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NCAA Basketball: Ranking best head coaching hires from the year 2000

By Joey Loose

LAWRENCE, KS - JANUARY 30: Head coach John Calipari of the Kentucky Wildcats and head coach Bill Self of the Kansas Jayhawks greet each other prior to the game at Allen Fieldhouse on January 30, 2016 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
LAWRENCE, KS - JANUARY 30: Head coach John Calipari of the Kentucky Wildcats and head coach Bill Self of the Kansas Jayhawks greet each other prior to the game at Allen Fieldhouse on January 30, 2016 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /
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NCAA Basketball Thad Matta Ohio State Buckeyes (Photo by Rich Schultz /Getty Images)
NCAA Basketball Thad Matta Ohio State Buckeyes (Photo by Rich Schultz /Getty Images) /

7. Thad Matta (Butler)

It can be really hard to directly replace a beloved head coach. At the same time, some of the best coaches in the game are known to have some pretty talented young minds on their benches. This was certainly the case at Butler come 2000. Fresh off three NCAA Tournaments in the last four years, Barry Collier departed for Nebraska, though he would return to the Bulldogs as athletic director a few years later.

Left in the driver’s seat of the Butler program was none other than Thad Matta. A former player for the Bulldogs, Matta was thrust into his first head coaching position, having spent time also an assistant at Indiana State, Western Carolina, and Miami-Ohio. Suffice to say, he got his head coaching career started in a great way with the Bulldogs.

Butler won another MCC regular-season title, with Matta leading the Bulldogs not only to another NCAA Tournament appearance but to their first Tournament victory in nearly 40 years. The very fabric of The Butler Way was laid down, even if Matta spent just one season leading his alma mater.

Matta was off to Xavier and then Ohio State (taking the Buckeyes to a pair of Final Fours), but he helped build what coaches like Todd Lickliter and Brad Stevens would take even further. Honestly, Matta should be higher on the list but did stay for just a single season.

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