NCAA Basketball: Top 12 candidates for 2022-23 Coach of the Year

Jerome Tang (Kansas State)

Tang waited for his moment and he clearly chose the right moment to take charge. An assistant under Scott Drew for his first 19 years at Baylor, Tang was along for one of the greatest rebuilds in basketball history, cutting down the nets as an assistant just under two years ago. Now, his first season at Kansas State sees him trying to build his own magic, inheriting a Kansas State squad that won just 34 games the last three years combined.

Tang quickly threw those low expectations aside, getting Kansas State off to a 15-1 start and their first Top 5 ranking in over a decade. A long winning streak included road wins at Baylor and Texas and they’ve also beaten Kansas in recent weeks, sitting at 6-4 in this tough Big 12. Few expected the Wildcats to win many games in the league at all, but this performance is one of the stories of the season.

Much of that success boils down to the play of Keyontae Johnson and Markquis Nowell. Johnson is playing like the star he was years ago at Florida, while Nowell has certainly taken a step forward in leading this Wildcats roster. Don’t forget that this team watched Nijel Pack depart for Miami after being by far their best player last season. Tang got busy on the Transfer Portal and the results have been incredible, with this team having the potential to make noise in the NCAA Tournament.

We’ve looked closely at twelve candidates to be Coach of the Year, diving deeply into their teams this season and understanding just what they’ve accomplished. Who do you think is the favorite to win that prestigious award?