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

By Joey Loose

CHARLOTTE, NC - NOVEMBER 15: Head coach Greg Marshall of the Winthrop Eagles cheers on his team during a game against the University of North Carolina Tar Heels November 15, 2006 at the Charlotte Bobcats Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo By Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NC - NOVEMBER 15: Head coach Greg Marshall of the Winthrop Eagles cheers on his team during a game against the University of North Carolina Tar Heels November 15, 2006 at the Charlotte Bobcats Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo By Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 24: Head coach Ritchie McKay of the Liberty Flames (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 24: Head coach Ritchie McKay of the Liberty Flames (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

8. Ritchie McKay – Liberty (2007-2009, 2015-2018)

Long before his two stints at Liberty, McKay had picked up a great amount of coaching experience across the country. He had been head coach at Portland State, Colorado State, Oregon State, and New Mexico, and had spent a number of years with Tony Bennett’s Virginia staff between his head coaching stints. Both times he took over at Liberty, he inherited a struggling team, but the struggle wouldn’t last for long.

Across those five seasons, he led the Flames to three postseason appearances and finished in the top 5 of the Big South in each season. While he never led Liberty to the NCAA Tournament while in the conference, he did secure 20+ wins on three occasions and made this team very competitive in the league.

McKay is rated solely for his work in the Big South, though his Flames have really flourished since joining the Atlantic Sun in 2018. He’s already won a pair of A-Sun regular season and conference titles and has a first-round Tournament upset to his name. Suffice to say, things have been going well for Liberty under McKay’s reign, and it all got started with modest gains in the Big South.