Looking at 11 of the major coaching jobs over the last 4 years

This weekend I engaged in a bit of an argument with a Florida basketball fan. The first thing that struck me about this argument was that I had unearthed a Florida basketball fan. It was as if I had found a rare unicorn. I almost wanted to be nice to him, just for fear of extinction. You wouldn't shoot a bald eagle, would you? Still, he was a Florida fan, and he wanted to argue. So I trudged forward, for reasons I cannot explain. Arguing with a Florida basketball fan is a lot like swimming in a pool with no ladder. You go round and round for hours, and mostly you are just looking for a way out. The mostly-friendly banter revolved around the question: who is the best coach in the SEC? He, of course, was in Billy Donovan's corner. I, of course, was in John Calipari's corner. The conversation eventually moved toward who was currently the best coach? Since the SEC is essentially a two-horse race between Calipari and Donovan, I decided to take a look at the usual suspects in men's college basketball to see who has had the best 4-year run. Overall wins, conference championships, NCAA tournament success, and recruiting were all factored in to the equation.   John Calipari (Kentucky) - Overall record in the last 4 years: 123-26 (82.5% wins) - Conference championships: 2 SEC Regular Season Championships, 2 SEC Tournament Championships - NCAA Tournament appearances: 3 - Sweet Sixteens: 3 - Elite Eights: 3 - Final Fours: 2 -National Championships: 1 - Top 25 Recruiting classes: #1 (2009), #1 (2010), #1 (2011), #1 (2012), #1 (2013)   Rick Pitino (Louisville) - Overall record in the last 4 years: 110-38 (74.3% wins) - Conference championships: 1 Big East Regular Season Championship, 2 Big East Tournament Championships - NCAA tournament appearances: 4 - Sweet Sixteens: 2 - Elite Eights: 2 - Final Fours: 2 - National Championships: 1 - Top 25 Recruiting classes: #16 (2009), #9 (2011), #7 (2013)   Billy Donovan (Florida) - Overall record in the last 4 years:  105-40  (72.4% wins) - Conference championships:  2 SEC Regular Season Championships - NCAA tournament appearances:  4 - Sweet Sixteens: 3 - Elite Eights:  3 - Final Fours: 0 - National Championships: 0 - Top 25 Recruiting classes: #15 (2009), #19 (2010), #25 (2011), #25 (2012), #8 (2013)   Roy Williams (North Carolina) - Overall record in the last 4 years:  106-42  (71.6% wins) - Conference championships: 2 ACC Regular Season Championships - NCAA tournament appearances: 3 - Sweet Sixteens: 2 - Elite Eights: 2 - Final Fours: 0 - National Championships: 0 - Top 25 Recruiting classes: #5 (2009), #4 (2010). #6 (2011), #9 (2012), #13 (2013)   Bill Self (Kansas) - Overall record in the last 4 years:  131-19  (87.3% wins) - Conference championships: 4 Big 12 Regular Season Championships, 3 Big 12 Tournament Championships - NCAA tournament appearances: 4 - Sweet Sixteens: 3 - Elite Eights: 2 - Final Fours: 1 - National Championships: 0 - Top 25 Recruiting classes: #6 (2009), #23 (2010), #10 (2012), #2 (2013)   Mike Krzyzewski (Duke) - Overall record in the last 4 years:  124-23  (84.4% wins) - Conference championships: 2 ACC Tournament Championships, 1 ACC Regular Season Championship - NCAA tournament appearances: 4 - Sweet Sixteens: 3 - Elite Eights: 2 - Final Fours: 1 - National Championships: 1 - Top 25 Recruiting classes: #8 (2009), #10 (2010), #2 (2011), #5 (2013)   Brad Stevens (Butler) - Overall record in the last 4 years:  110-39  (73.8% wins) - Conference championships: 2 Horizon League Tournament Championships, 2 Horizon League Regular Season Championships - NCAA tournament appearances: 3 - Sweet Sixteens: 2 - Elite Eights: 2 - Final Fours: 2 - National Championships: 0 - Top 25 Recruiting classes:   Tom Izzo (Michigan State) - Overall record in the last 4 years:  103-41  (71.5% wins) - Conference championships: 1 Big 10 Tournament Championship, 2 Big 10 Regular Season Championships - NCAA tournament appearances: 4 - Sweet Sixteens: 3 - Elite Eights: 1 - Final Fours: 1 - National Championships: 0 - Top 25 Recruiting classes: #11 (2010), #21 (2011), #13 (2012)   Thad Matta (Ohio State) - Overall record in the last 4 years:  123-27  (82% wins) - Conference championships: 3 Big 10 Tournament Championships, 3 Big 10 Regular Season Championships - NCAA tournament appearances: 4 - Sweet Sixteens: 4 - Elite Eights: 2 - Final Fours: 1 - National Championships: 0 - Top 25 Recruiting classes: #3 (2010), #10 (2011)   Jim Boeheim (Syracuse) - Overall record in the last 4 years:  121-26  (82.3% wins) - Conference championships: 2 Big East Regular Season Championships - NCAA tournament appearances: 4 - Sweet Sixteens: 3 - Elite Eights: 2 - Final Fours: 1 - National Championships: 0 - Top 25 Recruiting classes: #7 (2010), #16 (2011), #18 (2012), #11 (2013)   Tom Crean (Indiana) - Overall record in the last 4 years:  78-57  (57.8% wins) - Conference championships: 1 Big 10 Regular Season Championship - NCAA tournament appearances: 2 - Sweet Sixteens: 2 - Elite Eights: 0 - Final Fours: 0 - National Championships: 0 - Top 25 Recruiting classes: #11 (2009), #5 (2012), #6 (2013)   The best overall winning percentage:  1.  Bill Self  2. Mike Krzyzewski  3. John Calipari Most Conference Tournament Titles/Regular Season Titles: 1. Bill Self (7)   2. Thad Matta (6)  3. John Calipari (4) and Brad Stevens (4) NCAA Tournament Success (1 pt. for appearances, 2 pts. for Sweet 16s, 3 pts. for Elite 8s, 4 pts. for Final 4s, 5 pts. for National Championships): 1. John Calipari (31 pts) 2. Rick Pitino (27 pts) 3. Mike Krzyzewski (25 pts) 4. Thad Matta (22 pts) 5. Brad Stevens (21 pts) 6. Bill Self and Jim Boeheim (20 pts) 7. Billy Donovan (19 pts) 8. Tom Izzo (17 pts) 9. Roy Williams (13 pts) 10. Tom Crean (6 pts) Best Average Rated Recruiting Class (if a class was not in the top 25, it gets "26 points): 1. John Calipari (1) 2. Roy Williams (7.4) 3. Mike Krzyzewski (10.2) 4. Bill Self (13.4) 5. Tom Crean (14.8) 6. Jim Boeheim (15.6) 7. Rick Pitino (16.8) 8. Thad Matta (18.2) 9. Billy Donovan (18.4) 10. Tom Izzo (19.4) 11. Brad Stevens (No Top 25 Classes)   Depending on which criteria is the most important to you, the best coach in the span of the last 4 years could change from person to person. Bill Self is clearly the best regular season coach, both by wins and conference tournament/regular season success. John Calipari and Rick Pitino are the most successful in the NCAA tournament, while Coach K is probably the best of both worlds. John Calipari crushes the recruiting aspect, but he also has to refuel with great classes each year.