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

By Joey Loose

SPOKANE, WA - MARCH 20: Lawrence Alexander #12 of the North Dakota State Bison plays against the Oklahoma Sooners during the second round of the 2014 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena on March 20, 2014 in Spokane, Washington. North Dakota State won the game 80-75. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)
SPOKANE, WA - MARCH 20: Lawrence Alexander #12 of the North Dakota State Bison plays against the Oklahoma Sooners during the second round of the 2014 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena on March 20, 2014 in Spokane, Washington. North Dakota State won the game 80-75. (Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images) /
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WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 20: Head coach Ron Hunter (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 20: Head coach Ron Hunter (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

8. Ron Hunter – IUPUI (2000-2011)

Years before Hunter became famous for falling off his stool during an NCAA Tournament upset with Georgia State, he spent 17 years with IUPUI. When he took over the program after a brief assistant coaching career, the Jaguars were an NAIA program, but they joined the Summit in 1998. In the eleven years since the turn of the century, he did great work to make IUPUI a yearly contender in the conference.

He broke through in 2003, leading the Jaguars to their first and only NCAA Tournament appearance. This was the first of nine straight top 4 finishes in the conference, though they couldn’t repeat that luck in the Summit League Tournament. He’s 104-66 in the conference since the turn of the century, and even won a regular-season title along the way. By no means can you call the Jaguars’ run impressive or otherworldly, but Hunter has led them to the next level.

Hunter was far more successful at Georgia State, including that aforementioned Tournament moment, and now coaches at struggling Tulane. His work with IUPUI may seem unimpressive to the naked eye, but he did a fantastic job transitioning this program and making them a yearly competitor in the Summit. Nowadays, the Jaguars are struggling to compete in their new home in the Horizon and could sorely use a motivator and recruiter like Hunter again.