Big Ten Coaching Rankings


If it makes you feel better defending Bo Ryan makes my skin crawl. However the man could flat out teach and he constantly turned chicken **** into chicken salad by getting more out of his players then they probably thought they were capable of. It's extremely rare to have that and that's why I think Gard needs better pieces chess board. Out side of his 3017 class and Trice, IAM pretty skeptical of his recruiting. Though he has an opportunity to land the Hauser's and put Badgers back in the title mix when there eligible. Maybe it was a scandal, but being a goober fan, Bo Ryan side piece is child's play compared to our scandals.

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Agree, This will be CGG's 4th year I think its fair to wait on this year to see how he does before we put him in the HOF. Agree on the scandals. It didn't bother me but it is what it is. I think Bo was pretty much done after the loss to Duke in the Championship game.
 

I'll take a swing at this. I'm leaving out Hoiberg because he hasn't coached a game in the Big Ten yet. Also, my list isn't strictly based on win and losses. Some jobs are much tougher than others.

Beilein - There is not a single coach in America that gets more out of his players (Chris Beard has been awesome, but small sample size). Elite player development.
Izzo - No weaknesses as a coach. Impressive NCAA tournament and Big Ten resume.
Painter - I still can't believe Painter got this past year's team to the Elite Eight, after losing four Senior starters from the year before. Elite game planner.

(big drop off)

Holtmann - Followed up the success at Butler with surprising immediate success at Ohio State. Most figured it would take a couple years to build the program back up. Definitive player coach.
Gard - Poor man's Bo Ryan who needs to show that he can win consistently with his own players. Has done a solid job post-Ryan, but we'll have a better idea after this next season.
Turgeon - Main reason I have him here is because he is an excellent recruiter (though Maryland has a really good basketball history, so recruiting is easier than most Big Ten teams). Makes the NCAA tournament most years, but his teams usually flame out early. Opposite of Beilein: instead of doing more with less, he typically does less with more.
Collins - Northwestern is one of the toughest jobs in all of college basketball. While the last two seasons were disappointing, he should be commended for getting them to the NCAA tournament for the first time. Remember, they were a controversial call from being in the Sweet Sixteen. Solid X's and O's. Major disadvantage in recruiting. If he was at non-private power-6 program, I think he is a good enough coach to make the NCAA tournament most years. If next year is another disappointment (which is looking to be the case), I'd drop him.
McCaffery - Elite offensive-minded coach, but very poor on the defensive end. Iowa was in awful shape when he took over, but he has got them back to respectability. Has had a couple seasons of very disappointing teams compared to expectations.
Pitino - I'll slot Pitino here for now. If he makes the NCAA tournament next year, I'd put him higher than McCaffery and Collins. Seems like he is finally learning his way after struggling early. High ceiling.
Pikiell - I think Pikiell is a great defensive-minded coach who puts everything into his coaching. Rutgers is such a difficult place to win at. He has the program on the rise.
Underwood - We finally get to see what Illinois can really look like next season when he'll have a complete team. Could rise quickly up this list.
Miller - Yes, I'm putting Miller here. I understand he had success at Dayton, and he even got them to the Elite Eight, but his first two years have been a huge disappointment for the Hoosiers. Indiana could be looking at another non-NCAA tournament team next year. Does he survive if they don't make it in his first three years? This isn't comparable to when Crean took over and Indiana had a completely bare cupboard because of the Sampson infractions/firing.
Chambers - Another coach at another place that's hard to consistently win at. Unfortunately Penn State has the worst fanbase in the Big Ten, and probably the worst arena, which has to make recruiting tough. I think Chambers is a solid coach, but he has yet to make the NCAA tournament. If Stevens comes back next year, I think they'll hear their name called on Selection Sunday.
 
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I'll take a swing at this. I'm leaving out Hoiberg because he hasn't coached a game in the Big Ten yet. Also, my list isn't strictly based on win and losses. Some jobs are much tougher than others.

Beilein - There is not a single coach in America that gets more out of his players (Chris Beard has been awesome, but small sample size). Elite player development.
Izzo - No weaknesses as a coach. Impressive NCAA tournament and Big Ten resume.
Painter - I still can't believe Painter got this past year's team to the Elite Eight, after losing four Senior starters from the year before. Elite game planner.

