SEC Basketball has been revitalized after an infusion of head coaches with great previous resumes. How do they stack up against each other for 2018-19?
In college athletics, many fans believe that the success a team has is mostly based on the players. Without five-star recruits, a team has no chance to compete. If they get the right players, they can just rely on talent to get where they need to be.
Others believe that money and athletic directors make the world go ’round. If alumni send funds to improve facilities and promote the team, they can get enough interest to make a team relevant. If the AD can make the right decisions for the program, that might be all it takes.
All of these things are very important. However, there’s one thing that is above all that: the coach. Coaches are what push teams over the edge into greatness. They recruit the best players available to come to their school. When they get there, they coach them up into college greats. After they leave the program, they are prepared for whatever their next step in life is, whether it’s the NBA or the workforce.
In the media, coaches put their programs in the best light. All in all, they simply control the entire program. If a team succeeds or fails, it falls on the coach.
In the SEC, you have some of the best coaches. Some have been there forever, like John Calipari. Some are new to their positions, like Tom Crean. Some inherited powerhouses, like Mike White. Some are rebuilding an image, like Bruce Pearl. Some made their name known in college coaching, like Will Wade. Some built a legacy in the NBA, like Avery Johnson.
No matter what you want in a coach, you can find someone with it in the SEC. That’s part of what makes this conference the second-best coaching conference behind the ACC. That being said, which coaches are the best? Here’s my list.
*DISCLAIMER* I used my own criteria for ranking coaches. I include their image, their success, what they do for their players after they leave. If two coaches are close, I value what someone does at their current program over what they did in previous coaching tenures.