Coaches of the Decade

[hart2chesson]

Wright and Bennett....

I have to go with Wright on the basis of 2 nattys in 3 years for Coach of The Decade. That really however, is measured by that single stat(ALBEIT VERY IMPRESSIVE ONE).

I would also go for Bennett for the consistency hes shown in the country's TOUGHEST CONFERENCE over last several years. One of greatest measures of a solid coach can be how much production he maximizes out of his talent. Bennett's TRULY done MORE with LESS!!! You dont hear a lot about his recruits, but he plugs them into a system that consistently pays dividends.

Also everything the Cavs endured with the '18 loss to UMBC (I mean they were tarred and feathered for that loss). Coming back from that EMBARRASSMENT, and WINNING IT ALL THIS YEAR, is one of the greatest recent stories in college hoops. OFC

 

[Quavarius]

In my opinion, so many people felt that Duke, with Zion and even RJ, two of the top picks to the nba, not winning it all was a failure. To the media, and college basketball, Zion was that big. It’s like the Yankees with their big payroll.
I’m not even sure a final four in 18 would put K at the top, by the media anyway.
The only reason Cal doesn’t catch the flack for 10 and 15 is because it was Duke that won it all. Any other team and he would have been ridiculed more.
Unfortunately, the last few years probably keep K from being the top rated coach this decade.
I still wouldn’t trade him for anyone.

That should give K even more credit that he won titles Cal should have...twice. Cal has coached 3 No. 1 draft picks and only one title to show for it.

 

[timo0402]

Wright and Bennett....

I have to go with Wright on the basis of 2 nattys in 3 years for Coach of The Decade. That really however, is measured by that single stat(ALBEIT VERY IMPRESSIVE ONE).

I would also go for Bennett for the consistency hes shown in the country's TOUGHEST CONFERENCE over last several years. One of greatest measures of a solid coach can be how much production he maximizes out of his talent. Bennett's TRULY done MORE with LESS!!! You dont hear a lot about his recruits, but he plugs them into a system that consistently pays dividends.

Also everything the Cavs endured with the '18 loss to UMBC (I mean they were tarred and feathered for that loss). Coming back from that EMBARRASSMENT, and WINNING IT ALL THIS YEAR, is one of the greatest recent stories in college hoops. OFC

I don’t think it’s called coach of the select three years, or best story after a humiliating loss though. I absolutely think Wright is well ahead of Tony, as great as Tony has been. Jay got to two sweet 16s in ten years...granted he cashed them both in. To counter Mac’s point (which is valid and true) they discount K if he doesn’t make the final four (Yankees syndrome) but they give no mention of Bennet or Wright going to three combined. It’s definitely a case where they are not being judged through the same lense. But if you are judging apples to apples- it’s hard to argue anyone of those two ahead of K- you could argue Roy & Cal a lot easier, albeit i still give K the biased edge.
I also understand Macs point about the talent rosters- but as was said above, that’s part of coaching. While we have some losses in the first weekend, we also are on pace to go to the elite 8 or farther every other year- that’s extremely impressive. He also does it with completely different rosters every single year. That in itself is impressive.

 

[hart2chesson]

I don’t think it’s called coach of the select three years, or best story after a humiliating loss though. /QUOTE]

Fyi, I know the title of the thread dude-LMAO...
Thats the way I see it. Because I view Wright's 2 in 3 years and Bennett's bounce back from '18 as the most notable ACCOMPLISHMENTS of the decade.Besides Wright has truly brought stability to 'Nova, and Tony The Tiger has dominated the ACC regular season in recent years.....OFC

 

[timo0402]

Ok dude?

 

[Mac9192]

Very good debate. I think the one thing we can all agree on is that no matter which coach we think did the best this past decade, we still want K.
He’s the best, and commands the most attention. No other coach is under the microscope like him. Most would fold like a cheap suit if they had to face what he faces yearly.

 

[timo0402]

Very good debate. I think the one thing we can all agree on is that no matter which coach we think did the best this past decade, we still want K.
He’s the best, and commands the most attention. No other coach is under the microscope like him. Most would fold like a cheap suit if they had to face what he faces yearly.

No doubt about that

 

[Quavarius]

Very good debate. I think the one thing we can all agree on is that no matter which coach we think did the best this past decade, we still want K.
He’s the best, and commands the most attention. No other coach is under the microscope like him. Most would fold like a cheap suit if they had to face what he faces yearly.

Agreed

 

[hart2chesson]

Very good debate. I think the one thing we can all agree on is that no matter which coach we think did the best this past decade, we still want K.
He’s the best, and commands the most attention. No other coach is under the microscope like him. Most would fold like a cheap suit if they had to face what he faces yearly.