(big drop off)

Holtmann - Followed up the success at Butler with surprising immediate success at Ohio State. Most figured it would take a couple years to build the program back up. Definitive player coach.
Gard - Poor man's Bo Ryan who needs to show that he can win consistently with his own players. Has done a solid job post-Ryan, but we'll have a better idea after this next season.
Turgeon - Main reason I have him here is because he is an excellent recruiter (though Maryland has a really good basketball history, so recruiting is easier than most Big Ten teams). Makes the NCAA tournament most years, but his teams usually flame out early. Opposite of Beilein: instead of doing more with less, he typically does less with more.
Collins - Northwestern is one of the toughest jobs in all of college basketball. While the last two seasons were disappointing, he should be commended for getting them to the NCAA tournament for the first time. Remember, they were a controversial call from being in the Sweet Sixteen. Solid X's and O's. Major disadvantage in recruiting. If he was at non-private power-6 program, I think he is a good enough coach to make the NCAA tournament most years. If next year is another disappointment (which is looking to be the case), I'd drop him.
McCaffery - Elite offensive-minded coach, but very poor on the defensive end. Iowa was in awful shape when he took over, but he has got them back to respectability. Has had a couple seasons of very disappointing teams compared to expectations.
Pitino - I'll slot Pitino here for now. If he makes the NCAA tournament next year, I'd put him higher than McCaffery and Collins (given that I'd drop him after next season). Seems like he is finally learning his way after struggling early. High ceiling.
Pikiell - I think Pikiell is a great defensive-minded coach who puts everything into his coaching. Rutgers is such a difficult place to win at. He has the program on the rise.
Underwood - We finally get to see what Illinois can really look like next season when he'll finally have a complete team. Could rise quickly up this list.
Miller - Yes, I'm putting Miller here. I understand he had success at Dayton, and he even got them to the Elite Eight, but his first two years have been a huge disappointment for the Hoosiers. Indiana could be looking at another non-NCAA tournament team next year. Does he survive if they don't make it in his first three years? This isn't comparable to when Crean took over and Indiana had a completely bare cupboard because of the Sampson infractions/firing.
Chambers - Another coach at another place that's hard to consistently win at. Unfortunately Penn State has the worst fanbase in the Big Ten, and probably the worst arena, which has to make recruiting tough. I think Chambers is a solid coach, but he has yet to make the NCAA tournament. If Stevens comes back next year, I think they'll hear their name called on Selection Sunday.

Well done, sir.
 

I'll take a swing at this. I'm leaving out Hoiberg because he hasn't coached a game in the Big Ten yet. Also, my list isn't strictly based on win and losses. Some jobs are much tougher than others.

Beilein - There is not a single coach in America that gets more out of his players (Chris Beard has been awesome, but small sample size). Elite player development.
Izzo - No weaknesses as a coach. Impressive NCAA tournament and Big Ten resume.
Painter - I still can't believe Painter got this past year's team to the Elite Eight, after losing four Senior starters from the year before. Elite game planner.

(big drop off)

Holtmann - Followed up the success at Butler with surprising immediate success at Ohio State. Most figured it would take a couple years to build the program back up. Definitive player coach.
Gard - Poor man's Bo Ryan who needs to show that he can win consistently with his own players. Has done a solid job post-Ryan, but we'll have a better idea after this next season.
Turgeon - Main reason I have him here is because he is an excellent recruiter (though Maryland has a really good basketball history, so recruiting is easier than most Big Ten teams). Makes the NCAA tournament most years, but his teams usually flame out early. Opposite of Beilein: instead of doing more with less, he typically does less with more.
Collins - Northwestern is one of the toughest jobs in all of college basketball. While the last two seasons were disappointing, he should be commended for getting them to the NCAA tournament for the first time. Remember, they were a controversial call from being in the Sweet Sixteen. Solid X's and O's. Major disadvantage in recruiting. If he was at non-private power-6 program, I think he is a good enough coach to make the NCAA tournament most years. If next year is another disappointment (which is looking to be the case), I'd drop him.
McCaffery - Elite offensive-minded coach, but very poor on the defensive end. Iowa was in awful shape when he took over, but he has got them back to respectability. Has had a couple seasons of very disappointing teams compared to expectations.
Pitino - I'll slot Pitino here for now. If he makes the NCAA tournament next year, I'd put him higher than McCaffery and Collins. Seems like he is finally learning his way after struggling early. High ceiling.
Pikiell - I think Pikiell is a great defensive-minded coach who puts everything into his coaching. Rutgers is such a difficult place to win at. He has the program on the rise.
Underwood - We finally get to see what Illinois can really look like next season when he'll have a complete team. Could rise quickly up this list.
Miller - Yes, I'm putting Miller here. I understand he had success at Dayton, and he even got them to the Elite Eight, but his first two years have been a huge disappointment for the Hoosiers. Indiana could be looking at another non-NCAA tournament team next year. Does he survive if they don't make it in his first three years? This isn't comparable to when Crean took over and Indiana had a completely bare cupboard because of the Sampson infractions/firing.
Chambers - Another coach at another place that's hard to consistently win at. Unfortunately Penn State has the worst fanbase in the Big Ten, and probably the worst arena, which has to make recruiting tough. I think Chambers is a solid coach, but he has yet to make the NCAA tournament. If Stevens comes back next year, I think they'll hear their name called on Selection Sunday.
Well done. I know we differ on a few, but I understand why Miller would be ranked so low compared to expectations and going off his IU record alone. That fan base doesn't have much in the way for patience

