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

By Joey Loose | Jul 15, 2020

DAYTON, OH - MARCH 20: The Siena Saints celebrate a double overtime win over the Ohio State Buckeyes in the first round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at University of Dayton Arena on March 20, 2009 in Dayton, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

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PITTSBURGH, PA – MARCH 15: Members of the Iona Gaels (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

6. Jeff Ruland – Iona (2000-2007)

After playing under Jim Valvano at Iona in the 1970’s, Ruland got to fulfill the dream of returning to his alma mater as head coach nearly three decades later. Before then, he became a 2nd round NBA Draft pick and spent more than a decade playing professionally. He was briefly an NBA assistant before returning to Iona in 1995 and becoming head coach in 1998.

Ruland led the Gaels to three NCAA Tournaments, with those bids coming in 2000, 2001, and 2006. In nearly every season, Iona was competing for MAAC titles, winning at least 20 games in each of those conference title seasons. He helped continue a culture of success for the program, though it’s the way things ended that really ruined his reputation.

In 2007, Ruland was fired after a disastrous 2-28 season with the Gaels, who were fresh off an NCAA Tournament bid. He spent a few seasons as head coach at UDC, a D2 school, but never really got his coaching career back on track. He did fantastic work at his alma mater initially, both as player and coach, but it all came apart in that final season.