NCAAB · 1 year ago

Ranking the Top 10 Coaches in College Basketball for 2024

David Connelly

Host · Writer

10. Bruce Pearl
It's starting to feel like Bruce Pearl is on the verge of a statement season with Auburn. He has consistently had the Tigers among the cream of the crop within the SEC, and it's only a matter of time before that success translates deeper into the postseason. Here is the best way to sum up the turnaround Pearl has conducted at Auburn: In the 26 seasons before his arrival, Auburn had made a total of three NCAA Tournament appearances. Since his hiring in 2014, the Tigers have reached five NCAA Tournaments under his watch, including the first Final Four appearance in the program's history.
1. Dan Hurley
There is little doubt about who is the top mind in college basketball right now. After capturing back-to-back national championships, the first program to do so since Florida in 2007, Dan Hurley has UConn on top of the basketball world. His teams are always energetic, ready for the moment, and prepared to dominate in every facet. As much as he looks like a psychopath on the sidelines, Hurley cannot be underestimated as a masterful tactician and student of the game. It would have been a massive blow for the Huskies and the sport of college basketball if the Los Angeles Lakers could have landed Hurley as their next head coach.
2. Kelvin Sampson
It may be considered slightly controversial to have Kelvin Sampson come in this high without a national championship, but there may not be a coach with a higher floor in the sport than Sampson right now. Each season, it's safe to say Houston will finish somewhere within the top ten in KenPom, something he has done in each of the past four seasons. He has built the program into a perennial powerhouse, and it feels like it's only a matter of time before he brings a championship to H-Town.

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3. Bill Self
When an ounce of doubt perhaps crept into Bill Self's time at Kansas and his 14-year drought without a national championship, he headed to the Final Four in New Orleans two seasons ago and cut down the nets. Self has been the heart and soul of the Jayhawks since arriving on campus two decades ago and is showing little signs of stopping any time soon. With another elite transfer class and some key returners coming in, it's not hyperbole that Kansas may be the preseason No. 1 ahead of the 2024-25 college basketball season.

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4. Matt Painter
There may not have been a head coach with more to prove ahead of the 2024 NCAA Tournament than Purdue's Matt Painter. It was well-known that the Boilermakers would be able to dominate the regular season with the return of National Player of the Year Zach Edey. Still, another early exit from the Big Dance would have been another poor postseason performance on Painter's resume. The program did enough to exercise those demons, reaching the national championship game and falling to an otherworldly UConn team in Phoenix. Painter is well-deserving of high praise at this point, and it would be no surprise to see Purdue contend for a Big Ten title yet again next season, even without Edey in the middle of it all.
5. Scott Drew
What Scott Drew is doing at Baylor is unprecedented by any other program in the country. The Bears are the only team to achieve a three-seed or higher in each of the past five NCAA Tournaments, displaying Drew's elite floor and coaching ability. There was plenty of doubt that Drew could pull off the impossible in leading Baylor away from an egregious scandal when he took the job in 2004. Just 17 years later, he helped lead the program to new heights as they took down undefeated Gonzaga in the national championship, sealing its first-ever men's basketball championship. His vitality, leadership, and knowledge of the game are unparalleled in the sport.
6. Tom Izzo
The ceiling may not be quite what it was for Izzo in recent years, but the floor he has established with Michigan State is one of the highest in the nation. Sparty has not missed an NCAA Tournament since Izzo's first season at the helm back in 1997, and they don't show any signs of missing one any time soon. As one of the best minds in the sport, the Spartans will always be relevant while he is on the sidelines.

And the Big Ten better watch out in 2024-25. For the first time since 2021, Izzo has dipped his toe into the transfer portal and scooped up Omaha star Frankie Fidler, who should immediately be an impact player in East Lansing.
7. Mark Few
We refuse to use Mark Few's lack of national championships against him. He is an elite coach in the sport and has built Gonzaga into a national product, a school that solely builds its brand on the basketball court rather than the football field. He has led the Bulldogs to the NCAA Tournament every season since he was hired back in 2000, while never having more than three losses in the WCC in any season. If he can swoop up a few more Final Fours and, of course, that elusive national championship, Few would retire as one of the legends of the sport.
8. Rick Pitino
Rick Pitino is a legend of the sport, and he seems to be in his prime as he continues a rebuild at St. John's. After dominating the MAAC at Iona in his return, he still boasts the same energy and exuberance he has had throughout his entire career. With some marquee transfers in Deivon Smith and Kadary Richmond inbound this offseason, he could have the Johnnies in the Big Dance. The sport always excels when Slick Rick is deep into March.
9. John Calipari
While things fizzled out for John Calipari at Kentucky, he remains an elite head coach. His player development is second to none when you take a look at the long list of eventual NBA talents he has coached, and he has the personality and wisdom to help keep 18-year-olds focused on basketball. Cal now heads to Fayetteville as the next head coach at Arkansas, where he is already embracing the new age of college basketball, nabbing some big-name recruits. Whether or not Coach Cal can adapt to the transfer portal will determine if he has a future as a top head coach in the sport.
10. Bruce Pearl
It's starting to feel like Bruce Pearl is on the verge of a statement season with Auburn. He has consistently had the Tigers among the cream of the crop within the SEC, and it's only a matter of time before that success translates deeper into the postseason. Here is the best way to sum up the turnaround Pearl has conducted at Auburn: In the 26 seasons before his arrival, Auburn had made a total of three NCAA Tournament appearances. Since his hiring in 2014, the Tigers have reached five NCAA Tournaments under his watch, including the first Final Four appearance in the program's history.
1. Dan Hurley
There is little doubt about who is the top mind in college basketball right now. After capturing back-to-back national championships, the first program to do so since Florida in 2007, Dan Hurley has UConn on top of the basketball world. His teams are always energetic, ready for the moment, and prepared to dominate in every facet. As much as he looks like a psychopath on the sidelines, Hurley cannot be underestimated as a masterful tactician and student of the game. It would have been a massive blow for the Huskies and the sport of college basketball if the Los Angeles Lakers could have landed Hurley as their next head coach.

Ranking the Top 10 Coaches in College Basketball for 2024

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