I agree Mr Peacemaker. No, all kidding aside I still think K is the G.O.A.T, and would in no way trade him for anybody.I have heard Dick Vitale proclaim K as the greatest coach of all time in all of sports, and would not argue.

 

[dukehokie]

Coach A has a 52% win percentage, one national title, 1 final four, 7 tournament appearances, 4x ACC COY.

Coach B has a 51% win percentage, one national title, 2 final fours, 7 tournament appearances, 2x ACC COY

Which resume is better? Are they pretty equal? One coach is considered by some #1 of his decade. The other coach would be viewed as #4-5 at best of his.

IMO Bennett has had an awesome stretch and has sustained very well. But he is not #1 this decade and if people are talking “sustained excellence,” Bennett has missed the tournament 3 times and has been unranked in total 58 weeks this decade. K has been unranked one week, and has not missed the tournament in over TWO decades. Titles in a one and done format tournament are a tie breaker not the standard.

UVA lost to a 16 then won the following season. Duke lost to a 14 then won the following season. Is there really that big a difference between the two that Bennett has ACCOMPLISHED so much more than K?

By the way, Coach A above is Tony Bennett. Coach B? Gary Williams.

 

[dukiejay]

What Bennett has done and where he has done it the last 10 years automatically puts him high on the list.

It’s funny, because if not for the miracle against Purdue in the Elite Eight last year, then Tony Bennett isn’t even in the discussion for top five. Now, he gets credit for putting his team in that position, but it also shows you how much these things can swing by one single play.

 

[dukehokie]

What Bennett has done and where he has done it the last 10 years automatically puts him high on the list.

It’s funny, because if not for the miracle against Purdue in the Elite Eight last year, then Tony Bennett isn’t even in the discussion for top five. Now, he gets credit for putting his team in that position, but it also shows you how much these things can swing by one single play.

Exactly. It also illustrates how flimsy someone’s place in history is if one play creates the determining factor. K was in that place at one time. No longer.

 

[Quavarius]

What Bennett has done and where he has done it the last 10 years automatically puts him high on the list.

It’s funny, because if not for the miracle against Purdue in the Elite Eight last year, then Tony Bennett isn’t even in the discussion for top five. Now, he gets credit for putting his team in that position, but it also shows you how much these things can swing by one single play.

He’s certainly been great 5 of the 10 years of this decade. K and even Cal have been consistent all decade but I knock Cal for the NIT in 2013 and only one title.

The list screams top coaches for the last 5 years instead of decade. The last 5 years, Bennett and Wright are certainly 1 and 2 above K and Cal (even though K has a natty in the last 5 years).

 

[dukiejay]

Exactly. It also illustrates how flimsy someone’s place in history is one play creates the determining factor. K was in that place at one time. No longer.

You can’t say one play would eliminate K, Cal, Roy or even Jay Wright....you can with Bennett. That in and of itself makes it a pretty flimsy argument for Tony, IMO.

And I want to make sure everyone knows I’m not trying to tear down Bennett. He’s one of the best coaches in the country....his resume doesn’t seem to suggest the best of the last decade, though.

 

[dukiejay]

He’s certainly been great 5 of the 10 years of this decade. K and even Cal have been consistent all decade but I knock Cal for the NIT in 2013 and only one title.

The list screams top coaches for the last 5 years instead of decade. The last 5 years, Bennett and Wright are certainly 1 and 2 above K and Cal (even though K has a natty in the last 5 years).

I would agree with that.

 

[Jacket4]

This is such a well written and thought out article. K is great but we all know there were plenty of seasons where the team just was a let down and it looked like K had lost control just a bit. I think historically losing last year in the elite 8 with that beast among beast known as Zion will also come to be known as a What How moment.

Jay Wright and Bennet have been the model college basketball coaches. They recruit to fit their team/system not just recruiting for talent. And they get the absolute most out of theit players. It is the way basketball was ment to be imo watching a kid learn and struggle and grow into a man that can help lead a team to a championship. Those two have gotten it right more often than not this decade.

 

[hart2chesson]

Jay Wright and Bennet have been the model college basketball coaches. They recruit to fit their team/system not just recruiting for talent. And they get the absolute most out of theit players. It is the way basketball was ment to be imo watching a kid learn and struggle and grow into a man that can help lead a team to a championship. Those two have gotten it right more often than not this decade.

THIS......Eloquently stated....

