NCAA Basketball: Ranking all 353 D-I head coaches for 2019-20 season

320. Billy Wright (Western Illinois) (Last year: 334)

• Overall record: 48-94

Wright has spent the last five seasons as Western Illinois’ head coach and doesn’t have a lot to show for it. The former high school coach and WIU assistant has never finished higher than 8th in the Summit League, never winning more than 12 games in a season either. The Leathernecks reside at the bottom of the conference and they show no sign of bucking this trend.

319. Jay Young (Fairfield) (Last year: N/A)

• Overall record: 0-0

Young begins his D1 head coaching career at Fairfield after spending the last fourteen seasons under Steve Pikiell at Stony Brook and Rutgers. He has plenty of coaching experience, including head coaching stints at Newbury and New Haven. There’s plenty of work ahead revitalizing this Stags program, but Young brings a lot of experience to the job. This isn’t New Haven, but don’t be surprised to see Young pushing this team in the right direction before too long.

318. David Patrick (UC Riverside) (Last year: 325)

• Overall record: 10-23

Patrick’s head coaching career got started last season at UC Riverside after a successful assistant coaching career. He was instrumental in bringing godson Ben Simmons to LSU and has also spent time on the staffs of Saint Mary’s and TCU in recent years. Winning 10 games in his debut is a step forward for the Highlanders though there’s clearly work left to do.

317. Juan Dixon (Coppin State) (Last year: 323)

• Overall record: 13-52

The 2002 NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player just began his coaching career a few seasons ago after a near-decade professional playing career. Coppin State gave him a shot to turn their program around, relying on his NBA experience to turn the tide. He did improve from 5 to 8 wins in his second season; the ceiling really isn’t very high with these Eagles regardless. We’ll just have to see how Dixon continues to develop as a coach and if he can parlay this success into another job in the future.

316. Terry Porter (Portland) (Last year: 260)

• Overall record: 28-69

Another longtime NBA player with tons of bigtime experience, Porter hasn’t exactly caught on at the collegiate level. He’s spent time as an NBA head coach and played for the Trail Blazers for a decade, but his time back in Portland has not gone smoothly. Buried in the WCC, the Pilots failed to win a game in conference play last season, notching just 7 overall wins. If there isn’t a monumental change in the directory of this program, Porter is not lasting longer than four seasons back in Portland.

315. Paul Sather (North Dakota) (Last year: N/A)

• Overall record: 0-0

Sather nabbed his first D1 head coaching gig with North Dakota but has already proven himself as a successful head coach in the area. He comes to UND with 14 years of head coaching experience, having led Northern State to the D2 title game a couple seasons ago. North Dakota begins just their second season in the Summit League and Sather might be the kind of coach they need to get things back on track, even if there will certainly be a period of adjustment.

314. Montez Robinson (Alcorn State) (Last year: 326)

• Overall record: 54-71

Robinson will begin his fifth season on the sidelines at Alcorn State and he’s actually done a solid job at the SWAC school. His Braves finished second in the league in his first two seasons, though he won just 10 games last season. Prior to Alcorn State, he gained experience as an assistant at schools like Kennesaw State and Bethune-Cookman. This is probably a perfect match between Robinson and Alcorn State, but it’ll be interesting to see if he can propel this program back towards the top of the conference.

313. Wayne Brent (Jackson State) (Last year: 320)

• Overall record: 81-114

Most of Brent’s coaching career prior to Jackson State had been at the high school level, though he’s handled the job well considering where he’s at. He led these Tigers to 20 wins and a CIT bid back in 2016 while also finishing in 3rd place in the SWAC three of the last four seasons. They’ve been competitive in conference since his arrival, but can they get over the hump and finally tally a conference title?

312. Dave Dickerson (USC Upstate) (Last year: 301)

• Overall record: 74-110

Entering year two at USC Upstate, there are expectations for results for Dickerson and the Spartans. The former Tulane head coach rose to fame for his role on Gary William’s staff at Maryland while also helping Thad Matta build success at Ohio State in recent years. Dickerson also has experience as an NBA scout but is off to just a 6-26 start at USC Upstate. His five years at Tulane didn’t go well, will things really be better at a school like this?

311. AW Hamilton (Eastern Kentucky) (Last year: 324)

• Overall record: 13-18

It’s hard to talk about Hamilton’s career without bringing up Kevin Keatts. Hamilton played under Keatts in both high school and briefly at Marshall, following him around in his coaching career too. They both served successful stints at Hargrave Military Academy and Hamilton was on Keatts’ first staff at NC State. With Eastern Kentucky, Hamilton has tough work ahead to catch up to the two big OVC powers, but he’s just one year into his stint and should get this team on track in the next few seasons.