Ranking the Big 12 Basketball Coaches (Part 2, No. 7-5)

The Big 12 is considered to be one of the best conferences in college basketball. Loaded from top to bottom with teams that contend annually for the NCAA tournament, the coaches who lead the squads also boast impressive resumes.

This list ranks the coaches based on one question of criteria: If I was choosing a Big 12 coach to hire for my team today, combining all factors such as experience, tournament success, age, etc., how would I rank the 10 coaches I have to choose from?

7. Trent Johnson, TCU
38-58 (.396) in 3 years at TCU, 264-244 (.520) in 16 years overall

TCU is Trent Johnson’s fourth head coaching job at the Division I level. In each of his first three, he showed his coaching abilities by quickly turning programs around. In his final year at Nevada, the Wolf Pack won 25 games. In his final year at Stanford, the Cardinal won 28 games. LSU didn’t wind up being a particularly successful gig, but when Johnson was hired in early 2012 as the head coach at Texas Christian University, he expressed optimism that he would be able to turn the program around.

The first two seasons of Johnson’s tenure with the Horned Frogs were ugly, at least statistically. TCU won just two out of 36 Big 12 games, and its combined 20-43 overall record led people to wonder if Johnson would be on the hot seat should the Horned Frogs not take a step forward in 2014-15. Fortunately for Johnson, that’s exactly what they did. TCU began the season 13-0 and climbed into the AP Top-25 for the first time with Johnson at the helm. TCU won more than twice as many games (five) in league play as it had won in the previous two years combined. Despite losing 15 total conference games, seven of the defeats were by single-digits, including three narrow losses to the Jayhawks.

In 2016, the Horned Frogs will return a crop of young talent to pair with Johnson’s best recruiting class in his three years at the school. Specifically looking at Johnson’s coaching abilities, his 5-5 NCAA tournament mark isn’t terrific, but it’s definitely not the worst in the conference. He’s shown that he’s capable of turning a program around in a few years, and that appears to be what’s taking place in Fort Worth. The Horned Frogs will continue to improve next year, ultimately playing spoiler to a handful of teams as they attempt to take the conference crown. If you had to pick a Big 12 coach to start a program with, you could do a lot worse than Trent Johnson.

6. Bob Huggins, West Virginia
175-101 (.634) in 8 years at West Virginia, 693-287 (.707) in 30 years overall

Huggins won the 2015 Big 12 coach of the year award, and the main reason he’s this low on the list is because of his age. At 61, only two coaches in the conference are older than Huggins. He has won nearly 700 games at the Division I level over his 30 seasons, and he leads all Big 12 coaches in games and seasons coached. His track record alone would probably rank second out of all Big 12 coaches after Kansas’ Bill Self, but how much longer he wants to coach has to be a concern, and that ultimately knocks him down on the list.

Final Four appearances in 1992 and 2010 highlight Huggins’ best moments, and his teams have made the NCAA tournament 21 times. West Virginia has made the NCAA tournament six times in his eight-year tenure. His 693 wins are 20th on the all-time Division I list and fifth among active coaches. His teams are built on strong defense, constant hustle, and tough players. He won seven straight Conference USA regular-season titles with Cincinnati from 1996-2002. In 2015, his Mountaineers impressed by going from a sixth-place projection to the Sweet 16.

On the downside, Higgins’ teams have struggled on offense, a factor that has plagued his team down the stretch of NCAA tournaments. His best chance at a national title since he returned to Morgantown came in 2010 when West Virginia faced Duke in the Final Four, but the Mountaineers shot just 41% and were blown out by 21. He’s done everything in college basketball besides take home the top prize, and his remaining years in coaching appear to be limited. Overall, though, he’s one of the best coaches in America; very few coaches have ever enjoyed the success that Bob Huggins has experienced in his 30 seasons.

5. Scott Drew, Baylor
230-160 (.590) in 12 years at Baylor, 250-171 (.594) in 13 years overall

Scott Drew has some impressive accomplishments. He’s been to two Elite Eights and has taken the Baylor to at least 23 wins in six of his last seven seasons. The Bears have been ranked in the AP Top-25 for at least one week in eight consecutive years. He is a very good recruiter, and he’s shown that he’s productive at picking up transfer players and turning them into stars in Waco. He’s done some good things, and is ultimately a positive asset for the Bears.

The most impressive accomplishment of Drew’s career thus far is his successful revival of the Baylor basketball program. When Drew took over in 2003, the NCAA was investigating Baylor for recruiting violations from the previous regime. Reports leaked that the former coach Dave Bliss ignored information surrounding potential marijuana and alcohol abuse among players. Baylor basketball player Carlton Dotson killed teammate Patrick Dennehy during an argument in summer 2003. Tragedy, uncertainty, and chaos surrounded the team. Drew not only took over a program that hadn’t sniffed the NCAA tournament since 1988, but one that barely had enough left to be a program. (Click here for the Wikipedia article about the 2000’s Baylor investigations and the murder of Patrick Dennehy.)

Drew has led the Bears to a winning record every year since 2007, with 24 or more regular-season wins in four of those seasons. The Bears are now annually competing at the top of the Big 12. What knocks Drew is his in-game coaching. Baylor has lost plenty of games that it should have won, but head-scratching coaching decisions have hurt the Bears down the stretch.

Drew’s coaching job in the 2014-15 season was arguably his best in his 12 years; he’s shown signs that he could be substantially improving from an X’s and O’s perspective. Time will tell how far Drew will ultimately take the Bears, but Baylor’s rise from where it was in 2003 is incredible.

To be continued…

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