The college basketball season has only just gotten started, though we’re already learning a lot in the opening games. Most teams have played just two or three games and are still adjusting to new lineups, but there are still some things to be learned even in the early going.
A single week can’t sink a program but it can be an indication of what’s to come later in the season. Today, we’re looking specifically at a few coaches who had tough first weeks and what this means for their coaching futures. Each of these coaches may or may not have been firmly on the hot seat as the season opened, but none of them are feeling any better right now.
Johnny Dawkins – UCF
Dawkins has taken the Knights to the NCAA Tournament just once since arriving in Orlando back in 2016. His program just transitioned to the Big 12 last season and weren’t exactly expected to compete in the league right off the bat, but you start to wonder if it’ll ever come. They struggled on opening night at home against Hofstra before giving up over 100 points in a tough home loss to Vanderbilt last weekend. The defense isn’t getting the job done and the Knights wasted a big opportunity early.
Jake Diebler – Ohio State
The lone individual with less than two years as a head coach, Diebler certainly entered the season with attention on him. He got the permanent job last offseason after brilliant work as the interim, but the Buckeyes fell short of expectations last year. After giving up over 100 points to IU Indy on opening night, it’s fair to say that we’re still underwhelmed by these Buckeyes. This 3-0 start is fine and anything less would’ve been a disaster, but Ohio State has significant work ahead for Diebler to secure his job.
Kim English – Providence
It’s only year three at Providence for English but his Friars won just 12 games last season and are already trending in the wrong direction this year. After a less than convincing win over Holy Cross on opening night, the Friars fell in an overtime thriller to Virginia Tech, wasting a major opportunity early in the season. Questions can be made about English’s coaching down the stretch and the defense just hasn’t done enough for a team that once again doesn’t look like a Big East contender.
Earl Grant – Boston College
No power conference program has had a more disastrous start to their season than Boston College and Grant may be nearing the end of the line. After a tough overtime loss at Florida Atlantic on opening night, the Eagles one upped themselves this past Tuesday, somehow losing at home to Central Connecticut and dropping to 1-2. It’s hard to have confidence with the direction this program is going, with a ton of new faces and a complete lack of long-range shooting so far this year.
Damon Stoudamire – Georgia Tech
Year three is important for Stoudamire and he’s off to a 3-0 start but the way Georgia Tech has gotten there has been very concerning. This team needed overtime on opening night to knock off Maryland Eastern Shore, a program currently in the bottom 20 in most analytics. Their most recent outing was another struggle, battling back late against Southeastern Louisiana thanks to another dud on offense. Stoudamire may be in over his head with this ACC gig.