Rank the Big 12 Coaches

[BigTime]

in order of who you think is the best "total package" (Xs and Os, motivation, management, recruiting, etc...)

Hadn't had one of these in awhile.

I will go with

1. Bill Self ( Great coaching. Has recruited up to par for a place like KU).
2. Rick Barnes ( Best recruiter of the bunch. Good all the way around coach).
3. Jeff Capel ( Great recruiting. Showed some nice coaching adjustments last year).
4. Mike Anderson ( Great coaching. Should be getting better recruits imo).
5. Travis Ford (Good recruiter thus far. Showed some good coaching last year).
6. Frank Martin (Best motivator of the bunch. Good recruiter too).
7. Doc Saddler (Great coach. Hasn't impressed much with recruiting).
8. Scott Drew ( Great recruiter. Not too good at the rest)
9. Mark Turgeon (Doesn't impress me much. Pretty average)
10. Jeff Bzlkdlfksldkic (Seems like a good coach, but he still has to prove it at CU).
11. McDermot (He could move up with a big year)
12. Pat Knight (I like Pat, but he hasn't shown me much yet...)

What say you?

 

[thebigabd]

1.) Bill Self- National title, won big everywhere he has been, great recruiter
2.) Rick Barnes- Good coach, great recruiter, his championship will come
3.) Mike Anderson- Passed Capel with a Big 12 championship, and overall has a better coaching record and more accomplishments than Jeff.
4.) Jeff Capel- Doing things at OU never thought possible in recruiting. Next year is a big year for Jeff, given that Blake is gone.
5.) Jeff Bzdelik- He is doing what he needs to do (to win) with the worst program in the Big 12. They have no facilities, no fans, no local talent, no money, no tradition, and up until this year didnt have the money for a strength and conditioning coach. Seriously, they havent had a strength coach until THIS summer.
6.) Doc Sadler- Has taken Nebraska to the post season three straight times, which is impressive at Nebraska. He was competitive with the smallest team in D-1 basketball. They will have a rough year this year, but they setup to have a good basketball team in 2010-2011.
7.) Frank Martin- Continues to recruit very well at Kansas State, but took over a favorable situation from Huggins with some legit NBA talent. He didnt have to start from scratch like Sadler and Bzdelik. He will have a big year this year.
8.) Travis Ford- He was handed 3 Mcdonalds All-Americans, possibly the best point guard in the Big 12, and a 2010 top 20 pick in James Anderson. Not many new coaches (following a firing) inherit that kind of talent. We will know a lot more about Ford in the next two years.
9.) Scott Drew- Took over an impossible situation at Baylor and has done well, but cant seem to coach very well. Great recruiter.
10.) Mark Turgeon- Pretty average. Not a bad coach, but he doesnt really impress me much. He took over a good situation and has done an average job.
11.) Greg Mcdermott- I think he is a good coach, but he better win this year. He has the player of the year in the conference, a possible newcomer of the year, and a very young supporting cast returning from last year. He signed a great class this year, and if he doesnt win he may get fired.
12.) Pat Knight- I like Pat Knight, and love his recruiting philosophy for Texas Tech. They have enough talent to finish .500 in the Big 12 this year, but he cant be ranked higher than #12 with the results from a year ago. He could redeem big this year, and if he doesnt he may never win at Tech.

Im probably going to get railed for Bzdelik and Sadler, but I think those guys are great basketball coaches. Bzdelik was recognized as one of the top assistant coaches in the NBA, and took the youngest Nuggets team in franchise history to the playoffs. He took over the most difficult situation in the Big 12, and I think he will start getting them in the right direction this year. Bzdelik won 50 games in two years at Air Force.

Sadler also took over a very difficult situation, I mean, Nebraska has never played in the NCAA Tournament! They have zero local talent. He averages 21 wins per year as a D-1 coach, and is always competitive despite roster issues. He redshirted an entire recruiting class so he wouldnt have to sign 6 guys every class and can finally have a complete roster with some stability. He wins 18 games a year at Nebraska, and won 24 games a year at UTEP. The guy can coach.

 

[coacht]

Bigabd, would you really take Anderson over Capel? I know Anderson won the B12 tourney and has coached longer, but I think Capel will prove to be twice the recruiter and he is not a bad sideline coach either.

If I had to pick a coach to start a program it would be Capel way before Anderson.

