NCAA Basketball: 10 most unappreciated head coaches in 2022

8. Ron Hunter – Tulane

For seventeen years, Hunter was the head coach at IUPUI, inheriting an independent NAIA team and eventually leading them to the NCAA Tournament. His work with the Jaguars was solid and he could’ve stayed in Indianapolis and flown under the radar, but that wasn’t really Hunter’s style. Instead, this last decade has proven why he’s a fantastic coach.

First and foremost, his eight seasons building Georgia State from a middling program to the best in the Sun Belt were a fantastic job. We all remember him falling off his stool when son RJ hit the shot to beat Baylor in the 2015 Tournament, but he led the Panthers to two more trips to the Big Dance. What’s even more impressive is what Hunter is building since arriving at Tulane three seasons ago.

Last season, the Green Wave finished above .500 in conference play for the first time in fifteen years, and this year’s team should be even better. Hunter is looking to rewrite record books at Tulane, having not been satisfied with the winning culture he built at his first two schools. A handful of coaches before him landed at Tulane and barely moved the needle, but Hunter might just have a magical touch with these programs.