Hoop Mount Rushmore: Where Does Coach K Rank Among Greatest Coaches?

June 8th, 2021 - 8:51

There are just over 20 coaches in history with tenures at least 30 years at one school. Insofar as players have had at most four seasons of eligibility, one could build a case that coaches enjoy a significant edge over players in long-term impact on the sport. In the aftermath of Mike Krzyzewski announcing his retirement following the 2021-22 campaign, how in the world does one attempt to pare down a "greatest" list? Here is where Coach K ranks among the all-time Top 10:

Rank Coach Career Record (Seasons and Schools/Winning Percentage) Summary of College Career
1. John Wooden 664-162 record (1947-75 with Indiana State and UCLA/.804) Classic example of why schools and fans should exercise a little more patience. Legendary coach lost his first five playoff games with UCLA by an average of 11.4 points and compiled an anemic 3-9 record from 1950 through 1963 before the Bruins won an unprecedented 10 national titles in 12 years from 1964 through 1975, including seven straight from 1967 through 1973. His 1962 team finished fourth in the NCAA Tournament and his 1974 squad finished third. Wooden, who inherited a program that posted only two winning seasons in 17 years before his arrival, had just two players (Alan Sawyer and Willie Naulls) compete in the NBA in his first 16 seasons in Westwood. Six-time national coach of the year won 13 conference titles in his last 14 years. Posted the nation's best record in back-to-back decades (1960s and 1970s). Excelled in close contests with a 100-62 mark (.617) in major-college games decided by fewer than six points.
2. Dean Smith 879-254 (1962-97 with North Carolina/.776) Only coach to direct teams to Final Fours in four different decades. He made 11 Final Four appearances (1967-68-69-72-77-81-82-91-93-95-97). All-time winningest major-college coach overall through 2006 and runner-up in NCAA Tournament competition (65 victories). Three-time national coach of the year reached NCAA Final Four 11 times--1967 (fourth), 1968 (runner-up), 1969 (fourth), 1972 (third), 1977 (runner-up), 1981 (runner-up), 1982 (champion), 1991 (tied for third), 1993 (champion), 1995 (tied for third) and 1997 (tied for third). Coach of 1971 NIT champion and 1973 third-place team. Captured 13 ACC Tournament championships and league-best 17 regular-season titles. Posted the nation's best record in the 1980s. Guided the Tar Heels to an NCAA-record 19 consecutive appearances in final Top 20 wire-service polls from 1971 through 1989. Compiled the best mark of any major-college coach with more than 250 games decided by fewer than six points (171-102, .626).
3. Adolph Rupp 876-190 (1931-72 with Kentucky/.822) Coached teams to four NCAA titles (1948, 1949, 1951 and 1958). His 1942 squad finished tied for third in the 1942 NCAA Tournament and his 1966 team was runner-up to Texas Western. Directed Kentucky to 1946 NIT title and to NIT championship game again in 1947. His 1944 UK team finished fourth at NIT. Coach of 1933 Kentucky squad that was selected as national champion by the Helms Foundation. Held NCAA career record for most victories until it was broken by Dean Smith. Coached UK to a SEC-record 24 conference and 13 league tournament titles. "If winning isn't important, why do they keep score?" said Rupp, who posted the nation's best record in back-to-back decades (1940s and 1950s). He reached the 400-, 500-, 600-, 700- and 800-win plateaus faster than any coach in major-college history. The Wildcats finished in the Top 10 of final AP polls each of the nine seasons they competed in the 1950s. Perhaps the only blemish on his resume is a 24-25 mark in one-point verdicts.
4. Clair Bee 412-87 (1929-51 with Rider and LIU/.826) Unbeaten LIU team won 1939 NIT. Lost fewer than four games seven times in nine years from 1934-42 en route to becoming the Blackbirds' all-time winningest coach. LIU went an eye-popping 218-20 (.916) during that nine-year stretch. "Play as a team and eliminate all thoughts of personal glory," Bee said. He reached the 200- and 300-win plateaus faster than any coach in major-college history. From 1934-35 until 1957-58, the Blackbirds had a homecourt winning streak of 139 games at the Brooklyn College of Pharmacy gymnasium. Bee boasted a brilliant 64-29 mark (.688) with LIU in games decided by fewer than six points. "In the first half of the century, Bee was basketball," said Bob Knight, who was befriended by Bee when Knight was at Army and Bee at a local military school. "There wasn't a thing he did that didn't affect the game, and there wasn't a thing that affected the game that he didn't do. He was one of the most singularly brilliant minds ever involved with athletics, and one of the greatest analytical basketball minds we've ever had. He had such a clear, brilliant grasp of what had to be done. He was a coach in the truest sense of the word."
