NCAA Basketball: Top 10 impact head coaching hires from the year 2004

By Joey Loose | Jun 3, 2021

CINCINNATI, OH - DECEMBER 09: Head coach Lon Kruger of the Oklahoma Sooners signals to his players in the first half during a college basketball game against the Xavier Musketeers on December 9, 2020 at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

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NCAA Basketball Billy Gillispie head coach of the Texas Tech Red Raiders (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) /

5. Billy Gillispie (Texas A&M)

Since the birth of the Big 12 eight years earlier, Texas A&M had been a major struggle in the conference. The conference’s worst program had just come off a winless campaign in Big 12 play and was set to hire another new name to lead the Aggies. This time, they found the guy to turn things around, leading to the most successful era in program history.

There was a lot to like about Billy Gillispie, cemented by the successful quick turnaround he had manufactured at UTEP the last two seasons. Prior to that he had been a high school coach in Texas and been on college staffs at Baylor and under Bill Self at Tulsa and Illinois. Gillispie had been around a lot in a short time in his coaching career but was ready to make Texas A&M a winner again.

Immediately getting to work, the Aggies won 21 games and went into the NIT in Gillispie’s very first season. The team would improve in each of his three seasons, with NCAA Tournament appearances in his final two years, cemented by a Sweet Sixteen run in 2007. Having made fantastic change, Gillispie was poached by Kentucky (a mistake on all counts). He left this Texas A&M in capable hands and really resurrected what was a dormant program.

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