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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ORLANDO, FL – MARCH 16: Head coach Steve Forbes (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

3. Steve Forbes – East Tennessee State (2015-2020)

Before taking over at East Tennessee State, his first D1 head coaching job, Forbes had really bounced around all over the country. He had been a junior college head coach, including profound success with Northwest Florida State. He had been an assistant under coaches like Porter Moser, Bruce Pearl, and most recently Gregg Marshall. In 2015, he departed Wichita State to take over a Buccaneers program that had stagnated in recent years.

With Forbes on board, East Tennessee State (which had only joined the Southern in 2014), became immediate contenders atop the league standings. His Buccaneers made the NCAA Tournament in 2017 and won the SoCon Tournament this past season before the NCAA cancellation. His 130-43 record, with a 71-19 mark in conference play, is insanely impressive, especially from where this program had finished before his arrival.

Forbes accepted the Wake Forest job just a few months ago and has quite a project on his hands in the ACC, a much tougher league. If his success with East Tennessee State is any indication, he’s going to put in the effort and do incredible things with the Demon Deacons as well. Forbes really has become a rising name in coaching circles for this turnaround with the Buccaneers, and anyone who can average 26 wins a season is certainly deserving of that praise.