ACC Basketball: Ranking all 18 head coaches for 2024-25 season

16. Damon Stoudamire (Georgia Tech)

Thirty years ago, Stoudamire was a star point guard at Arizona, earning All-American honors in 1995. The former Pac-10 Player of the Year spent 13 years playing in the NBA, winning Rookie of the Year honors, before beginning his coaching career thereafter. He had a solid run leading Pacific before spending a pair of seasons on staff with the Boston Celtics.

Stoudamire returned to the college game last offseason when he took the Georgia Tech job, succeeding Josh Pastner, who he had worked under at Memphis. The Yellow Jackets certainly didn’t have a stellar campaign, though they showed promise, scoring upsets over both Duke and North Carolina during a 14-win season. Things are looking bright if Stoudamire can bring the right guys to Georgia Tech, though it’s hard to slot him higher than this based off his resume.

15. Mark Madsen (California)

Back in the late 90’s, Madsen was a great frontcourt presence during a successful era for Stanford before an NBA career that lasted nearly a decade. He won a pair of championships with the Los Angeles Lakers and later spent six years on their coaching staff. His head coaching career, aside from a brief stint in the D-League, began with four prosperous seasons at Utah Valley, including a run to the semifinals of the NIT in 2023.

Madsen accepted the head coaching job at Cal last offseason and did decent work in his first season with a Golden Bears’ program that’s been slumping recently. His team finished just 13-19 but tied for sixth in their final season in the Pac-12. The challenge is significant as they transition into the Pac-12. Madsen engineered success over time with the Wolverines and can do the same in Berkeley, though it’ll take quite the efforts as one of the newbies in this league.