite 8 and 2nd place Big 12 finish just two years ago.

 

[NickZepp]

He had a bunch of talent though. I think he's similar to Quinn Snyder but not near as good a coach as Snyder was which says a lot.

 

[WTSooner]

He had a bunch of talent though. I think he's similar to Quinn Snyder but not near as good a coach as Snyder was which says a lot.

Getting talent is a part of coaching, and should be figued into any evaluation of coaches.

Besides, while Baylor had talent that year, it isn't like they were running KU/UK/Duke/NC/UCONN-like talent out there.

 

[WaymanFan]

Getting talent is a part of coaching, and should be figued into any evaluation of coaches.

I couldn't agree more. Being ranked 6th is about where Scott Drew belongs. He is probably 3rd in regards to bringing aboard the talent and about 9th in regards to being a bench coach. Average it out, and 6th is about where he belongs.

I think you can make an argument that Lon Kruger is no worse than #2 in regards to being a bench coach, but probably around 4 - 6 for bringing in the talent.

 

[Sawyer]

He had a bunch of talent though. I think he's similar to Quinn Snyder but not near as good a coach as Snyder was which says a lot.

I will always wonder what could have been with Quin at Mizzou if a few things happened differently (or never happened at all... he kinda got in his own way off the court). Four simple changes and Quin probably has at least one final four on his resume and could still be at Mizzou:

1. 2002: Sign Nate Johnson (KC native, played at Moberly CC, right down the road from Columbia) instead of Ricky Clemons. Johnson wasn't flashy and didn't fill the stat sheet, but he was a solid, steady point guard who started for two years at Florida State. Clemons, in addition to being a shoot-first chemistry killer, was also a woman beater and was almost single-handedly responsible with tearing down Mizzou's (and Quin's) reputation.

2. 2003: Sign Jamaal Tatum (Jeff City, Mo., star at SIU-C, leading them to a sweet 16 as a senior). He backs up Johnson for a year then starts at the point for the next three. The quality point guard Quin never could find, and he lived 30 minutes down the road.

3. 2005: Sign Brandon Rush. He wanted to come to Mizzou. Kareem wanted him at Mizzou. He was even willing to pay his brother's way and walk on if necessary. But the MU administration nixed that because of his perceived academic/NCAA issues. Too close to the fiasco that was just ending. He ended up playing a key role on a national championship team. He's at Mizzou if you change #1.

4. 2005: Sign Tyler Hansbrough. Similar to Rush in that he was an in-state player with strong ties to Mizzou (dad was an alumnus and former track star), and he wanted to come to Mizzou at one point. But the NCAA stuff caused him to look elsewhere. Like Rush, he's probably at Mizzou if you change #1.

Throw in the injustice of the Uche Okafor ruling and Quin never caught a break (you've probably never heard the name, but he would've been an All Big 12 type center, never played professionally or took a dime, but the NCAA ruled him ineligible anyway).

So yeah, anyway, point is, Quin's a few breaks away from being among the top 2-3 coaches in the Big 12. The main difference between what Drew's done at Baylor and what Quin did at Mizzou is that Drew caught a break in landing Udoh (and having him pan out in a big way) that Quin never quite seemed to. Drew also benefitted from coaching in a significantly weaker Big 12 than what Quin faced in the early 2000s.

Final comparison: as horrible as his reputation was at the end of his tenure at Mizzou, Quin is still coaching. He's been hired by three different NBA organizations specifically for his player development ability, recently moving from the bench in Philly to the Lakers. Think Scott Drew could ever make it as an NBA assistant? I can't see it.

The current crop of Big 12 coaches is embarrassingly unproven. Outside of the top three (which IMO are indisputable), you have a recovering alcoholic, a guy whose one slip away from murdering one of his own players, a poor man's Quin, and a combined three NCAA tournament wins by the remaining four guys.

And the most depressing thing? I think each team's fans are generally pleased with what they have. Not that any individual fanbase is wrong to feel that way, but as a conference we should have more.

