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

By Joey Loose | Jun 11, 2020

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 16: Collin Gillespie #2 and Phil Booth #5 of the Villanova Wildcats celebrate with head coach Jay Wright after the Wildcats defeated the Seton Hall Pirates to win their third consecutive Big East Tournament championship at Madison Square Garden, on March 16, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Porter Binks/Getty Images) /

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AMES, IA – MARCH 03: Head coach Bob Huggins of the West Virginia Mountaineers (Photo by David K Purdy/Getty Images) /

7. Big East Basketball power rankings – Bob Huggins (West Virginia, 2007-2012)

By the time Huggins arrived at West Virginia in 2007, he was already a highly-respected coach with significant experience, having led Cincinnati to a Final Four several years earlier. He took over a Mountaineers program that was already trending upwards after the departure of coach John Beilein, but there was plenty more he could accomplish with this team.

In the five years before West Virginia departed the Big East, they made the NCAA Tournament in each season and made some noise along the way. While his initial squad made a Sweet Sixteen run, the 2010 team won 31 games and marched all the way to the Final Four. As Huggins brought exceptional talent to West Virginia, the Mountaineers were a top-half team in a tough Big East in every one of those seasons.

Huggins remains at West Virginia and continues to bring in that great talent, but the Mountaineers left for the Big 12 in 2012, leaving him a whole new host of challenges. Even though West Virginia is geographically distant from the footprint of the conference, the Mountaineers continue to compete at the very top of their conference. As for the Big East, Huggins led the talent to a Final Four run and accomplished far more than your average power conference coach in those five seasons in the conference.

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