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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MOON TOWNSHIP, PA – NOVEMBER 17: head coach Andrew Toole of the Robert Morris Colonials (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /

4. Andrew Toole – Robert Morris (2010-2020)

Before Toole took over the Colonials program, he had spent three years on Mike Rice’s staff, helping to build some of the best success the program had ever seen. He wasn’t rebuilding a disaster or fixing the culture, he took over the best program in the NEC. The young coach has done a pretty solid job of maintaining that reputation.

Aside from a brief rough stretch, Robert Morris has been near the top of the conference during Toole’s entire decade. He led the program to a pair of regular-season titles early on, settling for NIT bids, though one included the infamous upset of defending champion Kentucky in 2014. The following season, his Colonials were back in the NCAA Tournament, and he would have added a second trip, winning the 2020 NEC Tournament as well.

Toole won 64% of NEC games and has continued the success of the Robert Morris program. While his last three predecessors all departed quickly for other programs, Toole has remained with the school, though things are changing very soon. Robert Morris has just joined the Horizon League and will have hard work ahead as they adjust to a new conference. Clearly, these ten years have been fantastic for Toole and the Colonials program; they simply outgrew the conference.