CAA Basketball: Top 10 head coaches of the century (2000-20)

By Joey Loose | May 30, 2020

HOUSTON, TX - APRIL 02: Jamie Skeen #21 and Toby Veal #31 of the Virginia Commonwealth Rams react during a timeout against the Butler Bulldogs during the National Semifinal game of the 2011 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship at Reliant Stadium on April 2, 2011 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

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NEW ORLEANS – MARCH 20: Head coach Blaine Taylor of the Old Dominion University Monarchs (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /

5. Blaine Taylor – Old Dominion (2001-2013)

Before their departure for Conference USA in 2013, Old Dominion was a very solid program in the CAA thanks to Taylor’s handiwork. After some solid work as head coach at Montana, Taylor bounced back in a major way with the Monarchs, spending twelve total years with the program. There was good and there was bad but there’s no denying that Old Dominion was a yearly CAA contender during that time.

In those twelve years in charge, Taylor led the Monarchs to 4 NCAA Tournament appearances, and 4 trips to the minor postseason tournaments as well. The team was in the top 4 in the CAA for nine straight seasons during that run, winning at least 11 conference games each season. The biggest highlight was the 2010’s squad first-round upset win over 6-seeded Notre Dame in the NCAA Tournament.

Things sputtered out for Taylor at the very end, but nothing undermines his previous success. Any coach who can make 4 NCAA Tournaments during an 8 year stretch in a conference like the CAA has done phenomenal work. When you throw in that first round upset, it becomes quite clear that Taylor was one of the finest coaches this conference has seen in recent memory.