OT - Likeable College Basketball Coaches
Bit of a slow time for the blog during one of the best sports times of the year, so thought I'd start a discussion.
While watching UConn it occurred to me that Danny Hurley comes across as a pretty likeable coach, compared to most successful coaches. I really have no idea what he's like in his private life. But I saw a recent interview where he talked about the challenges of living in his brother's shadow and touched on some mental health challenges associated with that, it was pretty endearing.
It seems to me that there are so many very successful, yet very unlikable basketball coaches out there. Izzo, Knight, Boeheim, Calhoun, Self, K, Bo Ryan, Cal, Pitino, the list goes on and on.
Beilein seems about as good as it gets from a successful/good guy combo. I'd also add Painter and Few to that list. Who you got? What other guys would you put on that successful coach/good guy combo list?
March 30th, 2024 at 10:00 PM ^
Probably the most underrated coach in the country.
He needs a raise.
Dusty May is successful and now part of the good guys club..
March 30th, 2024 at 10:09 PM ^
How did it take 49 minutes to mention Dusty???
Final Four and nearly universally beloved
And he is our guy!
March 30th, 2024 at 10:10 PM ^
If you watch college basketball, Danny Hurley is far from likeable. His antics of running onto the court along with run in with fans make him less than likeable.
March 30th, 2024 at 10:23 PM ^
Agree. I was surprised people thought he seemed likeable.
Steve Pikiell for the good guys list.
Steve Pikiell for the good guys list.
March 30th, 2024 at 10:10 PM ^
Mark Few
March 30th, 2024 at 10:23 PM ^
Mark Proud.
Markrines.
March 30th, 2024 at 10:36 PM ^
Very solid work here
March 30th, 2024 at 11:55 PM ^
I don't like Mark Few. Nothing tangible or objective. I almost always root against him. Maybe he reminds me of someone.
March 30th, 2024 at 10:13 PM ^
Roy Williams
March 30th, 2024 at 10:26 PM ^
Yeah, agree. But with my username I didn't want to go there.
March 31st, 2024 at 12:11 PM ^
I'm also biased as a Heels fan by marriage
March 31st, 2024 at 12:24 AM ^
He is who I thought of as well
March 30th, 2024 at 10:14 PM ^
Fred Hoiberg seems like a fairly like able dude
March 30th, 2024 at 10:37 PM ^
I understand that he is, like, able and all, but is he really likable?
March 30th, 2024 at 10:40 PM ^
Dam auto correct
March 30th, 2024 at 10:45 PM ^
o worries, happes to the best of us.
March 30th, 2024 at 11:53 PM ^
The Mayor
March 30th, 2024 at 10:41 PM ^
BASKETBALL
All-Time: John Beilein
Active: Shaka Smart
FOOTBALL
All-Time: John Cooper
Active: Mack Brown / Biff Poggi
March 30th, 2024 at 11:04 PM ^
Jim Valvano anyone? About as likable and charismatic as a basketball coach could be, with the miracle run to the championship in ‘83 simply adding to the legend.
March 31st, 2024 at 12:31 AM ^
That '83 run made the legend. The cancer battle - and his speech at the Espy's - cemented it. Had it not been for that title run, and the cancer, he would have no 'legend'.
But what a speech that was...
March 30th, 2024 at 11:33 PM ^
I listen to "Basketball and Beyond" hosted by Coach K on college sports radio on Sirius. For all his accolades and achievements he is a pretty humble guy. Always respectful to his guests and co-hosts. I don't understand the hatred towards him.
I will add Dusty May to the likeable list.
March 30th, 2024 at 11:48 PM ^
Lol your user name is Durham Blue and you're acting like you just recently found out about coach K after stumbling across his podcast.
March 30th, 2024 at 11:58 PM ^
Can't stand that guy or his show. Any humility he displays is a show. He's a rat.
I think Durham Blue's take is hilarious(ly bad).
He probably thinks Duke got all those one-and-done players without any bag$. He may also think that all the tryhards from the prior era (like "Wojo") never flopped.
As much an unchallenged tyrant on his campus as the more obvious blowhards.
March 31st, 2024 at 10:56 AM ^
The hatred is simple: he's yet another one of those goon coaches who bully refs. Izzo, Knight: the same.
Honestly, they should bar coaches from doing talking to anyone but players.
How can you leave Grayson Allen on the floor after he sucker punches someone and still be thought to be a good guy? NCAA championship over MSU and Wisconsin where the referees refused to call a foul against Duke. Players showing up on the roster with no known reason to be at Duke for style of play and for some reason decide to play for Duke?
March 30th, 2024 at 11:36 PM ^
Not the most particularly likable fellow, but the coach I feel most sorry for is Kelvin Sampson. Had that black cloud for silly recruiting violations hanging over his head for years, and nobody has had worse luck in the NCAA Tournament recently. Probably the best coach to never win a National Championship.
March 31st, 2024 at 12:06 AM ^
It’s interesting looking back on the “violations” that pretty much black-balled him for years and cratered IU basketball for half a decade were…quite minor in what we view as violations today.
Except Sampson had Oklahoma on a 3 year probation for over 500 recruiting violations before he ever got to Indiana. I get that with today's lens (anything goes), recruiting violations seem minor but at the time he was cheating compared to most others. Indiana hired him knowing what had happened and with the admonition to stay clean, and he did it again anyway.
I’m not on board with “best coach” accolades for any coach who refuses to foul up three with little time remaining (it was 1 second left against T A&M).
Does seem like a nice enough guy, and built Houston back up from nowhere.
Happy Easter everyone
Agreed. Absolutely no excuse for not fouling with 1 second left.
Probably the best coach to never win a National Championship.
I uh.. well I can think of another more deserving.
March 31st, 2024 at 12:13 AM ^
Pamela Anderson is the best.
Nobody could teach a guy to dribble and shoot quite like her.
March 31st, 2024 at 12:27 AM ^
Maybe, but I spent years under her tutelage and still can't go to my left.
Edit: And, btw, username checks out.
March 31st, 2024 at 12:24 AM ^
You left Brad Underwood off the asshole list.
March 31st, 2024 at 12:33 AM ^
LOL - I thought you were going for the sarcasm win until I saw the word 'asshole'...
He has the A-hole part down, it’s the successful aspect where he is lacking. That 30-0 run today was quite a laugher. I remember that one weird board post about Illinois needing to lose - that poster got his panties all wadded up over fear of underwood achieving something he can’t seem to do.
Underwood also needs to go on the bad hair list.
I always liked Jim Boeheim, I guess it’s because of Derrick Coleman and Todd Burgan.
Boeheim wetting his pants is still up there for my all-time weird sports fan moments.
I once tentatively, diplomatically mentioned to someone high in the Syracuse administration that Boeheim was ... not the calmest guy, and that person said "Yeah, he's a whiner."
Steve Fisher with those rosy cheeks has to be on the likable list. I think Lute Olson was pretty likable. Jerry Tarkanian. John Chaney. John Thompson.
Did Rick Adelman ever coach in college? If so, him too.
Respectfully, when I think of Chaney this comes to mind quickly:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6jUpHClybQ
This, too:
https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=19930329&slug=1693118
March 31st, 2024 at 10:57 AM ^
Chaney is a major league asshole