 

[DFWHoopster]

1.) Bill Self- National title, won big everywhere he has been, great recruiter
2.) Rick Barnes- Good coach, great recruiter, his championship will come
3.) Mike Anderson- Passed Capel with a Big 12 championship, and overall has a better coaching record and more accomplishments than Jeff.
4.) Jeff Capel- Doing things at OU never thought possible in recruiting. Next year is a big year for Jeff, given that Blake is gone.
5.) Jeff Bzdelik- He is doing what he needs to do (to win) with the worst program in the Big 12. They have no facilities, no fans, no local talent, no money, no tradition, and up until this year didnt have the money for a strength and conditioning coach. Seriously, they havent had a strength coach until THIS summer.
6.) Doc Sadler- Has taken Nebraska to the post season three straight times, which is impressive at Nebraska. He was competitive with the smallest team in D-1 basketball. They will have a rough year this year, but they setup to have a good basketball team in 2010-2011.
7.) Frank Martin- Continues to recruit very well at Kansas State, but took over a favorable situation from Huggins with some legit NBA talent. He didnt have to start from scratch like Sadler and Bzdelik. He will have a big year this year.
8.) Travis Ford- He was handed 3 Mcdonalds All-Americans, possibly the best point guard in the Big 12, and a 2010 top 20 pick in James Anderson. Not many new coaches (following a firing) inherit that kind of talent. We will know a lot more about Ford in the next two years.
9.) Scott Drew- Took over an impossible situation at Baylor and has done well, but cant seem to coach very well. Great recruiter.
10.) Mark Turgeon- Pretty average. Not a bad coach, but he doesnt really impress me much. He took over a good situation and has done an average job.
11.) Greg Mcdermott- I think he is a good coach, but he better win this year. He has the player of the year in the conference, a possible newcomer of the year, and a very young supporting cast returning from last year. He signed a great class this year, and if he doesnt win he may get fired.
12.) Pat Knight- I like Pat Knight, and love his recruiting philosophy for Texas Tech. They have enough talent to finish .500 in the Big 12 this year, but he cant be ranked higher than #12 with the results from a year ago. He could redeem big this year, and if he doesnt he may never win at Tech.

Im probably going to get railed for Bzdelik and Sadler, but I think those guys are great basketball coaches. Bzdelik was recognized as one of the top assistant coaches in the NBA, and took the youngest Nuggets team in franchise history to the playoffs. He took over the most difficult situation in the Big 12, and I think he will start getting them in the right direction this year. Bzdelik won 50 games in two years at Air Force.

Sadler also took over a very difficult situation, I mean, Nebraska has never played in the NCAA Tournament! They have zero local talent. He averages 21 wins per year as a D-1 coach, and is always competitive despite roster issues. He redshirted an entire recruiting class so he wouldnt have to sign 6 guys every class and can finally have a complete roster with some stability. He wins 18 games a year at Nebraska, and won 24 games a year at UTEP. The guy can coach.

bigABD, you putting Bzdelik #5 is like me putting Scott Drew #1 which I wouldn't do:

1. Self
2. Barnes
3. Capel
4. Anderson
5. Drew
6. Turgeon
7. Ford
8. Martin
9. Sadler
10. Bzdelik
11. McDermott
12. Knight

You can make a strong argument that 5-8 are interchangeable. I give Drew and Turgeon the nod over Ford and Martin due to future recruiting momentum and overall program development.

 

[tomkar98]

1. The Toupee
2. Barnes
3. Jeff Capel
4. Anderson
5. Saddler
6. Turgeon
7. Martin
8. Ford
9. Bzdelik
10. Drew
11. McDermmot
12. Knight

 

[Krugerfan52]

Here's mine. Enjoy.

1. Capel - great recruiter, great coach, great human being.
2. Self
3. Barnes - Texas sucks
4. Drew - has deep pockets
5. Anderson
6. Turgeon
7. Ford - little man syndrome
8. Martin - that guy scares me
9. Sadler
10. Bzdelik
11. McDermott
12. Knight - moron

 

[BigTime]

bigABD, you putting Bzdelik #5 is like me putting Scott Drew #1 which I wouldn't do:

You can make a strong argument that 5-8 are interchangeable. I give Drew and Turgeon the nod over Ford and Martin due to future recruiting momentum and overall program development.

You know I would be all over ya, hoopster, if you did that. lol


abd,

Why wouldn't you put Saddler over Bzdelik? Like you said, Doc has actually done something with his team (postseason for three straight years). If B gets them to the postseason next year (which he won't) then I might understand your ranking.

And you are being misleading with the strength coach comment. The players worked out with the football team's strength coaches. Its not like they didn't have a strength coach to work out with before....

 

[Cheno]

1. Self
2. Barnes
3. Capel
4. Anderson
5. Ford
6. Turgeon
7. Drew
8. Martin/Hill (Hill is the real reason they are decent)
9. Sadler
10. Bzdelik
11. McDermott
12. Knight

 

[sys]

1. self
2. barnes (i'd have barnes 1st if self hadn't pulled henry at the last minute)
3. turgeon (very underrated)
4. capel (recruiting machine)
5. martin

i'm not sure i'd want any of the rest coaching a team i liked, but:

6. mcdermott (most potential of these guys)
7. drew (at least he gets players)
8. sadler (is it nebraska or doc that keeps him from getting recruits?)
9. ford (really too soon to tell)
10. bzdelik
11. anderson
12. knight (also too soon to tell, needs some players)

 

[Sam]

Anderson has won a Big 12 tournamnet and an Elite Eight apperance and he is 11th?
Why?

