Busting Brackets
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Mountain West Basketball: Top 10 head coaches of the century (2000-20)

By Joey Loose

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 01: San Diego State Alumni Kawhi Leonard participates in his jersey retirement ceremony with former college coach Steve Fisher during half time of the game against the San Diego State Aztecs and the Utah State Aggies at Viejas Arena on February 01, 2020 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Kent Horner/Getty Images)
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 01: San Diego State Alumni Kawhi Leonard participates in his jersey retirement ceremony with former college coach Steve Fisher during half time of the game against the San Diego State Aztecs and the Utah State Aggies at Viejas Arena on February 01, 2020 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Kent Horner/Getty Images) /
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ATLANTA, GA – MARCH 22: Head coach Eric Musselman of the Nevada Wolf Pack (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA – MARCH 22: Head coach Eric Musselman of the Nevada Wolf Pack (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

2. Eric Musselman – Nevada (2015-2019)

In the years before Musselman took over at Nevada, he really bounced around the basketball world. He served as head coach of the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings, while also spending time on NBA and D-League staffs as well. His college coaching career started as an assistant a few years before grabbing the Nevada job in 2015, inheriting a 9-22 team that had been under .500 for three straight seasons.

Musselman immediately went to work and the results were profound. In his first season, the turnaround led to 24 wins and the CBI title. In each of his final three seasons, Nevada won the Mountain West regular-season title outright and made the NCAA Tournament. The 2018 team pulled a wild comeback upset over 2-seed Cincinnati and made the Sweet Sixteen. Musselman’s 110-34 record is clearly amazing considering the state of the program upon his arrival.

Arkansas came calling and Musselman departed in 2019. He’s only just begun his work with the Razorbacks, but if he can build talent as he did at Nevada, then the rest of the SEC will have to watch out. With Nevada, he put this program back into competitive shape in wicked speed, and his impact in the Mountain West is still felt today.