Ranking Big 12 Coaches >>> athlonsports

[BigTime]

http://athlonsports.com/college-basketball/ranking-big-12-basketball-coaches-2015-16

Smart at 2? Really? Also, pretty disrespectful of Tubby...

Mine:

Self
Kruger
Huggins
Smith
Drew
Smart
Johnson
Ford
Weber
Prohm

 

[tycat947]

I don't know anyone with a straight face could put Smart at #2 when he hasn't done anything. He may turn out to be #2 in a few years but no way anyone that knows anything about basketball could put him there now.

 

[WaymanFan]

I don't know anyone with a straight face could put Smart at #2 when he hasn't done anything. He may turn out to be #2 in a few years but no way anyone that knows anything about basketball could put him there now.

I like the Athlon rankings, and enjoyed seeing Travis Ford where he belongs. Smart is #2 because of what he did at VCU...which was an amazing job. One thing obvious about that ranking is that it was done for the here and now. If it was done with the 1990s in mind, Tubby Smith would be #2. He's still a great coach, but can't land the recruits to put him in the upper echelon. I think that Lon will move to #2 if OU has a deep run in March this year...and won't move to #2 if they don't.

 

[TheGimper]

Smart is #2 because of what he did at VCU...which was an amazing job.

See, I don't agree with that. VCU hadn't made it out of the first round of the tournament the past two years, didn't make it past the 2nd round the two years before that. In fact, he's only had 1 good year of tournament success with the Final Four year. He also only won the conference championship during his first year as coach. Didn't repeat that feat once during his next five.

Smart's success is greatly exaggerated because he made a Final Four half a decade ago as a Cinderella program.

 

[WaymanFan]

See, I don't agree with that. VCU hadn't made it out of the first round of the tournament the past two years, didn't make it past the 2nd round the two years before that. In fact, he's only had 1 good year of tournament success with the Final Four year. He also only won the conference championship during his first year as coach. Didn't repeat that feat once during his next five.

Smart's success is greatly exaggerated because he made a Final Four half a decade ago as a Cinderella program.

Good points, Gimper. However, a 2011 Final Four was not THAT long ago, and the guy has never won less than 26 games in any of his six years there. Perhaps he could have started behind Lon and Huggins...but we'll get a better idea this season where those three will be ranked next year...my guess is they'll be 2,3,4 though no idea of the order.

 

[chuckb]

I think their rankings are pretty good. As for Smart, his success in the tournament has been limited, but he was at VCU, for crying out loud. He's had as much tournament success as anyone in the Big 12 except for Self and Drew (while Kruger's been at OU & Huggins has been at WVU).

 

[usedtobe1]

I weight the coaches based on these factors:
- On-the-court coaching
- Recruiting
- How they manage the overall "program"

I also value what they have done in the B12 games a little more than what they did elsewhere. Here's my order:

1. Bill Self - No argument. 11 straight B12 titles, an NCAA championship, NCAA Runner-up, and 2 Elite 8's. That says it all.

2. Lon Kruger - Has taken 5 teams to NCAA's. Taken 7 of 8 teams at OU and KSU (Big 12 and Big 8) to NCAA's. Finished 4th or higher 7 of 8 years. Has Final 4 and 2 Sweet 16's. Finished 2nd 3 times in B12/8. Easy choice for 2nd best coach.

3. Bob Huggins - Great record at Cincinnati. 2 Final 4's. In 3 seasons at WVU in B12, has losing record and 3rd is his highest finish. Finished 4th in 1 year at KSU. He did adjust his defense to his personnel last year. Kudos

4. Shaka Smart - Won at least 26 games in each of his 6 years at VCU and made a Final 4 at a mid-major. Made NCAA's his last 5 years. Young, energetic coach. Stepping up level of competition now in B12.

5. Scott Drew - Drew and Self have 12 years in B12 to make the the co-senior coaches. Drew has been solid after his first 4 years at Baylor. Has winning B12 record 6 of last 8 years, and 2 Elite 8's and 1 Sweet 16 in that span. Probably better coach than his reputation says he is. Pesky zone defense causes problems. Recruits well.

6. Steve Prohm - Great record as head coach at a low-major. Stepping up competition, but he inherits a strong roster. Another high-energy, young coach.

7. Tubby Smith - I was thinking Tubby was on the decline, but he won over 20 games 5 of his 6 years in Minnesota. He's been bad at Tech and keeps losing players. He has won an NCAA championship, 3 Elite 8's, and 2 Sweet 16's at Kentucky so I gave him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he needs time to get his players.

8. Travis Ford - He can recruit even if he's not a great coach. He has won 20+ games 5 of his 7 seasons at OSU, and his teams seem to always be middle of the pack in the B12.

9. Bruce Weber - He has a winning B12 record and has qualified for the NCAA's in 2 of his 3 years. They didn't qualify last year but swept OU. He also has an NCAA runner-up and 2 Sweet 16's. He keeps losing players and his programs just seem to always fall apart.

10. Trent Johnson - 6-48 in B12 play the past 3 years. Easily the worst team in the league those 3 years. 12-36 in conference play his last 3 years at LSU before getting fired. Had moderate success at Stanford.

 

[DenverSooner]

It is very humorous that they ranked Travis Ford dead last. I love how they say OSU is stuck with him.

 

[Max Power]

1 Self
2 Lon
3 Huggy
4 Tubby
5 Shaka
6 Drew
7 Johnson
8 Prohm
9 Webber
10
11
12
13
14
15 Ford

 

[BoulderSooner]

trent Johnson has never gotten fired ... he leaves before the door closes on his tenures

 

[usedtobe1]

trent Johnson has never gotten fired ... he leaves before the door closes on his tenures

You're right. Although he was 12-36 in the SEC his last 3 years, he was a half step ahead of the axe. I think he was nudged. The LSU AD said this after his "resignation":

Sometimes coaching changes work out well for all parties involved, and we will take this opportunity to seek out the best coach for the long-term future of LSU men's basketball.

In my opinion, he is the worst coach in the B12 although his team showed improvement at the end of last year. He was 5-15 against all B12 teams which was a big improvement of winning a total of only 2 B12 games the previous 2 years (2-36 and one of those was against OU).

Factoid: His teams have qualified for 3 NCAA's in his 15 years of coaching.

 

[vbdad]

Smart was much more successful at VCU than Capel who was sixth in his league the year before Joe C. lost his mind.

 

[BoulderSooner]

You're right. Although he was 12-36 in the SEC his last 3 years, he was a half step ahead of the axe. I think he was nudged. The LSU AD said this after his "resignation":


In my opinion, he is the worst coach in the B12 although his team showed improvement at the end of last year. He was 5-15 against all B12 teams which was a big improvement of winning a total of only 2 B12 games the previous 2 years (2-36 and one of those was against OU).

Factoid: His teams have qualified for 3 NCAA's in his 15 years of coaching.

no doubt I agree with you .. he left Stanford about the same way ... in a way it is smart ... keep getting jobs ... but he has gone down in jobs each step of the way .. Stanford to lsu to tcu

 

[DenverSooner]

How do you get a job after being 12-36 in the SEC? Now with his horrible performance in the Big XII he is 18-84 in his last six seasons in conference play. That is freaking horrible.

More unimpressive about this guy is he played for Boise State from 74-78 but didn't get his undergraduate degree until 83. Really? It took him 5 years to finish? Maybe there is a reason but I don't get that. He was also coaching High School basketball without a college degree. Personally, I think a degree should be a requirement to hold that job.

Read his wiki page. He is clearly paying someone to edit it in a positive manner It actually makes his incompetence at TCU sound like he is doing a good job.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trent_Johnson