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

By Joey Loose | Jul 4, 2020

DETROIT - MARCH 30: Stephen Curry #30 of the Davidson Wildcats goes over the scorer's table as he was attempting to save the ball from going out of bounds against the Kansas Jayhawks during the Midwest Regional Final of the 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at Ford Field on March 30, 2008 in Detroit, Michigan (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

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AMES, IA – NOVEMBER 23: Head coach Matt McCall of the Chattanooga Mocs (Photo by David K Purdy/Getty Images) /

7. Matt McCall – Chattanooga (2015-2017)

Before arriving at Chattanooga in 2015, McCall had already seen impressive basketball up close. He was a student and assistant at Florida during the Gators’ two national championship runs and spent nearly a decade learning under Billy Donovan. When Donovan left for the NBA in 2015, McCall got his own chance to run a program, as the Mocs needed to replace Will Wade, who took over at VCU.

While Wade left the program in pretty solid shape, McCall’s work was still fantastic. In his first season, he led Chattanooga to a program-record 29 wins and a return to the NCAA Tournament. He was named Southern Conference Coach of the Year in the process. His second season ended in a 4th place finish, but his overall 48-18 mark is still very impressive.

McCall departed for Massachusetts following that season, though he’s still hunting for his breakthrough success with the Minutemen. It’s easy to argue that he inherited success with the Mocs, but Wade didn’t lead that group to the Tournament. McCall is responsible for what’s likely the greatest season in program history and he’ll be remembered for it, even if his tenure with the school was quite brief.