NCAA Basketball: Ranking all 353 D-I head coaches for 2018-19
By Joey Loose
80. LaVall Jordan (Butler)
- Overall record 37-40
Jordan came home to his alma mater as head coach in 2017 following a single season at Milwaukee, his first head coaching experience. He spent time assisting at Butler, Iowa, and Michigan. His one year at Milwaukee was dreadful but he got Butler in the NCAA Tournament in his first year with the Bulldogs. Expect Jordan to stick around for some time while building up this stalwart Big East program.
79. Steve Wojciechowski (Marquette)
- Overall record 80-61
Wojciechowski is another former Duke player and assistant who finally got his shot to run a program with Marquette in 2014. Things haven’t been extraordinary with the Golden Eagles, but he has led them to the NCAA Tournament and they should compete this year in the Big East. He’s off to a solid start through four years, but he’ll need to produce more results soon.
78. Penny Hardaway (Memphis)
- Overall record 4-4
The #3 pick in the 1993 NBA Draft begins his collegiate coaching career this season at Memphis, taking over at his alma mater in his hometown. Hardaway is going to bring some incredible recruits down to Memphis, but until we see how he coaches a collegiate team, he just can’t be any higher on the list. I fully expect Hardaway to shine at Memphis and have his team winning the AAC very soon.
77. Johnny Dawkins (UCF)
- Overall record 205-142
Another former Duke player and assistant, Dawkins got his shot at Stanford in 2008 and made his way to UCF in 2016. He won a pair of NIT titles at Stanford but only made the NCAA Tournament once and his tenure was unsuccessful. He’s already made UCF competitive in the AAC, but time will tell if he can actually get the job done and get his team to the Dance.
76. Tim Miles (Nebraska)
- Overall record 175-186
Miles was hired by Nebraska in 2012 and has spent the last 23 years as a college head coach. He’s moved up from NAIA Mayville State to D-II Southwest Minnesota State to then-D-II North Dakota State to Colorado State before the Cornhuskers scooped him up. He’s gotten Nebraska competitive in the Big Ten and has made an NCAA Tourney appearance at both Colorado State and Nebraska. He’s not going to go 13-5 in Big Ten play every year, but things are looking up for Miles and the Cornhuskers, but for how long?
75. Porter Moser (Loyola IL)
- Overall record 231-215
- Final Four appearance in 2018
Aside from winning the CBI in 2015, Moser hadn’t made any other postseason appearances in three years at Little Rock, four years at Illinois State, and his first six years at Loyola. Hired by Loyola in 2011, Moser completely turned the narrative around, leading the 11-seed Ramblers to the Final Four in 2018 and setting them up as a new power in the MVC. I don’t know if Moser will leave Loyola for a more high profile job, but he has stability and is in a recruiting hotbed in Chicago, giving him plenty of reason to stay.
74. Dave Rose (BYU)
- Overall record 334-126
Co-captain of Phi Slama Jama with the Houston Cougars, Rose has been at BYU since 1997, promoted to head coach in 2005. The Cougars have transitioned from the Mountain West to the WCC and haven’t skipped a beat, making the NCAA Tournament (8 times) or NIT (5 times) every single year. He’s won more than 72% of his games and has no signs of slowing down, even as Gonzaga owns complete dominance of their conference.
73. Lorenzo Romar (Pepperdine)
- Overall record 396-287
Romar returned to Pepperdine as head coach in 2018, having served there from 1996-99 before being hire by Saint Louis (3 years) and then Washington (15 years). He’s been in 7 NCAA Tournaments (6 with Washington), but couldn’t win enough in his final years to retain his job. Three Sweet Sixteen appearances are impressive, but the Huskies missed the NCAA Tourney in his final six years in Seattle. He’s back at Pepperdine, and it’ll take time to rebuild, but he’ll make a splash with the Waves in the near future.
72. Frank Haith (Tulsa)
- Overall record 287-184
After two decades as an assistant coach, Haith served as head coach of Miami FL (seven years) and Missouri (three years) before Tulsa hired him in 2014. His tenure at Missouri ended with vacated wins and he’s only made a First Four with Tulsa, but he’s a good recruiter and a solid coach. On the other hand, his Tigers were upset by 15-seed Norfolk State in 2012 and he hasn’t won an NCAA Tournament game since 2007 with Miami. He’ll need to produce more at Tulsa.
71. Will Wade (LSU)
- Overall record 115-62
A former assistant under Tommy Amaker and Shaka Smart (including the 2011 VCU Final Four), Wade spent two years as head coach at both Chattanooga and VCU before LSU hired him in 2017. He won 40 games in two years with the Mocs and led VCU twice to the NCAA Tournament. Competing in today’s SEC is a difficult task, but an 18-15 debut with the Tigers wasn’t a bad start. Wade needs a few more years to build his own program, that is unless he jumps quickly to another job in the meantime.