NCAA Basketball: Ranking 2019-20 Naismith Coach of the Year finalists
By Joey Loose
With another wild NCAA Basketball season behind us, which of the four finalists should win the Naismith Coach of the Year?
Despite the NCAA Basketball season’s abrupt ending due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this was still a fantastic season of basketball. There were fantastic games, remarkable seasons, and moments that some teams won’t forget anytime soon. Even if much of March was wiped out by the virus, there’s still plenty of memorable moments and performances that are worthy of some season-long awards.
One of the more intriguing races on a yearly basis is for national coach of the year. In a league with active Hall of Fame coaches manning some of the great Blue Blood programs, it’s always awesome to see how some far less reveled coaches really stand out on the national stage. We’ve recently seen coaches like Mark Few, Tony Bennett, and Rick Barnes win the award with impressive seasons. Looking back even further, mid-major coaches like Steve Fisher and Gregg Marshall have turned great efforts into the award.
There are a number of factors to be considered when naming the best coach for a particular season. Clearly, the effort of the players on the court is what’s important, especially since the head coach is putting them in the position to succeed. The award typically goes to a coach when a program greatly exceeds expectations and competes for a title at the national level. This season, there will be no national title, but that doesn’t diminish the accomplishments of these coaches.
The four finalists for the award were just announced and we’re going to run through each of them, ranking who should receive the Naismith College Coach of the Year for 2019-20. Obviously, all four have had incredible seasons (that should have gone even further), but only one can win the award.