NCAA Basketball: Top 10 impact head coaching hires from 2009 offseason

By Joey Loose | Jun 14, 2021

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 08: Head coach Tony Bennett of the Virginia Cavaliers cuts down the net after his teams 85-77 win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the 2019 NCAA men's Final Four National Championship game at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 08, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

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NCAA Basketball Chris Mack of the Xavier Musketeers (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

5. Chris Mack (Xavier)

At this point in time, Xavier was in a really good place. Thad Matta and Sean Miller both had great success as head coach, with both of them leading the Musketeers to the Elite Eight since the turn of the century. As Miller moved on, the Musketeers were again on a head coaching hunt, but once again found a very solid coach to lead Xavier into the future.

Like those other two coaches, Chris Mack didn’t have a ton of head coaching experience but had learned from some brilliant coaches in his career. He played briefly for Pete Gillen at Xavier before joining Skip Prosser’s staff nearly a decade later. Also a former high school coach, he spent time on the staffs of Wake Forest and Xavier before being promoted to head coach, taking control of his alma mater.

Xavier remained successful during the nine years Mack led the Musketeers. The program made the NCAA Tournament in all but one season, highlighted by an Elite Eight run in 2017. Mack took Xavier to three more Sweet Sixteens, and this program remained nationally relevant as they joined the Big East in 2013. Mack departed for Louisville, trying to rejuvenate the Cardinals program, while his successor has yet to replicate this success at Xavier.

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