NCAA Basketball: A look 1990s players that have become head coaches
Darrin Horn – Northern Kentucky
Darrin Horn played at Western Kentucky and then spent eight years as an assistant coach at three different schools, including his alma mater. In 2003 he returned to Western Kentucky to lead the Hilltoppers, he stayed there for five seasons, leading them to a Sweet Sixteen in 2008. He then would move on to lead South Carolina for four seasons, before becoming an assistant on Shaka Smart’s staff at Texas until 2019 when he returned to Kentucky to lead Northern Kentucky.
John Pelphrey – Tennessee Tech
John Pelphrey’s final college game was the 1992 East Regional final against Duke, he then spent nearly 10 seasons as an assistant at Oklahoma State, Marshall, and Florida before landing his first head coaching job at South Alabama. After a five-year stint with the Jaguars, he became the head coach at Arkansas for four seasons after which he stayed in the SEC as an assistant at Florida and Alabama before returning to the head coaching ranks this past season, leading the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles of the Ohio Valley.
Mark Madsen – Utah Valley
Mark Madsen was a first-round NBA draft pick of the Los Angeles Lakers after a four-year college career at Stanford. After a nine-year NBA career and a one-year stint as an assistant in the G-League, he returned to Stanford as an assistant, before ultimately returning to the Lakers as an assistant for the likes of Byron Scott and Luke Walton. Just over a year ago, Madsen earned his first head-coaching job, being named the head coach at Utah Valley.
Bryce Drew – Grand Canyon
Bryce Drew played at Valparaiso for his father Homer and made one of the most iconic game-winning shots in NCAA Tournament history when his Crusaders beat 4th-seeded Mississippi in the 1998 tournament. Drew then went on to play six seasons in the NBA after being drafted in the first round by the Houston Rockets. His first coaching job was at his alma mater as an assistant for his father in 2005 until 2011 when he was picked to succeed the school’s all-time winningest coach. He would spend five seasons with the school, winning 30 games and finishing 2nd in the NIT in his last year. He then spent three seasons as the head man at Vanderbilt before accepting the head coaching position at Grand Canyon University in March of this year.
Brian Earl – Cornell
Brian Earl played one season under the legendary Pete Carril and then finished his career playing for Bill Carmody. After playing professionally for a few seasons, he was lured back to Princeton to be an assistant by former teammate Sydney Johnson, who had taken the head coaching job. Earl remained an assistant at his alma mater until 2016 when he became the head coach of the Cornell Big Red.