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

By Joey Loose | Jul 1, 2020

NASHVILLE, TN - MARCH 13: Head coach John Calipari (R) of the Kentucky Wildcats is congratulated by head coach Bruce Pearl of the Tennessee Volunteers after Kentucky won 74-45 during the semirfinals of the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament at the Bridgestone Arena on March 13, 2010 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

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DURHAM, NC – JANUARY 23: Head coach Mark Gottfried of the North Carolina State Wolfpack (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

8. Mark Gottfried – Alabama (2000-2009)

After struggles in recent years, it’s even more impressive to see what Gottfried accomplished with Alabama at the beginning of the century. He arrived in Tuscaloosa in 1998 after three very great seasons leading Murray State. He was also a former assistant at UCLA and was on the bench when the program won the national title in 2015. Alabama was a different animal, but he did pretty solid work all things considered.

While other programs got the attention in the SEC, Gottfried still did some stellar work rebuilding this program, making five straight NCAA Tournaments early in the 2000s. The highlight of his tenure was his 2004 team, where he took an 8-seed all the way to the Elite Eight. In total, he led the Crimson Tide to seven straight postseason appearances and won a pair of SEC West regular-season titles as well.

Gottfried resigned in 2009 as success began to dawdle and moved on to NC State. Alabama has made just two NCAA Tournaments since his departure and is clearly still hoping for a similar run of success. Today, he coaches at Cal State Northridge, but his legacy is already clear. You can argue that Gottfried didn’t do enough for Alabama, but it’s also clear that he’s done the best job anyone’s done with that program since the turn of the century.

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