Who are the best (and worst) coaches in college hoops?
Billy Donovan, Florida – The 41-year-old just pulled off one of the great coaching feats of the modern era, molding a cast of four largely unheralded freshmen three years ago into the nucleus of a selfless, highly cohesive juggernaut that pulled off the sport's first repeat national championship in 15 years. Roy Williams, UNC – His 524 wins through 19 seasons far eclipse that of any other coach in history (Jerry Tarkanian had 436), and, much like the way his team plays, he only seems to be picking up the pace, having reestablished UNC as an annual national-title threat (the Tar Heels could start next season No. 1). Jim Calhoun, UConn – Yes, the Huskies are coming off their worst season since 1992-93, but that can happen when you lose a record five NBA Draft picks. Before that, Calhoun had won two national titles and earned five No. 1 or 2 NCAA seeds in an eight-year span. But what fun would a list of top coaches be without listing some who are, well, not doing a very good job. Here are some of our picks for worst coach: Tommy Amaker, Harvard – The former Michigan coach racked up a mediocre 109-83 record in six season at Ann Arbor. The Fab Five would not be proud. Skip Prosser, Wake Forest – Prosser has compiled a 111-52 record in five seasons at Wake, but the Demon Deacons are 8-24 in ACC play since Chris Paul left. John Brady, LSU – While Brady deserves credit for leading the Tigers to the Final Four last season, the team didn't even make the tourney this year and Tyrus Thomas' antics in his first NBA season show how ill-prepared he was for the big leagues. Now we want to hear from you. Who are the best and worst coaches in college basketball? Should Imus be Fired?
On Thursday afternoon -- after a week of national debate -- Imus was fired from CBS Radio. Before the firing, however, Imus apologized for his remarks but insisted they shouldn't cost him his job. "This is a comedy show. I'm not a news man," Imus told Matt Lauer on the Today Show. "There's a difference between premeditated murder and a gun going off accidentally and killing someone. It was comedy. It wasn't a malicious rant. I'm not a racist. I've demonstrated that in my words and my work." SI.com's Aditi Kinkhabwala doesn't think Imus deserves to be fired, but writes that he should really get to know the team and realize how wrong and misguided his comments were. What is your reaction to the Imus controversy? Did he deserve to be fired? What should his punishment have been? Coaching Carousel - Who are the winners and losers?
Bob Huggins to West Virginia - It's tough to blame a coach for returning to his alma mater, as Huggins is doing by taking over the Mountaineers, where he played and got his first coaching job as a graduate assistant in 1977. But in this case, it's hard not to feel bad for Kansas State. The school took a tremendous chance on Huggins, whose notorious low graduation rate at Cincinnati coupled with a drunk driving arrest in 2004 made him a high risk proposition for any school. Kansas State students and fans have every reason to be angry with their ex-coach. Billy Donovan staying at Florida - On the opposite side of the spectrum is Donovan, who turned down Kentucky and a chance to coach in the NBA with Miami to stay at Florida. What makes Donovan's move even more impressive is that as much success as the Gators hoops squad has, it's always going to be second fiddle at a football-crazy school like Florida. Billy Gillispie to Kentucky – Although he was the school's third choice for position (behind Donovan and Texas' Rick Barnes), he may be the perfect man for the job. As SI.com's Luke Winn points out, Gillispie "is divorced, has no pets, has no food in the fridge, and has little time to concentrate on anything other than the job at hand, which now is returning Kentucky to the ranks of the elite." His track record speaks for itself (he took UTEP from 6-24 to 24-8 in two seasons and A&M from 0-16 in the Big 12 to 13-3). These are the three big moves, but there are plenty of others to discuss -- John Beilein to Michigan, Tubby Smith to Minnesota, Todd Lickliter to Iowa – so we want to hear what you think. Which school made the best (and worst) hires?  |
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