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Beilein
Izzo

Painter
Holtzman
Turgeon

Hoiberg
Pitino
Gaard
Angry Fran
Miller

Underwood
Chambers
Pikiell
Collins
 

Izzo
JB
Painter
Holtman
Miller
Gard
Turgeon
Underwood
Hoiberg
Fran
Collins
Pitino
Pikeil
Chambers
 

Izzo
Beilein
Painter
Turgeon
Gard
Pitino
Holtmann
Underwood
Chambers
Pikiell
Hoiberg
Miller
McCaffery
Collins

I wanted to move Underwood and Holtmann up more, but havent seen enuf of them. Chambers and Pikiell seem like the same to me, their teams play hard and are well coached but they seem to have a hard time advancing their teams. Not really impressed with McCaffery over the years. Have no idea with Hoiberg really at this point.
 
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Are you nuts? Why all the love for Hoiberg? What has he done? He won't be able to poach all of the transfers when he was the only game in town. Also, are your rankings based upon what they have accomplished in the B1G or you feeling about their potential based upon earlier careers at much lower levels?

Do you mean what has he done beside go to the NCAA tournament in 80 percent of his seasons coaching college ball, posting a career winning record in a major conference, going 4-4 in tournament games, and taking Iowa state to the sweet 16?
 



You had Turgeon 14th. That alone makes you pretty difficult to take seriously

Here is his history:

http://barttorvik.com/coach-history.php?coach=Mark Turgeon

Considering he is at the premium Under Armour school and in the prime recruiting area of DC (with Georgetown severely down), he simply isn't getting much done. In his tenure in the B1G, they have had either the best or second best talent in their team yearly yet haven't done squat.

My opinion is if you put a coach like Beilien/Painter/Izzo at Maryland, they either win the league or are #2 every year.
 

Here is his history:

http://barttorvik.com/coach-history.php?coach=Mark Turgeon

Considering he is at the premium Under Armour school and in the prime recruiting area of DC (with Georgetown severely down), he simply isn't getting much done. In his tenure in the B1G, they have had either the best or second best talent in their team yearly yet haven't done squat.

My opinion is if you put a coach like Beilien/Painter/Izzo at Maryland, they either win the league or are #2 every year.

Small sample size but our contacts with Maryland people sitting near us at BTT said the fan base is getting frustrated with Turgeon. High talent level that peters out consistently at season's end. In my eye test, I see really good players that appear to underachieve.
 

Here is his history:

http://barttorvik.com/coach-history.php?coach=Mark Turgeon

Considering he is at the premium Under Armour school and in the prime recruiting area of DC (with Georgetown severely down), he simply isn't getting much done. In his tenure in the B1G, they have had either the best or second best talent in their team yearly yet haven't done squat.

My opinion is if you put a coach like Beilien/Painter/Izzo at Maryland, they either win the league or are #2 every year.

Ranking the guy who averages a 4th place finish as the 14th best out of 14 is ridiculous. It's fine if you want to put him at 7th or 8th, but come on. It's also fine to knock him a bit for performing below the talent expectation of his roster, but you have to remember that a college coach is a coach and GM -- so he's also responsible (aka deserves the credit) for bringing in those talented players.
 

Small sample size but our contacts with Maryland people sitting near us at BTT said the fan base is getting frustrated with Turgeon. High talent level that peters out consistently at season's end. In my eye test, I see really good players that appear to underachieve.

I would love to know who those Maryland fans think they could get that would be much better. It's a good job, but not one of those that does it self like a blue blood. Programs with much better tradition (see: UCLA) have gone looking for coaches recently and did not end up with what they thought they would.
 