 

[BigTime]

1. self
2. barnes (i'd have barnes 1st if self hadn't pulled henry at the last minute)
3. turgeon (very underrated)
4. capel (recruiting machine)
5. martin

i'm not sure i'd want any of the rest coaching a team i liked, but:

6. mcdermott (most potential of these guys)
7. drew (at least he gets players)
8. sadler (is it nebraska or doc that keeps him from getting recruits?)
9. ford (really too soon to tell)
10. bzdelik
11. anderson
12. knight (also too soon to tell, needs some players)

sys,

Anderson at 11th? I know you guys aren't big fans of the Tigers but c'mon...

 

[sys]

coaches that recruit significantly worse than is typical for the school they are at don't impress me.

 

[BigTime]

coaches that recruit significantly worse than is typical for the school they are at don't impress me.

Maybe, but he has to recruit to a really unique system. I agree that his recruiting has been sub par, but, the dude just came off an elite 8. I could maybe see your argument causing you to rank him 6th, but 11th?

On a side note, I can't believe how wrong many of us were (myself included) about Martin. I gotta give it up to old scarface. The dude just flat out scares people into playing good basketball. Great recruiter as well. You guys got yourself a good one....

 

[sys]

On a side note, I can't believe how wrong many of us were (myself included) about Martin.

it's natural to be skeptical about a no-name hire. i assumed capel was going to be a step down from sampson at first. and the only real reason i had for thinking that was that i'd never heard of capel before. i think it's an almost universal reaction.


edit - never heard of him as a coach. i knew him as a player.

 

[BigTime]

it's natural to be skeptical about a no-name hire. i assumed capel was going to be a step down from sampson at first. and the only real reason i had for thinking that was that i'd never heard of capel before. i think it's an almost universal reaction.

True. But I think you guys had the added stigma of hiring a guy (or two guys in this case) just to keep two recruits and an aau pipeline, so it may have been worse than the average team hiring a no-name.

I also need to add that Martin does some pretty good Xs and Os work as well. I just am so impressed with his motivational skills that it overshadows the other stuff in my mind.

 

[Cheno]

Sys....speaking of Martin...what do you think his secret payments from the University entails? Have you heard anything? Does he have a secret slush fund as well?

 

[sys]

i certainly hope he has an expensive buyout clause, be it secret or public.

 

[thebigabd]

Bigabd, would you really take Anderson over Capel? I know Anderson won the B12 tourney and has coached longer, but I think Capel will prove to be twice the recruiter and he is not a bad sideline coach either.

Mike Anderson
-Mike Anderson is 2-1 vs. Capel
-has a Big 12 Championship
-Selected to coach for the American U19 team
-Broke a school record with 31 wins last year
-Named Conference USA Coach of the Year at UAB
-Should have been Big 12 Coach of the Year last year (how does he not win it?)

Jeff Capel
-1-2 vs. Mike Anderson
-No Big 12 Championships
-Not selected to coach American team
-Never named coach of the year

I think Jeff is a great coach and an outstanding recruiter, but he has to do some of the things that Mike has done in order to be better. I can tjust say that he is better because he coaches OU or because I like him as a person, or even that I like the direction he is taking the program.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Why wouldn't you put Saddler over Bzdelik? Like you said, Doc has actually done something with his team (postseason for three straight years). If B gets them to the postseason next year (which he won't) then I might understand your ranking.

It has to do with situation... First of all, I dont think Bzdelik would have taken a job like Colorado had he not simply wanted to live in that state. His jobs have been Denver Nuggets, Air Force, and now Colorado.

Even though Nebraska is a REALLY difficult job, I think Colorado is probably worse. Nebraska has fans, facilities, and had a more stable situation than what Bzdelik took over.

This year is a big one for Bzdelik, and he may prove me wrong but I see big improvement coming for them.

To me, improving dramatically with teams like Nebraska and Colorado is more impressive than taking over favorable situations like Turgeon and Ford did at A&M and OSU. I mean, give Doc or Bzdelik 3 Mcdonalds All-Americans and I bet they win too, ya know?

 

[Dignon003]

1. Self - Easy Choice here. He has the big ring
2. Barnes
3. Anderson
4. Capel
5. Ford
6. Sadler
7. Martin
8. Turgeon
9. Drew
10. Bzdelik
11. McDermott
12. Knight

Hey Abd, who are the three Mcdonalds All-Americans you speak of?
Alot of coaches win games when their tallest starter is a 6-6" Shooting guard? What Ford did with Moses, Eaton and Obi was pretty impressive.

 

[thebigabd]

Hey Abd, who are the three Mcdonalds All-Americans you speak of?

James Anderson, Byron Eaton, and Obi Muonelo.

Alot of coaches win games when their tallest starter is a 6-6" Shooting guard? What Ford did with Moses, Eaton and Obi was pretty impressive.

It wasnt impressive at all... They had the best guards in the Big 12.