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

280. Rodney Billups (Denver) (Last year: 228)

• Overall record: 39-51

Billups played his college ball at Denver and jumped at the chance to return to his alma mater as head coach in 2016. However, the former Colorado assistant has struggled to make an impact. After two solidly average seasons, last year’s Pioneers team went just 8-22, a disappointing last place finish in the Summit League. If Billups wants to remain in Denver, this trend cannot continue.

279. Mike Martin (Brown) (Last year: 318)

• Overall record: 93-112

Another young Ivy League head coach, Martin played for Brown before beginning his coaching career. He’s never coached outside of the Ivy League, serving as an assistant for Brown and Penn before the Bears brought him back as head coach in 2012. His tenure got off to a slow start, though last year’s squad won 20 games and made the CBI quarterfinals. There’s plenty of talent in the Ivy League and Martin is still looking for a finish higher than 4th in league play.

278. Baker Dunleavy (Quinnipiac) (Last year: 277)

• Overall record: 28-36

Dunleavy comes from a family full of basketball talent, as father Mike Sr. is a former NBA head coach while brother Mike Jr. played a long time in the pros. Baker played for Jay Wright at Villanova and returned to the Wildcats as an assistant, helping them to the national title in 2016. He’s finished two seasons at Quinnipiac, making the CIT in his second season and definitely changing the trajectory of this program.

277. Lew Hill (UTRGV) (Last year: 302)

• Overall record: 45-57

After a long assistant coaching career, Hill got his head coaching shot at UTRGV and has done a solid job in his first three years. After spending twelve years working under Lon Kruger at UNLV and Oklahoma, he’s already doubled his win total with the Vaqueros, winning 20 games this past season with his second postseason bid. We’ll see if Hill can use that experience to continue building success in the WAC, though it’ll take quite an effort to topple New Mexico State at the top of the league.

276. Jay Joyner (North Carolina A&T) (Last year: 331)

• Overall record: 47-62

Joyner has already spent three and a half seasons as the head coach at North Carolina A&T and has already taken a major step forward. The former junior college head coach inherited a bad team, winning just three games in his first full season. However, they won 20 games in his second season and followed that up with a 19-win mark last year. Last year’s team finished 2nd in conference play and winning the MEAC is a reasonable goal for this program very soon.

275. Paul Mills (Oral Roberts) (Last year: 273)

• Overall record: 22-42

Mills is a former high school head coach who just nabbed his first college head coaching job at Oral Roberts two seasons ago. He came to the Golden Eagles after fourteen years on Scott Drew’s staff at Baylor, helping him completely rebuild that program from the ground up over the years. At Oral Roberts, he’s won 11 games in each of his first two seasons and there’s still work ahead. However, the Golden Eagles program isn’t exactly what it used to be, and seeing them in the middle of the Summit League is really no surprise.

274. Lamont Paris (Chattanooga) (Last year: 286)

• Overall record: 22-43

Paris took his first head coaching job at Chattanooga in 2017 and he’s off to a slow start at the SoCon program. He previously spent seven years on the Wisconsin staff, helping build a pair of Final Four teams under Bo Ryan. As head coach, the job has been tougher, though his Mocs did finish 5th in conference play after struggling to a 10th place finish in his debut. He’s reloading this roster bit by bit but is going to need some real results pretty soon.

273. Anthony Latina (Sacred Heart) (Last year: 299)

• Overall record: 70-118

Latina arrived at Sacred Heart in 2005 and was promoted to head coach in 2013, giving him his first head coaching job at any level. His time with the Pioneers has had both ups and downs, though he’s still looking for his first postseason appearance. He’s twice finished in the top 3 of the NEC, but has yet to finish a season over .500. His job seems pretty safe, but can he lead Sacred Heart over the hump in the near future?

272. Todd Lee (South Dakota) (Last year: 278)

• Overall record: 13-17

Lee has embarked on a coaching career that has taken him to various levels of basketball, though his hiring last season at South Dakota marked his first D1 head coaching job. Prior to that, he was an assistant the last five seasons at Grand Canyon after a head coaching stint at Kentucky Wesleyan. A 13-17 mark in his first year at South Dakota is a solid start, though he’ll need to produce big things to live up to predecessor Craig Smith, now super successful at Utah State.

271. Heath Schroyer (McNeese State) (Last year: 268)

• Overall record: 135-166

Schroyer joined McNeese State last season, beginning his fourth D1 head coaching job, with mixed results following him through his career. The former head coach of Portland State, Wyoming and Tennessee-Martin has never made an NCAA Tournament, though he did some solid work at Tennessee-Martin before skedaddling for a job on the NC State staff. McNeese State only won 9 games last season and isn’t expected to make a major jump moving forward, but perhaps Schroyer will instead.