Harry Experience: Combes Set Unprecedented A-A Standard With Illini
Only seven individuals have coached at least 14 All-Americans with one major college. Last year, Duke's Mike Krzyzewski broke a tie with Kentucky's Adolph Rupp and moved atop that list when "one 'n done" guard Austin Rivers, despite registering more turnovers than assists, became Coach K's 24th player to earn All-American acclaim. This season, Coach K became the first with as many as 25 when center Mason Plumlee was honored.
In one of the most overlooked achievements in NCAA history, Harry Combes amassed 16 different All-Americans in his first 19 of 20 seasons as Illinois' mentor from 1947-48 through 1966-67. No other coach has accumulated more than 13 All-Americans in his first 20 campaigns with a single school - North Carolina's Dean Smith (13 in first 20 seasons), Indiana's Bob Knight (12), Krzyzewski (12), Rupp (12), Indiana's Branch McCracken (11), Arizona's Lute Olson (11), UCLA's John Wooden (10) and Syracuse's Jim Boeheim (eight).
As a means of comparison, keep in mind that inactive NCAA Division I national coaches of the year P.J. Carlesimo, Perry Clark, Tom Davis, Eddie Fogler, Jim Harrick, Marv Harshman, Clem Haskins, Maury John, Jim O'Brien, George Raveling, Charlie Spoonhour and Butch van Breda Kolff combined for 17 All-Americans in a cumulative 251 years coaching at the major-college level. Moreover, prominent active coaches Steve Alford, Dana Altman, Tommy Amaker, Mike Anderson, Jim Baron, John Beilein, Randy Bennett, Brad Brownell, Mick Cronin, Ed DeChellis, James Dickey, Scott Drew, Fran Dunphy, Bruiser Flint, Tim Floyd, Travis Ford, Mark Gottfried, Brian Gregory, Frank Haith, Stan Heath, Paul Hewitt, Mike Jarvis, Trent Johnson, Billy Kennedy, Lon Kruger, Jim Larranaga, Steve Lavin, Fran McCaffery, Bob McKillop, Dan Monson, Stew Morrill, Oliver Purnell, Tubby Smith, Brad Stevens, Scott Sutton, Mark Turgeon and Gary Waters have combined for fewer All-Americans than Combes. Indiana boasts two of the following seven coaches with the most different All-Americans at one university:
| Coach | All-Americans With Single Division I School | School Tenure With Most All-Americans |
|---|---|---|
| Mike Krzyzewski | 25 All-Americans in first 33 seasons at Duke | 1980-81 through 2012-13 |
| Adolph Rupp | 23 in 41 seasons at Kentucky | 1930-31 through 1971-72 except for 1952-53 |
| Dean Smith | 22 in 36 seasons at North Carolina | 1961-62 through 1996-97 |
| John Wooden | 18 in 27 seasons at UCLA | 1948-49 through 1974-75 |
| Bob Knight | 17 in 29 seasons at Indiana | 1971-72 through 1999-2000 |
| Harry Combes | 16 in 20 seasons at Illinois | 1947-48 through 1966-67 |
| Branch McCracken | 14 in 24 seasons at Indiana | 1938-39 through 1942-43 and 1946-47 through 1964-65 |
NOTE: Respected retired mentors Gale Catlett, Mike Deane, Bill Henderson, Shelby Metcalf, Stan Morrison, Bob Polk, Charlie Spoonhour and Ralph Willard never had an All-American despite at least 18 seasons coaching at the major-college level.