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

By Joey Loose | Jul 22, 2020

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - MARCH 21: The Fairleigh Dickinson Knights huddle before taking on the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the first half in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament dat Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 21, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

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COLLEGE PARK, MD – DECEMBER 21: Head coach Greg Herenda of the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights (Photo by G Fiume/Maryland Terrapins/Getty Images) /

6. Greg Herenda – Fairleigh Dickinson (2013-2020)

After playing at Merrimack long before they joined D1, Herenda really bounced around in his coaching career before finding his way to Fairleigh Dickinson. He spent time on the staffs of Yale, East Carolina, and Seton Hall while getting head coaching experience at the junior college and D2 level. He wound up with the Knights after five great years with UMass Lowell before they joined D1 athletics.

While his predecessor had won just 15 games in his final three seasons, but Herenda turned things around for the Knights. By his third season, they were back in the NCAA Tournament, a feat that’s repeated three years later in 2019. This isn’t a team that’s going to win 20 games on a regular basis, and Herenda is under .500 in league play, but the quick turnaround and the NEC Tournament success is clearly of note.

Who knows what the future holds for Fairleigh Dickinson? If the pattern holds, they’ll be back in the NCAA Tournament in a few years, though Herenda likely has his eyes on greater consistency for the program. The bottom line is that this program was performing quite poorly before Herenda’s arrival, and his two NEC titles speak volumes to the work he’s put in.