NCAA Basketball: Ranking all 363 D-I head coaches for 2022-23 season
By Joey Loose
90. Mark Fox (California) (Last year: 88)
- Overall record: 321-234
After four years on the staff, Fox began his head coaching career at Nevada way back in 2004 and was immediately successful. He won the next four WAC regular season titles, leading the Wolf Pack to three NCAA Tournaments. Fox then spent nine years at Georgia, with decent success in a tough SEC, but just two appearances in the Big Dance. Fox bounced back in 2019 with California, though these last three seasons haven’t exactly been the most prosperous. The Golden Bears are just 35-58 under Fox’s leadership, finishing in 10th place in the Pac-12 this past season.
89. Lamont Paris (South Carolina) (Last year: 224)
- Overall record: 87-72
A native of Ohio, Paris really got his coaching career started with a long stint on staff at Akron. From here, he worked seven years on the Wisconsin staff, coaching under Bo Ryan and Greg Gard during a pair of Final Four runs. Paris’s head coaching career began in 2017 at Chattanooga and he recently led the Mocs to a 27-win season and NCAA Tournament appearance. Paris begins his first season at South Carolina as one of the young coaches on the rise, hoping to bring success to the Gamecocks in the SEC.
88. Mark Schmidt (St. Bonaventure) (Last year: 97)
- Overall record: 350-285
After spending nearly a decade coaching under Skip Prosser, mostly at Xavier, Schmidt began his head coaching career at Robert Morris. After six decent years with the Colonials, he accepted the St. Bonaventure job back in 2007. The Bonnies program was in horrific shape when he arrived but he’s shaped them into one of the best programs in the A-10. Schmidt has taken the Bonnies to three NCAA Tournaments and recently won the conference’s regular season crown in 2021. This past year saw the program win 23 games and settle for another trip to the NIT.
87. John Groce (Akron) (Last year: 98)
- Overall record: 274-190
Following an eight-year stint under Thad Matta at Butler, Xavier, and Ohio State, Groce’s head coaching career began at Ohio back in 2008. Four years later, he led the Bobcats to the Sweet Sixteen as a 13-seed and then took the Illinois job. A rocky stint with the Illini ended after five years and he’s spent the last five seasons leading Akron. Groce has done his best work in the MAC, having just led the Zips to the NCAA Tournament this past season, the third D1 school he’s led to the Big Dance.
86. Jeff Linder (Wyoming) (Last year: 135)
- Overall record: 119-70
His head coaching career began just six years ago, but Linder has done a pretty fantastic job to this point. He spent nearly two decades as a collegiate assistant, including a long stretch at Boise State under Leon Rice, before beginning that career at Northern Colorado in 2016. He led the Bears to 26 wins and the CIT title in his second year before two more fantastic seasons. Linder now enters his third year at Wyoming, having just engineered quite the turnaround, with the Cowboys winning 25 games and returning to the NCAA Tournament last year.
85. Ron Hunter (Tulane) (Last year: 91)
- Overall record: 428-320
It’s been a long and mostly prosperous coaching career for Hunter, who might be on the brink of his greatest success. He began his head coaching career at IUPUI, spending 17 years with the Jaguars, leading them to D1 and taking them to their first NCAA Tournament. Hunter was then fantastic at Georgia State, leading the Panthers to three NCAA Tournaments and a first-round upset over Baylor in 2015. He’s spent the last three seasons at Tulane and has this program trending in the right direction, finishing 5th place in the AAC last season.
84. Kenny Payne (Louisville) (Last year: N/A)
- Overall record: 0-0
The former Louisville forward returns home to begin his head coaching career this season. Payne played in the NBA and recently coached with the New York Knicks. Prior to that, he had long stints on the staffs of Oregon and Kentucky, playing an integral role in the Wildcats’ success over a ten-year span. Payne arrives at Louisville inheriting a program that’s been in neutral for the last half decade or so; he’ll hope to turn things around and make the Cardinals an ACC power again in the very near future.
83. Travis Ford (Saint Louis) (Last year: 85)
- Overall record: 390-303
Ford has spent his entire coaching career as a head coach, now doing great work at his fifth different school. After success at Campbellsville, the former Kentucky Wildcats broke into D1 with a stint at Eastern Kentucky, leading the Colonels to the NCAA Tournament. He had solid years at Massachusetts and Oklahoma State before taking the Billikens’ job in 2016. Since arriving in Saint Louis, Ford has led the Billikens to three 23-win campaigns, an NCAA Tournament appearance, and trips to the last two NITs.
82. Lorenzo Romar (Pepperdine) (Last year: 77)
- Overall record: 445-355
A former NBA player in the 80’s, Romar’s coaching career got off to a great start, winning a national championship as an assistant at UCLA. He then had solid head coaching stops at Pepperdine and Saint Louis before a 15-year stint at Washington. Romar took the Huskies to three Sweet Sixteens before stumbling at the end of his tenure. Since 2018 he’s been back at Pepperdine on his second tour of duty, leading the Waves to the CBI title back in 2021. Last year’s 7-25 mark was a disappointing rebuilding season in Malibu.
81. Johnny Dawkins (UCF) (Last year: 74)
- Overall record: 268-187
A star near the beginning of Coach K’s tenure at Duke, Dawkins is one of the many arms of Coach K’s coaching tree. After nearly a decade in the NBA, the former point guard was back with the Blue Devils for over a decade. In his first head coaching job, he led Stanford to a Sweet Sixteen and a pair of NIT championships before landing at UCF in 2016. His stay with the Knights has been up and down but did include an NCAA Tournament appearance and first-round win in his third season, including a near-upset of the Blue Devils. UCF won 18 games last year but has work ahead.