Big 12 Coaches Rankings (Part 3)

Here’s part three of my mini-series of Big 12 Coaches Rankings — you can probably guess who’s number one.

4. Shaka Smart, Texas

Shaka was the dude at VCU, going 163-56 (.744) and making five consecutive NCAA tournaments, including a stunning Final Four run in 2011. For years, Shaka was the prized young coach on the market, but chose to stay at VCU for six years, making the tournament the last five years of his stint. Smart jumped to Texas prior to last year and went 20-13 in his first year, taking the ‘Horns to the NCAA tournament.

Smart plays a fast-paced, uptempo style that worked incredibly well at the mid-major level- it’s a different story at Texas, where he will try to convince four and five-star recruits year in and year out to buy in to his high energy, frequent substitution system. If he can, Texas will be an absolute terror to play year in and year out. I wouldn’t bet against him.

3. Bob Huggins, West Virginia

Huggy Bear has been doing his thing for a long time- he started his head coaching career in 1980, believe it not. But the numbers don’t lie when it comes to Huggins’ longstanding successs. Over the course of his career at Walsh, Akron, Cincinnati, Kansas State, and West Virginia, Huggins has put up a 784-315 record, good for a .713 winning percentage. Huggins has made 22 NCAA tournaments, has reached at least the Sweet Sixteen six times, and the Final Four twice- once at Cincinnati, once at West Virginia.

Huggy Bear also has had tremendous success on the recruiting trail- at Cincinnati, six out of nine years his classes ranked in the nation’s top 10. Then at Kansas State, he pulled in the No. 1 recruiting class in the country in 2007, including Michael Beasley and Bill Walker. At Kansas State!

Huggins has not been without his fair share of criticism and negative publicity in his career- he was arrested on a drunk driving charge in 2004 while at Cincinnati, which eventually led to him accepting a buyout to leave the school.

Then, after several successful season of reaching the NCAA tournament, Huggins left Kansas State for his Alma Mater of West Virginia after reports of a rocky relationship with Kansas State Athletic Director John Currie. Even with the off-the-court reputation, Bob Huggins is an elite basketball coach and has been for several decades.

2. Lon Kruger, OU

Lon Kruger has been coaching greatness for decades. Since starting in 1982 at Texas Pan-American, Lon Kruger has made stops at Kansas State, Florida, Illinois, UNLV, and now Oklahoma coaching to a career 590-361 record (.620 winning percentage). That includes making the postseason 21 out of 26 years of coaching, and his ability to rehab programs has been astounding.

Combined, the records of each school he coached out the year before his arrival were 78-99 (.441) — after Kruger’s arrival, every single school listed above won at least 20 games and took all but Texas Pan-American to the NCAA tournament by the second year of his stint. Kruger has reached two Final Fours, including one last year with Oklahoma, and shows no signs of slowing down at 64 years old.

1. Bill Self, Kansas

An argument can be made that Bill Self is the best college basketball coach in the country right now. The Oklahoma State Alumni has dominated the Big 12 unlike any coach ever has, winning 12 straight titles, Big 12 coach of the year four times, and winning national coach of the year twice (2009 and 2012). Bill Self sports a ridiculous 385-83 career record, good for an .823 winning percentage. The dude wins 82.3 percent of the time for his career.

Self has coached at Oral Roberts, Tulsa, Illinois, and Kansas. He took Tulsa, Illinois, and Kansas to an Elite 8, and won a national title at Kansas in 2007-2008. At just 53 years old, Bill Self has a chance to go down as one of the most prolific and winningest coaches of all time in college basketball.