NCAA Basketball: The Starting Five of College Head Coaches

January 31, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Steve Alford watches game action against the Colorado Buffaloes during the second half at Pauley Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Most college head coaches had a basketball background before they eventually end up coaching the game they love.

Some even get all the way to the NBA before their playing career ends and their coaching career begins.

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These coaches are able to take their playing experiences and use them as teaching tools in order to convey messages that they are trying to get across to their team.

It would be hard to refute that the allure of playing for a head coach that has either been extremely successful on the college level or has had a fruitful career in the NBA doesn’t seem attractive to some of the young recruits coming out of high school.

If you have the opportunity to play for somebody that understands how it feels to play in the NCAA tournament, or knows what it takes to become an NBA draft pick, players are going to want to pick the brain of that person in order to attempt to meet their own playing aspirations.

When putting this starting five together there were certain criteria that had to be met.

Did the coach make it to the NBA? What was the degree of success they had in the NBA? What kind of player was that coach in college? How strong was that player’s game? What position they played could also be a factor.

This team is going to consist of two guards, three forwards, and a sixth man, because for whatever reason there are very few centers in coaching, and Jeff Ruland currently does not have a job.

Making a team based on current college head coaches is going to be fun. There should not be too much controversy.

All sizes given were their dimensions as a player according to basketballreference.com.

Next: Danny Manning in the Middle