Harry Experience: Combes' All-American Collection Among Overlooked Feats
Only eight individuals have coached at least 14 All-Americans with one major college. Six years ago, Duke's Mike Krzyzewski broke a tie with Kentucky's Adolph Rupp and moved atop this list. This season, Coach K became the first with more than 30 after two freshmen were honored.
In one of the most overlooked achievements in NCAA history newest Champaign bench boss Brad Underwood should know about, 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 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) - until Bill Self bypassed them a couple of years ago. Recruiting the Chicago metropolitan area isn't a panacea for the struggling Illini, which should remember how 22 different major-college All-Americans in less than 30 years in an earlier era came from Illinois high schools located in towns featuring populations smaller than 20,000.
As a means of comparison, keep in mind 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 Tommy Amaker, Mike Anderson, Randy Bennett, Brad Brownell, Mick Cronin, Ed DeChellis, Scott Drew, Travis Ford, Frank Haith, Jim Larranaga, Fran McCaffery, Bob McKillop, Dan Monson and Tubby Smith have combined for fewer All-Americans than both Combes and Self. John Calipari has collected 11 A-As in his first 10 campaigns with Kentucky. Indiana boasts two of the following eight 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 | 32 All-Americans in first 39 seasons with Duke | 1980-81 through 2018-19 |
| Adolph Rupp | 23 in 41 seasons with Kentucky | 1930-31 through 1971-72 except for 1952-53 |
| Dean Smith | 22 in 36 seasons with North Carolina | 1961-62 through 1996-97 |
| John Wooden | 18 in 27 seasons with UCLA | 1948-49 through 1974-75 |
| Bob Knight | 17 in 29 seasons with Indiana | 1971-72 through 1999-00 |
| Harry Combes | 16 in 20 seasons with Illinois | 1947-48 through 1966-67 |
| Bill Self | 16 in first 16 seasons with Kansas | 2003-04 through 2018-19 |
| Branch McCracken | 14 in 24 seasons with 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.