Short and Sweet: Many Coaches Posted Better One-Year Marks Than Medved
Niko Medved ended Drake's streak of three consecutive 20-loss seasons with a 17-17 mark before departing for Colorado State after only one campaign with the Bulldogs. But what a majority of media mavens fail to point out is there have been numerous "won-and-done" mentors posting better winning percentages in "short-and-sweet" one-year stints since the generally recognized start of the modern era of college basketball in the early 1950s.
Fordham improved by 14 games in Digger Phelps' only season with the Rams in 1970-71, a mark standing for one-year wonders until Chris Beard broke it with a 15-game improvement after UALR (30-5) went 13-18 in 2014-15. UNC Wilmington's Buzz Peterson, the only coach to win a national postseason championship in his only season at a school (Tulsa), is among the following "one-and-done" coaches who won more than 60% of their games in one-year tenures in the last 50-plus years:
| Coach | School | Single Season | W-L | Pct. | Reason for One-Year Stint |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lute Olson | Long Beach State | 1973-74 | 24-2 | .923 | Became coach at Iowa. |
| Digger Phelps | Fordham | 1970-71 | 26-3 | .897 | Became coach at Notre Dame. |
| Chris Beard | UALR | 2015-16 | 30-5 | .857 | Became coach at UNLV. |
| Carl Tacy | Marshall | 1971-72 | 23-4 | .852 | Became coach at Wake Forest. |
| Keno Davis | Drake | 2007-08 | 28-5 | .848 | Became coach at Providence. |
| Matt Painter | Southern Illinois | 2003-04 | 25-5 | .833 | Became coach at Purdue. |
| Stan Heath | Kent State | 2001-02 | 29-6 | .829 | Became coach at Arkansas. |
| Paul Weir | New Mexico State | 2016-17 | 28-6 | .824 | Became coach at New Mexico. |
| Thad Matta | Butler | 2000-01 | 24-8 | .750 | Became coach at Xavier. |
| Bill Fitch | Bowling Green | 1967-68 | 18-7 | .720 | Became coach at Minnesota. |
| Jim Harding* | La Salle | 1967-68 | 20-8 | .714 | Forced out by administration. |
| Buzz Peterson | Tulsa | 2000-01 | 26-11 | .703 | Became coach at Tennessee. |
| Bob Vanatta | Army | 1953-54 | 15-7 | .682 | Became coach at Bradley. |
| Larry Shyatt | Wyoming | 1997-98 | 19-9 | .679 | Became coach at Clemson. |
| Rick Barnes | George Mason | 1987-88 | 20-10 | .667 | Became coach at Providence. |
| Ron Greene | Mississippi State | 1977-78 | 18-9 | .667 | Became coach at Murray State. |
| Art Tolis | New Orleans | 1987-88 | 21-11 | .656 | Forced out by administration. |
| Scott Drew | Valparaiso | 2002-03 | 20-11 | .645 | Became coach at Baylor. |
| Louis Orr | Siena | 2000-01 | 20-11 | .645 | Became coach at Seton Hall. |
| Bob Huggins | Kansas State | 2006-07 | 22-13 | .629 | Became coach at West Virginia. |
| Grant McCasland | Arkansas State | 2016-17 | 20-12 | .625 | Became coach at North Texas. |
| Brad Underwood | Oklahoma State | 2016-17 | 20-13 | .606 | Became coach at Illinois. |
*Harding became coach for Minnesota (ABA) for portion of 1968-69 season.