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

1. Steve Fisher – San Diego State (2000-2017)

Fisher arrived at San Diego State in 1999 fresh off one of the most unique coaching tenures at Michigan. He won the national championship as interim coach in 1989 and continued the success, bringing the Fab Five and other greatness to the Wolverines before violations tore everything apart. He bounced back in a major way with San Diego State, taking over a program without much previous historical success.

Prior to his arrival, the Aztecs had three NCAA Tournament appearances and zero wins, but that would all change in his eighteen years in charge. He led San Diego State to eight NCAA Tournaments, including Sweet Sixteen runs in 2011 and 2014. They won a bunch of Mountain West titles, including regular-season titles in five of his last seven years. He completely rewrote many Aztecs record books and established this program as one of the very best in the conference.

There were plenty of places Fisher could have ended up after Michigan, but he ended up making a major impact in the Mountain West with these Aztecs. His name now graces the court at San Diego State, where the program has made even greater strides since his retirement. All of the glory, and the backbone of one of the conference’s best programs, have all come from Fisher, and his legacy is more than apparent.

We’ve run through the ten best Mountain West coaches since the turn of the century. There have been some fantastic basketball played by these programs and we’ve seen firsthand the coaches that continue to shape these young men. Expect even more intrigue in the future.