NCAA Basketball: Picking each league’s Coach of the Year for 2023-24 season

AAC: Amir Abdur-Rahim (South Florida)

Even when they were members of the Big East, South Florida wasn’t a very attractive basketball program. They’ve only made three trips to the NCAA Tournament in program history and only one has come in the last three decades. After incredible work at Kennesaw State, Abdur-Rahim was hired in the offseason as the new helm of this program and has significantly surpassed expectations in year one.

Despite being picked to finish 9th in a league many expected Florida Atlantic and Memphis to dominate, the Bulls have 20 wins and a two-game lead in the AAC with an incredible 13-1 conference record. South Florida has won 18 of their last 19 games and the turnaround in Abdur-Rahim’s first year has been monumental. He should be on the shortlist for national coach of the year awards.

Atlantic 10: Chris Mooney (Richmond)

This conference’s award could lean in a number of directions: Anthony Grant could be honored for his work getting Dayton in the national rankings, while Loyola-Chicago’s bounce back could shine some light on Drew Valentine. Instead, we’re looking in Mooney’s direction for his work at Richmond, a team that lost significant pieces in recent years and entered this season with lower expectations.

When the A-10 preseason poll came out, the Spiders were picked to finish 11th in this league. Instead, they’re tied atop the conference standings with Loyola-Chicago, currently having a 19-7 record, with an 11-2 mark in league play. Mooney and Richmond have also beaten both of those programs and have a legitimate road to winning the regular season title in a few weeks.