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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BOISE, ID – JANUARY 5: Head coach Leon Rice of the Boise State Broncos (Photo by Loren Orr/Getty Images)
BOISE, ID – JANUARY 5: Head coach Leon Rice of the Boise State Broncos (Photo by Loren Orr/Getty Images) /

9. Leon Rice – Boise State (2011-2020)

Following over a decade as an assistant at Gonzaga, Rice finally took his shot to be a head coach at Boise State in 2010. Much like Terry at Fresno State, he inherited a program that was set to move to the Mountain West. While Boise State was actually in solid shape at this point, making the Tournament in 2008, there was still plenty of work to make this a competitive Mountain West program.

Boise State hasn’t exactly become the premier program on the west coast, but that isn’t to say Rice hasn’t made good strides. He led the Broncos to the NCAA Tournament in 2013 and 2015, tying for the regular-season title in 2015 as well. He’s won at least 20 games in all but two of his ten seasons with the Broncos, an impressive mark for any mid-major coach.

Rice remains with the Boise State program and is still looking to make a real impact with the school. Both of those NCAA Tournament runs ended in the First Four before they could really get started. He did lead them to a pair of NIT bids, but there’s plenty of work to be done. In a conference filled with potential, can Rice elevate this Boise State program back to the Tournament in the coming years?