bballnut90
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Kind of a random thread....curious to see what other fans thoughts are on this. Outside of Pat/Geno, who have been the top 5 coaches in the last 15 years?
My list:
Muffett McGraw-No brainer here. 4 title game appearances, 5 Final Fours and outside of Tennessee during the post Taurasi era, Notre Dame has been the only squad to find consistent success against Connecticut for a stretch of time (2011-2013). Her 2001 title team is one of the more underrated championship teams, and she has been one of the best coaches at developing player talent.
Gail Goestenkors-No titles and her career went south in 2007 once she left for Austin, but Duke was a force to be reckoned with from 1999-2007. 2 title game appearances, 4 Final Fours, always a top 2 seed. I think she would've done a much better job with the program had she stayed compared to what McCallie has accomplished. Despite her "deer in the headlights" look, Gail was a great recruiter at Duke and built that program into a powerhouse. I believe she would have eventually won a title had she stayed at Durham.
Tara Vanderveer-Another no brainer. 6 Final Fours with 2 title game appearances. No championships, but from 2005-2014 she built dominant, consistent teams that usually did pretty well in March. I think her performance this decade highlights the importance of recruiting. When she has had great recruits, a la the Ogwumikes, Wiggins, Appel, Pederson, etc, her teams have been consistent championship threats. When she hasn't had that talent (ex. early 2000s, this year), her teams haven't been able to keep pace.
Kim Mulkey-I'm a bit reluctant to put her on here, since I think her teams sorely underperformed during the Griner era, and she doesn't have any overperforming seasons outside of 2005 (and this season so far), but 2 Championships, 3 Final Fours and a boatload of Sweet 16s and Elite 8 appearances earn her a nod here. Baylor was dominant from 2011-2013, but her teams didn't show up in important games during the NCAA tournament in 2011 and 2013. And with a talents like Griner and Sims, she should have made more than 1 Final Four during their three years together.
Sherri Coale-She's my last pick for this list. She hasn't won a title but she has consistently been able to field good teams. Her 2002 squad would've won a championship in many seasons, she found success when stock piled talent with the Paris Twins, Robinson and Amanda Thompson, and she hasn't missed an NCAA tournament since 2000. She has 9 Sweet 16s in that span, 3 Final Fours and 4 Big 12 titles to her credit.
Just missed:
Brenda Frese-Statistically she should be on this list when you consider wins/losses, winning percentage and NCAA tournament production, but she consistently is outcoached and her teams are underprepared. I also think much of her success in 2006 can be contributed to Jeff Walz, and Maryland had more than enough talent to make the Final Four in 2007, 2008 and 2009 but never came through.
Jeff Walz-I think he's one of the best 5 coaches in the country in terms of coming up with an executing a game plan. He has had some success in the NCAA tournament with 2 Runner Up seasons, but he's never won a conference championship or received a top seed in the NCAAs. He's good at fielding Cinderella teams, but hasn't been able to build a dominant team. Louisville is a program on the rise, though, with their strong freshman class this year and Durr coming in next season.
Gary Blair-He is a good coach that consistent fields competitive teams. Happy for him that he took home the 2011 title, but that was a year when the NCAA tournament could have been played 4 times and you'd field 4 different winners. No other Final Four appearances this decade, no #1 seeds but builds consistently good teams.
My list:
Muffett McGraw-No brainer here. 4 title game appearances, 5 Final Fours and outside of Tennessee during the post Taurasi era, Notre Dame has been the only squad to find consistent success against Connecticut for a stretch of time (2011-2013). Her 2001 title team is one of the more underrated championship teams, and she has been one of the best coaches at developing player talent.
Gail Goestenkors-No titles and her career went south in 2007 once she left for Austin, but Duke was a force to be reckoned with from 1999-2007. 2 title game appearances, 4 Final Fours, always a top 2 seed. I think she would've done a much better job with the program had she stayed compared to what McCallie has accomplished. Despite her "deer in the headlights" look, Gail was a great recruiter at Duke and built that program into a powerhouse. I believe she would have eventually won a title had she stayed at Durham.
Tara Vanderveer-Another no brainer. 6 Final Fours with 2 title game appearances. No championships, but from 2005-2014 she built dominant, consistent teams that usually did pretty well in March. I think her performance this decade highlights the importance of recruiting. When she has had great recruits, a la the Ogwumikes, Wiggins, Appel, Pederson, etc, her teams have been consistent championship threats. When she hasn't had that talent (ex. early 2000s, this year), her teams haven't been able to keep pace.
Kim Mulkey-I'm a bit reluctant to put her on here, since I think her teams sorely underperformed during the Griner era, and she doesn't have any overperforming seasons outside of 2005 (and this season so far), but 2 Championships, 3 Final Fours and a boatload of Sweet 16s and Elite 8 appearances earn her a nod here. Baylor was dominant from 2011-2013, but her teams didn't show up in important games during the NCAA tournament in 2011 and 2013. And with a talents like Griner and Sims, she should have made more than 1 Final Four during their three years together.
Sherri Coale-She's my last pick for this list. She hasn't won a title but she has consistently been able to field good teams. Her 2002 squad would've won a championship in many seasons, she found success when stock piled talent with the Paris Twins, Robinson and Amanda Thompson, and she hasn't missed an NCAA tournament since 2000. She has 9 Sweet 16s in that span, 3 Final Fours and 4 Big 12 titles to her credit.
Just missed:
Brenda Frese-Statistically she should be on this list when you consider wins/losses, winning percentage and NCAA tournament production, but she consistently is outcoached and her teams are underprepared. I also think much of her success in 2006 can be contributed to Jeff Walz, and Maryland had more than enough talent to make the Final Four in 2007, 2008 and 2009 but never came through.
Jeff Walz-I think he's one of the best 5 coaches in the country in terms of coming up with an executing a game plan. He has had some success in the NCAA tournament with 2 Runner Up seasons, but he's never won a conference championship or received a top seed in the NCAAs. He's good at fielding Cinderella teams, but hasn't been able to build a dominant team. Louisville is a program on the rise, though, with their strong freshman class this year and Durr coming in next season.
Gary Blair-He is a good coach that consistent fields competitive teams. Happy for him that he took home the 2011 title, but that was a year when the NCAA tournament could have been played 4 times and you'd field 4 different winners. No other Final Four appearances this decade, no #1 seeds but builds consistently good teams.