OFC

 

[hart2chesson]

Jay Wright's nattys at 2 in 3 years this decade arent the only numbers which are impressive.Since the 2010 season hes won at least 20 games, every year but one I believe, so thats an outlier. In fact Jay won 30 plus ea yr over "15-'18.

Bennet has about 9 consecutive winning campaigns since '10, and posted 4 years of 30 or more wins. He has several mythical ACC regular season titles (STRONG w/blue bloods Duke and UNC in conference)and at least 2 ACC Tourney titles. The major (and justifiable) knock on him is NCAA tourney play until he kicked that door down this year. Its ironic Wright and Bennet have combined to win 3 of the last 4 NCAA crowns.

This additional info regarding sustained season success I think bolsters the argument for these two coaches. Again however like Mac noted yesterday, all of this makes for "good debate." Cases can be built for SEVERAL coaches, including our own and THE BEST CAREER coach ever in Coach K! What a coaching job K has already done THIS YEAR, w/much less heralded newcomers! OFC

 

[dukiejay]

This is such a well written and thought out article. K is great but we all know there were plenty of seasons where the team just was a let down and it looked like K had lost control just a bit. I think historically losing last year in the elite 8 with that beast among beast known as Zion will also come to be known as a What How moment.

Jay Wright and Bennet have been the model college basketball coaches. They recruit to fit their team/system not just recruiting for talent. And they get the absolute most out of theit players. It is the way basketball was ment to be imo watching a kid learn and struggle and grow into a man that can help lead a team to a championship. Those two have gotten it right more often than not this decade.

Like 1999, there’s no doubt last year will always be one of those ‘What How?’ moments.

I never really agree with the ‘recruit to fit their system’ argument. Makes it sound as though no one will go to their school. Villanova recruits nationally....has for decades.

Everyone can have a different definition of how the game is meant to be played. You might be the first to ever say Virginia plays it that way, though. Times change. None of us like the current makeup of the way college basketball is setup with the one-and-done....it’s definitely not K’s or Cal’s fault.

As someone said above, if this was for the last five years I’d probably have Bennett and Wright as my top two, but it’s not. They’ve had great decades, nonetheless, just not the best.

 

[OldasdirtDevil]

Here's the thing, these are really close (can sway back and forth through debate), and as DJ said, a single play, here or there, could have changed these drastically. And the other thing is everyone ahead of K on here (deserved or not) has had the best years (most likely) they'll ever have. And that's what scary, the very best of everyone else, is just another day at the office for K.

OFC

 

[hart2chesson]

Here's the thing, these are really close (can sway back and forth through debate), and as DJ said, a single play, here or there, could have changed these drastically. And the other thing is everyone ahead of K on here (deserved or not) has had the best years (most likely) they'll ever have. And that's what scary, the very best of everyone else, is just another day at the office for K.

OFC

Excellent post Dirt! Think about what K did from '86-'94. What a REMARKABLE RUN! 7 FF's in 9 YEARS!!! BACK TO BACK NATTYS!

What hes done since '10 with two nattys, several ELITE EIGHTS would be saluted by most fans! However we're also spoiled, we tend to think K is SUPERMAN and EXPECT EVEN MORE! Duke basketball fans I believe (and I plead guilty!) are spoiled by all this man (a genius and innovator, a teacher, a coach, etc) to the point of believing every year is a disappointment with a Final Four trip at minimum. Its simply unrealistic, in this day of unbelievable parity in college hoops! OFC

 

[OldasdirtDevil]

Excellent post Dirt! Think about what K did from '86-'94. What a REMARKABLE RUN! 7 FF's in 9 YEARS!!! BACK TO BACK NATTYS!

What hes done since '10 with two nattys, several ELITE EIGHTS would be saluted by most fans! However we're also spoiled, we tend to think K is SUPERMAN and EXPECT EVEN MORE! Duke basketball fans I believe (and I plead guilty!) are spoiled by all this man (a genius and innovator, a teacher, a coach, etc) to the point of believing every year is a disappointment with a Final Four trip at minimum. Its simply unrealistic, in this day of unbelievable parity in college hoops! OFC

Yeah, we're lucky and spoiled, Hart! The kind of success that us Blue Devils fans are used to year in and year out is almost unheard of in college basketball. I'm going to enjoy it, 'cause all good things come to an end eventually.

OFC

 

[timo0402]

I have a question that i was going to save for the podcast- was the 2010 Baylor elite 8 win in Houston, the biggest win in the last decade for Duke?

