All the Kings' Men: Sendek Succeeds Pitino as Top Producer of Head Coaches
October 8th, 2017 - 17:45
For whatever reason, some mentors have a knack for developing NCAA Division I head coaches. Rick Pitino had the most ex-assistants (14) currently serving as DI bench bosses before Louisville changed the locks to his office.
Oklahoma's Lon Kruger (eight) has more former aides presently piloting DI programs than luminaries such as Kansas' Bill Self (six), Duke's Mike Krzyzewski (five), North Carolina's Roy Williams (five), Kentucky's John Calipari (four), Syracuse's Jim Boeheim (two) and Michigan State's Tom Izzo (two). But Kruger is locked in as runner-up to Santa Clara's Herb Sendek regarding most prolific producer of proteges in a DI head-coaching capacity.
Coincidentally, Sendek was an assistant coach at Providence and UK under Pitino for a total of six seasons. Former Miami (Ohio) assistant Thad Matta departed Ohio State, but following is an alphabetical list of the 12 active DI head coaches previously serving on a Sendek staff (six with Arizona State/four with Miami of Ohio/four with North Carolina State/one with Santa Clara):
| DI Head Coach | Current University | Stint(s) as Assistant Under Sendek |
|---|---|---|
| Jim Christian | Boston College | Miami (Ohio) for one season in 1995-96 |
| John Groce | Akron | North Carolina State for four seasons from 1996-97 through 1999-00 |
| Larry Hunter | Western Carolina | North Carolina State for four seasons from 2001-02 through 2004-05 |
| Ron Hunter | Georgia State | Miami (Ohio) for one season in 1993-94 |
| Archie Miller | Indiana | North Carolina State for two seasons in 2004-05 and 2005-06 and Arizona State for one season in 2006-07 |
| Sean Miller | Arizona | Miami (Ohio) for two seasons in 1993-94 and 1994-95 and North Carolina State for five seasons from 1996-97 through 2000-01 |
| Eric Musselman | Nevada | Arizona State for two seasons in 2012-13 and 2013-14 |
| Barret Peery | Portland State | Arizona State for one season in 2014-15 and Santa Clara for one season in 2016-17 |
| Scott Pera | Rice | Arizona State for six seasons from 2006-07 through 2011-12 |
| Rob Senderoff | Kent State | Miami (Ohio) for one season in 1995-96 |
| Lamont Smith | San Diego | Arizona State for four seasons from 2008-09 through 2011-12 |
| Dedrique Taylor | Cal State Fullerton | Arizona State for seven seasons from 2006-07 through 2012-13 |