Rank the Big 12 coaches (including Tubby)

[BigTime]

1) Bill Self
2) Lon Kruger
3) Bob Huggins - Been winning his entire career
4) Tubby Smith
5) Fred Hoiberg - might be a stretch but I like what he's done
6) Rick Barnes - really solid career but might be slipping
7) Bruce Weber - not as high on him as most
8) Scott Drew - great recruiter
9) Trent Johnson
10) Travis Ford

That is a great list of coaches right there. The bottom half are all solid (don't think Drew or Ford are great Xs and Os guys but they can both really recruit.

The Big 12 looks really "healthy" (to take a word from CLK) from a coaching standpoint. Brutal really...

 

[colston15]

1. Self
2. Huggins
3. Barnes
4. Weber
5. Kruger
6. Tubby
7. Hoiberg
8. Johnson
9. Ford
10. Drew

 

[MercedeSooner]

Think you guys are short selling the Mayor. Has a system he knows well and knows how to win with it and is recruiting better and better.

 

[CoachTalk]

1. Self
2. Huggins
3. Barnes
4. Weber
5. Kruger
6. Tubby
7. Hoiberg
8. Johnson
9. Ford
10. Drew

Curious why Weber over LK?

 

[bgrch1350]

1. Self
2. Huggins
3. Barnes
4. Weber
5. Kruger
6. Tubby
7. Hoiberg
8. Johnson
9. Ford
10. Drew

Why Drew so low...he has 2 elite 8's under his belt and he took that program from nothing.

 

[CoachTalk]

Why Drew so low...he has 2 elite 8's under his belt and he took that program from nothing.

Probably the worst in-game coach ive ever seen. But he can pay... I mean recruit.

 

[badger]

Can we rank Travis lower than 10? What if we factor in the womens coaches?

 

[colston15]

Curious why Weber over LK?

They're close. I gave Weber the nod because he earned COY this season.

 

[WTSooner]

We talking game/practice coaching only, or recruiting too?

 

[Big Old Booger]

1. Self
2. Huggins
3. Barnes
4. Weber
5. Kruger
6. Tubby
7. Hoiberg
8. Johnson
9. Ford
10. Drew

Disagree big time with Barnes and Weber in front of Kruger. No way.

 

[WTSooner]

We talking game/practice coaching only, or recruiting too?

Also, we talking about currently, at their current schools, or for their entire careers?

 

[colston15]

Disagree big time with Barnes and Weber in front of Kruger. No way.

Flip Weber and Kruger if you like. I wouldn't have a problem with it. But, Barnes won 20 games 12 straight seasons before this one. He might not be an outstanding bench coach, but the results speak for themselves.

 

[Big Old Booger]

Flip Weber and Kruger if you like. I wouldn't have a problem with it. But, Barnes won 20 games 12 straight seasons before this one. He might not be an outstanding bench coach, but the results speak for themselves.

He also has more talent than other coaches. Put him at UNLV, Florida (pre-Kruger and Donovan) and Kansas State and he's not near as successful.

 

[BoulderSooner]

1.Self
2.LK
3. Huggins
4.Barnes
5.Tuby
6.the Mayor
7.Webber
8.Drew
9. Ford
10. Johnson

 

[cosmic_sooner]

1. Self - he's actually surprised me over the years.
2. Barnes - still a solid coach, recruiter, hugely successful for UT and a football oriented school. Put guys in the Pro's, competitive until this year.
3. Huggins - guy has won everywhere he's been. a few mistakes, but he's near-elite.
4. Tubby - once near-elite coach, Minnesota is a dump for hoops, won a championship
5. Kruger - steady, winner, class, won't get to top of mountain.
6. Drew - made a program out of nothing, recruits, can't coach, sometimes it doesn't matter.
7. Hoiberg - could easily be top 5 on this list soon.
8. Weber - feel he's been overrated his entire career.
9. Johnson - middle of the road, but good for TCU I think.
10. Ford - If he's the worst, then the conference has improved. He's still a little piece of dung though.

There's so many toss-ups, but I do think Barnes is solid and used to be nipping at Self's heels. I pains me to put Tubby in front of Kruger, and it may very well be wrong. But I think most people in the country would pick Tubby over Kruger, not necessarily for the right reasons, I wouldn't. Tubby has some pedigree and a NC.

 

[DenverSooner]

1. Self
2. Weber
3. Kruger
4. Hoiberg
5. Smith
6. Huggins
7. Barnes
NOTE -I think 2-7 are almost interchangeable. I put Barens and Huggins at the bottom based on rectent results.
8. Ford (I Drew could actually coach and Johonson had a team I put the little fellow last.)
9. Drew
10. Johnson

 

[bgrch1350]

Tubby Smith and Bill Self have both won a national championship. If they arent 1 and 2...then your rankings mean nothing. Its not easy to win one...ask Kruger, Huggins, and Barnes.

 

[garyeb2]

Tubby Smith and Bill Self have both won a national championship. If they arent 1 and 2...then your rankings mean nothing. Its not easy to win one...ask Kruger, Huggins, and Barnes.

So, what your saying is that every coach that has won a national title, is better than every coach that hasn't. Is that right? If it is, are you sure you want to stick with that theory?

 

[WaymanFan]

Tubby Smith and Bill Self have both won a national championship. If they arent 1 and 2...then your rankings mean nothing. Its not easy to win one...ask Kruger, Huggins, and Barnes.

I'm not looking to spit on Tubby's National Championship. I also think it's highly probable that Huggins, Kruger and Barnes could have all won titles with the roster that Tubby Smith INHERITED from Rick Pitino. I don't believe Tubby ever got back to the Final Four once he had to recruit his own players. With that said, my reasoning for putting Tubby Smith at #2 is because he got the job at Kentucky in the first place due to his NCAA Tounament success. The guy won at both Tulsa and Georgia before going to Kentucky, and he also won at Minnesota.

The other thing I can't figure out is why everyone has Scott Drew so low. In the last 5 years, he's played for two NIT titles (won one) and been to the Elite Eight of the Dance twice. Considering where Baylor was in the college hoops landscape prior to his arrival, they should have a statue of Drew. We all know he's a mediocre bench coach, but last I checked, recruiting is a big part of coaching.

Anyway, here is my top 10:

1) Self (duh)
2) Smith (too much NCAA tournament success to be much lower)
3) Barnes (not the best bench coach, but an overall very successful resume)
4) Kruger (obviously, he wins wherever he goes, and does it without elite talent)
5) Huggins (lots of struggles in March, but overall an outstanding coach)
6) Drew (no one on this list has elevated their program higher)
7) Weber (excellent bench coach...can't recruit to save his life)
8) Hoiberg (hasn't been around long enough to be higher, but arrow pointing up)
9) Ford (has definitely out-recruited our Sooners, but won't out-coach anyone)
10) Johnson (bright future, but still has a lot to prove)

 

[sperry]

Barnes is atrocious. One of the worst coaches in a major conference. I think he has to be last in the conference. Compare the built in advantages that Texas has and the talent that he's had come through his program with what he's actually accomplished, and it's embarrassing. He's worse than Mack, and together those two form the worst basketball/ football duo in the country.