Guess I need to update this, everyone moves up one, except Izzo who is the top dog. Gotta put Howard at the bottom until I have something to go off of. The canvas doesn't get any fresher

Izzo
Painter
Holtmann
Hoiberg
Miller
Turgeon
Fran
Gard
Pitino
Underwood
Collins
Chambers
Pikiell
Howard

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Guess I need to update this, everyone moves up one, except Izzo who is the top dog. Gotta put Howard at the bottom until I have something to go off of. The canvas doesn't get any fresher

Izzo
Painter
Holtmann
Hoiberg
Miller
Turgeon
Fran
Gard
Pitino
Underwood
Collins
Chambers
Pikiell
Howard

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Having Holtzman, Hoiberg, Miller. Fran, and Turgeon ahead of Gard is bordering on ignorance. When you let your bias and hatred of Wisconsin dictate your pecking order, it makes your list seem ridiculous and should not be taken serious.
 

Ranking the guy who averages a 4th place finish as the 14th best out of 14 is ridiculous. It's fine if you want to put him at 7th or 8th, but come on. It's also fine to knock him a bit for performing below the talent expectation of his roster, but you have to remember that a college coach is a coach and GM -- so he's also responsible (aka deserves the credit) for bringing in those talented players.

My basic premise on my list is that I know how good some coaches are or are not. Those that are good are at the top. Those who I believe are bad are at the bottom. For a huge group in the middle, I have very little info to base my opinion on. Underwood, Hoiberg, Holtman, Miller, Gard, Pikiell are relatively new at their posts and now we add Howard. Until they prove otherwise, I rank each of them better than Fran, Turgeon, Collins, or Pitino...who all have a proven track record over a longer period.
 

Having Holtzman, Hoiberg, Miller. Fran, and Turgeon ahead of Gard is bordering on ignorance. When you let your bias and hatred of Wisconsin dictate your pecking order, it makes your list seem ridiculous and should not be taken serious.

I'm not sure who Holtzman is, but Turgeon's win % at Maryland is 66.2%. Gard's is 63%. They've had very similar success, which makes your comments pretty ironic and hypocritical. Not surprising, though.
 

Having Holtzman, Hoiberg, Miller. Fran, and Turgeon ahead of Gard is bordering on ignorance. When you let your bias and hatred of Wisconsin dictate your pecking order, it makes your list seem ridiculous and should not be taken serious.
This is comic gold. I don't think Gard is a bad coach, I have him ahead of Pitino. Fran is ahead of him because of the gong show he inherited in Iowa, but it's close. Hoiberg built Iowa State into a top 15 program from mediocrity. Turgeon, while I think he has underachieved is a good Recruiter, did a great job of transitioning his program from a mediocre ACC team to a regular top four big ten program a few years back and quite frankly Maryland always seems to finish around where Wisconsin does Gard has done a fine job, but part of being a college coach is roster management and getting talent. No objective fan would say your roster is in a better spot than it was when Bo left. You guys are ****ed if Reuvers or Trice gets injured. You have a nice but not elite top five. If I had to pick it today you guys would be on the right side of the bubble which is good for seventh or eighth in the league, which is where I have your coach ranked. Take off the red and white goggles

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We all know Pitino the best interview in the league, maybe in the country. Has away of being honest without tossing anyone under the bus, with that great east coast sarcasm

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We all know that ? The national media does not look at him that way at all. Whenever i see him and listen all that comes to my mind is pee wee herman. No charisma, not dynamic, not a looker for the ladies. He is a tiny bit funny. That is how i see it. None of it will bother me if he can win conference titles !
 

This is comic gold. I don't think Gard is a bad coach, I have him ahead of Pitino. Fran is ahead of him because of the gong show he inherited in Iowa, but it's close. Hoiberg built Iowa State into a top 15 program from mediocrity. Turgeon, while I think he has underachieved is a good Recruiter, did a great job of transitioning his program from a mediocre ACC team to a regular top four big ten program a few years back and quite frankly Maryland always seems to finish around where Wisconsin does Gard has done a fine job, but part of being a college coach is roster management and getting talent. No objective fan would say your roster is in a better spot than it was when Bo left. You guys are ****ed if Reuvers or Trice gets injured. You have a nice but not elite top five. If I had to pick it today you guys would be on the right side of the bubble which is good for seventh or eighth in the league, which is where I have your coach ranked. Take off the red and white goggles

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You think Hoiberg built a top 15 program at Iowa State ?
 

We all know that ? The national media does not look at him that way at all. Whenever i see him and listen all that comes to my mind is pee wee herman. No charisma, not dynamic, not a looker for the ladies. He is a tiny bit funny. That is how i see it. None of it will bother me if he can win conference titles !
The butthurt is strong with you, way to take a month to respond to that. Sorry my honest assessment of Greg Gard got to you.