 

[HuffyJB]

I am late this thread, but that list is terrible. I specifically looked at Roy over K, because that one jumped off the page at me as crazy. I looked at their respective resumes over the decade:
K Roy
Total Wins: 299 277
Average Record: 30-7 27-9
ACC Champs: 4 1
NCAA wins: 26 24
Final Fours: 2 2
NCAA Champs: 2 1

Is there one single meaningful metric of any kind where Roy beats K? Even one? I sure didn't see one. I know K had two first round exits during that window, but Roy has an NIT appearance, which is worse. If the notion is that he succeeded while under the cloud of scandal, that is beyond idiotic because - as the author even alludes to - that is a self-inflicted wound. Roy had five seasons - half the decade - where he lost double figure games (K did that once over the period of time). Is there one single reason any one can possibly think of the have Roy above K?

 

[timo0402]

I am late this thread, but that list is terrible. I specifically looked at Roy over K, because that one jumped off the page at me as crazy. I looked at their respective resumes over the decade:
K Roy
Total Wins: 299 277
Average Record: 30-7 27-9
ACC Champs: 4 1
NCAA wins: 26 24
Final Fours: 2 2
NCAA Champs: 2 1

Is there one single meaningful metric of any kind where Roy beats K? Even one? I sure didn't see one. I know K had two first round exits during that window, but Roy has an NIT appearance, which is worse. If the notion is that he succeeded while under the cloud of scandal, that is beyond idiotic because - as the author even alludes to - that is a self-inflicted wound. Roy had five seasons - half the decade - where he lost double figure games (K did that once over the period of time). Is there one single reason any one can possibly think of the have Roy above K?

Well stated!

 

[nets on nets on nets]

I have a question that i was going to save for the podcast- was the 2010 Baylor elite 8 win in Houston, the biggest win in the last decade for Duke?

Yes. Never thought of that, but it clearly is. That’s wild.

 

[dukiejay]

I am late this thread, but that list is terrible. I specifically looked at Roy over K, because that one jumped off the page at me as crazy. I looked at their respective resumes over the decade:
K Roy
Total Wins: 299 277
Average Record: 30-7 27-9
ACC Champs: 4 1
NCAA wins: 26 24
Final Fours: 2 2
NCAA Champs: 2 1

Is there one single meaningful metric of any kind where Roy beats K? Even one? I sure didn't see one. I know K had two first round exits during that window, but Roy has an NIT appearance, which is worse. If the notion is that he succeeded while under the cloud of scandal, that is beyond idiotic because - as the author even alludes to - that is a self-inflicted wound. Roy had five seasons - half the decade - where he lost double figure games (K did that once over the period of time). Is there one single reason any one can possibly think of the have Roy above K?

There isn’t really any metric to put any of the coaches ahead of K the last decade. Especially Roy.

 

[Friction.]

I have a question that i was going to save for the podcast- was the 2010 Baylor elite 8 win in Houston, the biggest win in the last decade for Duke?

great question and a critical game to highlight. It felt like Baylor was extremely confident and really had that home crowd advantage. I just remember that gut feeling I had before and during that game. It was the typical feeling we all had playing Zona in ‘11 on the west coast and South Carolina in ‘16 at home (essentially). I’ll never forget how many daggers we gave Baylor between Nolan and Jon (& I think Singler). Will never forget the Nolan high-five with Coach K after that critical 3 with like two minutes left.

but I would probably argue ‘15 against Wisconsin was the biggest win. Being down 9 with Jah & Winslow on the bench - unbelievable. Plus if we lose that one, the sting from each year after would be even worse; whereas ‘10 I felt like we were not destined for a ship and we as fans were probably marking ‘11 as our year.

 

[timo0402]

great question and a critical game to highlight. It felt like Baylor was extremely confident and really had that home crowd advantage. I just remember that gut feeling I had before and during that game. It was the typical feeling we all had playing Zona in ‘11 on the west coast and South Carolina in ‘16 at home (essentially). I’ll never forget how many daggers we gave Baylor between Nolan and Jon (& I think Singler). Will never forget the Nolan high-five with Coach K after that critical 3 with like two minutes left.

but I would probably argue ‘15 against Wisconsin was the biggest win. Being down 9 with Jah & Winslow on the bench - unbelievable. Plus if we lose that one, the sting from each year after would be even worse; whereas ‘10 I felt like we were not destined for a ship and we as fans were probably marking ‘11 as our year.

I don’t agree with the feeling you had during that game. I just felt like it was our time. We had come off the worst stretch for duke hoops (07-09) that i could remember. Dre came up huge in the first half with those two threes. Those were arguably the biggest threes in the tournament we had since JJ hit that 3 off the offensive board by Deng against Xavier.

tough to argue your thoughts on the Wisconsin game but I’ll put that second just because of what we went through to get to 2010.