 

[playmakr]

I will always wonder what could have been with Quin at Mizzou if a few things happened differently (or never happened at all... he kinda got in his own way off the court). Four simple changes and Quin probably has at least one final four on his resume and could still be at Mizzou:

1. 2002: Sign Nate Johnson (KC native, played at Moberly CC, right down the road from Columbia) instead of Ricky Clemons. Johnson wasn't flashy and didn't fill the stat sheet, but he was a solid, steady point guard who started for two years at Florida State. Clemons, in addition to being a shoot-first chemistry killer, was also a woman beater and was almost single-handedly responsible with tearing down Mizzou's (and Quin's) reputation.

2. 2003: Sign Jamaal Tatum (Jeff City, Mo., star at SIU-C, leading them to a sweet 16 as a senior). He backs up Johnson for a year then starts at the point for the next three. The quality point guard Quin never could find, and he lived 30 minutes down the road.

3. 2005: Sign Brandon Rush. He wanted to come to Mizzou. Kareem wanted him at Mizzou. He was even willing to pay his brother's way and walk on if necessary. But the MU administration nixed that because of his perceived academic/NCAA issues. Too close to the fiasco that was just ending. He ended up playing a key role on a national championship team. He's at Mizzou if you change #1.

4. 2005: Sign Tyler Hansbrough. Similar to Rush in that he was an in-state player with strong ties to Mizzou (dad was an alumnus and former track star), and he wanted to come to Mizzou at one point. But the NCAA stuff caused him to look elsewhere. Like Rush, he's probably at Mizzou if you change #1.

Throw in the injustice of the Uche Okafor ruling and Quin never caught a break (you've probably never heard the name, but he would've been an All Big 12 type center, never played professionally or took a dime, but the NCAA ruled him ineligible anyway).

So yeah, anyway, point is, Quin's a few breaks away from being among the top 2-3 coaches in the Big 12. The main difference between what Drew's done at Baylor and what Quin did at Mizzou is that Drew caught a break in landing Udoh (and having him pan out in a big way) that Quin never quite seemed to. Drew also benefitted from coaching in a significantly weaker Big 12 than what Quin faced in the early 2000s.

Final comparison: as horrible as his reputation was at the end of his tenure at Mizzou, Quin is still coaching. He's been hired by three different NBA organizations specifically for his player development ability, recently moving from the bench in Philly to the Lakers. Think Scott Drew could ever make it as an NBA assistant? I can't see it.

The current crop of Big 12 coaches is embarrassingly unproven. Outside of the top three (which IMO are indisputable), you have a recovering alcoholic, a guy whose one slip away from murdering one of his own players, a poor man's Quin, and a combined three NCAA tournament wins by the remaining four guys.

And the most depressing thing? I think each team's fans are generally pleased with what they have. Not that any individual fanbase is wrong to feel that way, but as a conference we should have more.

You can't be wrought with frustration about a coach "not getting breaks" when he did coke.

 

[seniorsooner]

Who sweated more: Quin or Sean?

 

[Sawyer]

You can't be wrought with frustration about a coach "not getting breaks" when he did coke.

True. He certainly did inflict plenty of damage on himself.

But the coke didn't contribute directly to any of the things I mentioned. He could shoot heroine in his eyes and still outcoach Drew if he simply never signed Ricky Clemons.

On a serious note, I think Quin's righted his personal life.

 

[sanguinetti]

Udoh was the best thing that ever happened to Drew. i thought he was going to beat Duke year before last. they should have been up on eventual champ K by double digits at halftime.

anytime someone praises Drew i think of how he failed to make the NCAA's with Curtis Jerrells.

 

[JBaker]

Udoh was the best thing that ever happened to Drew. i thought he was going to beat Duke year before last. they should have been up on eventual champ K by double digits at halftime.

anytime someone praises Drew i think of how he failed to make the NCAA's with Curtis Jerrells.

I had Baylor beating Duke in that E8 in my bracket.
Baylor blowing that cost me about $500.

Although I made out very nicely in some other pools...