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You think Hoiberg built a top 15 program at Iowa State ?
They were when he was there, I know he didn't do it the Dick Bennett way so you won't respect it, but they absolutely were under Hoiberg

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The butthurt is strong with you, way to take a month to respond to that. Sorry my honest assessment of Greg Gard got to you.

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It does not bother me what you think of Gard, your entitled your opinion. That is what a message board is. I am not even claiming that my opinion is better than yours. We simply look at something and see it differently.
Pulling Hoiberg's record, number of conference titles or elite 8's or final 4's it comes up well short of more than 15 programs over that time frame. Just because he built it in a way i do not support does not mean i do not respect him
 

They were when he was there, I know he didn't do it the Dick Bennett way so you won't respect it, but they absolutely were under Hoiberg

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Please, if you expect credibility, don’t make outlandish statements. They did briefly crack the top ten for a few weeks in the 14-15 season, but never finished in the top 15 any year the Freddy was their.


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We all know that ? The national media does not look at him that way at all. Whenever i see him and listen all that comes to my mind is pee wee herman. No charisma, not dynamic, not a looker for the ladies. He is a tiny bit funny. That is how i see it. None of it will bother me if he can win conference titles !

Come on built? You have to admit that Pitino is more straightforward and honest in his interviews than most bb coaches. Also, Richard doesn’t quite have a national reputation for his interviews, because he hasn’t had that many yet. Most of the sports reports that have had the chance to get to know him, like his style.

OK, as for look alikes, didn’t Bo Ryan look like the green Grinch?


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Come on built? You have to admit that Pitino is more straightforward and honest in his interviews than most bb coaches. Also, Richard doesn’t quite have a national reputation for his interviews, because he hasn’t had that many yet. Most of the sports reports that have had the chance to get to know him, like his style.

OK, as for look alikes, didn’t Bo Ryan look like the green Grinch?


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Completely agree on Ryan and the grinch. Never liked Bo but he was one hell of a coach. Agree on Pitino being more straightforward and honest than most but i find him neither funny, insightful or charismatic. Certainly not among the best interviews in my opinion. Just MY OPINION. Fyi, i actually think he is a good person, never thought that of Bo . Being a good person counts for a ton in my book but he is hired to win !
 

I don't see how Gard can't be considered top 5 now that Beilien is gone.

Izzo
Painter
Holtman
Turgeon
Gard
Hoiberg
Pitino
Miller
the rest I don't care about.
 

The butthurt is strong with you, way to take a month to respond to that. Sorry my honest assessment of Greg Gard got to you.

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That is the problem. Your honest assessment is fine, however it is obvious that is is weighted heavily against Gard because he is the HC at a hated rival. This doesn't even mean you hate him. It only means that you have a predetermination of his value based on false criteria.
 

I’m surprised by all the defense for Gard. My jury is still out on him. If he was a gopher coach, Bo would still be receiving all the credit through last year, since every star player has been a Bo recruit.

In my untrained eye, I haven’t seen a lot of player development under Gard, but that could be due to a lack of talent. Happ and Reuver’s have certainly improved. Davison, Iverson, Pritzl, and Ford haven’t grown much since arriving. Van Vliet and Illikanen were built up by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel before disappearing. Thomas never made a senior splash.

King has the look and could be great, trice looks like a classic underdog who can get hot and win you a few games. But they need to prove it.

Gard certainly knows how to run the system and has shown he can game plan for the grind of the big ten, but he hasn’t done enough for me to have confidence that he will ever reach the sweet sixteen again, let alone make a deep run. I know built has other standards (finishing top 4 in conference every year is his standard for excellence) but my standards are to be a threat every year in the NCAA tournament.

As a badger fan, I’m very disappointed in the way Bo seem to force the issue for Barry. Wisconsin had an awesome opportunity to capitalize on the momentum and image that Bo had finally created. Instead, Gard came in and they’ve seemingly regressed to the status quo, setting a roster of excellent role players, while hoping to strike gold with a local 5-star (dekker) arriving on campus the same time a diamond in the rough (kaminsky) emerges as an upper classman.

Sorry for the badger rant... but forgive me, it’s May.


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The butthurt is strong with you, way to take a month to respond to that. Sorry my honest assessment of Greg Gard got to you.

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Wisconsin under Gard is a bit like Arizona post Lute Olsen. A balloon with a slow leak. They're in denial about it. It's better than say UConn post Calhoun but it's still happening.
 




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