5. Mike Krzyzewski 1,170-361 (1976-2021 with Army and Duke/.765) Five-time national coach of the year guided Duke to back-to-back NCAA Tournament titles in 1991 and 1992. Reached NCAA Final Four 12 times. Passed Dean Smith for most NCAA playoff victories in history. NCAA's all-time winningest coach has won 15 ACC Tournament championships. Ten consecutive Top 10 appearances in final AP polls from 1997 through 2006. Lost with the nation's No. 1 team seven straight seasons from 1997-98 through 2003-04 amid 24 such defeats from 1988-89 through 2010-11. Wooden, Smith, Rupp and Bee each had significantly better marks than Coach K in close contests. Lost to SUNY-Buffalo, Scranton (Pa.) and King's College (Pa.) in 1975-76 while coaching Army after his predecessor, Bob Knight, guided the Cadets to the NIT semifinals three times in a five-year span from 1966 through 1970. Failed to win an ACC regular-season title in last 11 seasons.
6. Bob Knight 866-353 (1966-2006 with Army, Indiana and Texas Tech/.710) Passed Dean Smith to become the nation's all-time winningest coach before one of his pupils, Mike Krzyzewski, passed him early in the 2011-12 campaign. Four-time national coach of the year reached NCAA Final Four five times--1973 (third), 1976 (champion), 1981 (champion), 1987 (champion) and 1992 (tied for third). Coach of six NIT semifinalists captured 1974 Collegiate Commissioners Association Tournament championship. Winningest coach in Big Ten Conference history. Of the three coaches to win basketball championships at every major level (the NCAA, NIT and Summer Olympics), he is the only one to capture the "Triple Crown" in a span of less than 10 years. Coach of last undefeated Division I team (Indiana in 1975-76) guided 21 squads to Top 20 appearances in final wire-service polls. Compiled the best mark of any major-college coach with more than 300 games decided by fewer than six points (183-137, .572).
7. Hank Iba 767-338 (1930-70 with Northwest Missouri State, Colorado and Oklahoma State/.694) Only coach with six or more NCAA playoff appearances to reach the regional finals every time. Oklahoma State won two national titles, was national runner-up once, finished fourth once, and was regional runners-up on four occasions in eight playoff appearances under Iba from 1945-65. Reached Final Four on four occasions--1945 (1st), 1946 (1st), 1949 (2nd) and 1951 (4th)--after directing Oklahoma A&M to three NIT semifinals--1938 (3rd), 1940 (3rd) and 1944 (4th). Oklahoma State's all-time winningest coach led the nation in scoring defense 16 times in his first 23 seasons with the school. Captured MVC-high 12 regular-season titles. The engaging Iba, hailed as the patriarch of basketball's first family of coaches, had seven of his former Oklahoma State players eventually coach teams into the NCAA playoffs. At last count, it is believed a total of more than 60 coaches who can trace their coaching lineage to Iba have made participated in the NCAA Tournament. "Mr. Iba's system was so sound and he inspired such confidence that there was never any question in my mind that his philosophy offered the best opportunity to be successful," said former coach Eddie Sutton. "The things he gave us are as valid today as they were 40 years ago." But Iba compiled a losing mark (103-114) in games decided by fewer than four points.
8. Phog Allen 746-264 (1906-09 and 1913-56 with Baker, Haskell, Central Missouri State and Kansas/.739) Total of 21 league champions. Had 17 consecutive undisputed first-division finishes with Kansas in the Big Six Conference from 1930 through 1946. Won more than 60 percent of his games decided by fewer than six points (156-100, .609). "The team with a great defense coupled with a good offense will almost always defeat the team with a good defense and a great offense," Allen said.
9. Jerry Tarkanian 784-205 (1969-92 and 1995-2002 with Long Beach State, UNLV and Fresno State/.793) Coach of 1990 NCAA champion reached NCAA Final Four four times in 15 years from 1977-91. Coach of seven Big West Tournament champions--1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990 and 1991. All-time winningest coach for Long Beach State and UNLV had penchant for recruiting suspect students. Guided UNLV to 10 straight Top 20 appearances in final wire-serivce polls from 1983 through 1992. Collected 14 PCAA/Big West Conference regular-season titles. Compiled the best mark of any major-college coach with more than 225 games decided by fewer than six points (151-80, .654).
10. Al McGuire 404-144 from 1958-77 with Belmont Abbey and Marquette/.737) Marquette's all-time winningest coach guided school to the NIT title in 1970 and NCAA championship in his swan song in 1977. McGuire's 1974 Marquette squad finished runner-up to North Carolina State in the NCAA Tournament and his 1967 team lost to Walt Frazier-led Southern Illinois in the NIT final. Two-time national coach of the year directed Marquette to Top 20 appearances in final wire-service polls his last 10 seasons. Excelled in close contests, winning 67.7% of his games decided by fewer than six points (63-30 mark). Posted a sterling 25-3 record in games decided by fewer than five points in a four-year span from 1971-72 through 1974-75. McGuire, equal parts P.T. Barnum and Bill Veeck, was one of the first white coaches to actively recruit inner-city players. LSU coach Press Maravich, whose son (Pete) became the NCAA's all-time leading scorer, had said before the 1970 NIT semifinals that "watching a team like Marquette play defense is like watching grass grow." McGuire's terse response before restricting Pistol Pete to nine field-goal attempts: "Well, if watching defense is like watching grass grow, your ass is grass and I'm the lawn mower."