Rank Big East HC Favorite to Most Hated

[Robrio89]

Interested in how other UConn MBB fans feel about the other head coaches around the league. Here is the order I have from the top being who I like the most down to who I really dislike

1. Kim English
2. Shaka Smart
3. Ed Cooley
4. Thad Matta
5. Doug McDermott
6. Shaheen Holloway
7. Whoever is coaching DePaul
8. Kyle Neptune
9. Sean Miller
10. Rick Pitino

I have Kim English up top because he is in my opinion the best up and coming coach.

I put Pitino at the bottom. His take about playing Carnesecca after losing to us at the XL center was ridiculous. I don’t think the guy enjoys being the least interesting coach in the conference. I won’t say he is a bad coach, he is a great coach, but never liked the guy.

 

[boog204]

English
Smart
McDermott
Matta
Pitino
Cooley
Holloway
Miller
Neptune
Depaul

 

[RedStickHusky]

Can I put Rick at #1 on both lists? I mean I really love to hate him.

 

[SwampYankee]

I don't understand the Shaka love, personally. His schtick of literally guarding opposing players out on the floor is super annoying.

 

[Chuck]

Pitino is most hated. I'm not a big Cooley fan as I believe he tampers with players, screwed his school by moving in conference and is jealous of all things UConn. I don't really dislike any of the others more than any other coach.

 

[MDHuskFan]

i like Neptune most for what he did to Villanova

 

[Inyatkin]

Cool, another thread to gush over Kim English for some reason

 

[Blue Blood]

Like
1. Shaka
2. Kim
3. Greg
4. Sha

No Strong Feelings
5. Thad
6. Holtman

Dislike
7. Miller
8. Neptune (Running a program the BE needs into the ground)
9. Cooley
10. Pitino

 

[Tenspro2002]

Shaka (energetic, passionate, does it the right way, tons of mutual respect between he and Hurley)
English (breath of fresh air relative to Cooley)
Matta (nice guy, good coach, rootable)
McDermott (solid coach, no particular beef, respect his sustained success in the middle of nowhere)
Miller (formerly shady, but very complimentary about the program)
Holloway (slightly favorable I guess)
Holtman (no feelings whatsoever)
Neptune (meh)
Cooley (whiny, overrated)
Pitino (sleazeball)

 

[superjohn]

1) McDermott- great coach, always a good interview, excellent x's and o's, has turned down way more money and bigger jobs to stay at Creighton, good guy
2) Shaka- really good coach, great guy and a classy individual. Infectious personality.
3) Miller- great coach, best interview in the league and a bball encyclopedia. He ran afoul in Arizona but seems like a pretty good guy
4) Holloway- great coach, great guy and master motivator.
5) English- too early to judge but he seems like he really knows what he's doing and has a higher ceiling than Cooley
6) Matta- really good coach and a good guy
7) Holtmann- Seems like a solid coach
8) Cooley- good coach but he's a sleaze
9) Pitino- amazing coach but he's the sleaziest
10) Neptune- worst coach in the league by far

 

[HuskyFich]

McDermott
Miller
English
Smart
Holloway

GAP

Pitino (He's really #2, he's just smug)
Matta
Holtman

GAP

Neptune
Cooley

 

[ucp990411]

Only one Big East coach I like. Guess who that is

 

[navery12]

I don't particularly like any of them. Most of them are fine coaches but I don't like any one over another

 

[Scrutiner]

I don't understand the Shaka love, personally. His schtick of literally guarding opposing players out on the floor is super annoying.

I agree about Shaka but for a different reason.

He's continually praised for his coaching, roster construction, etc. yet, while he got to the Final Four in his first NCAA Tournament, he didn't get past the round of 32 until this year......thirteen years later even with very high seeds.

He's getting high seeds (#2 each of the last two years) but not winning the games that bring money to the Big East.

His record since the 2011 Final Four was 2-8 through 2022, and then 1-1 in 2023 and 2-1 in 2024.

Some might say at 3-9 after 2023 and 5-10 after 2024 he's on an uptrend but what will he do this year without Kolek and Ighodaro?

 

[The Yakk]

1) McDermott- great coach, always a good interview, excellent x's and o's, has turned down way more money and bigger jobs to stay at Creighton, good guy
2) Shaka- really good coach, great guy and a classy individual. Infectious personality.
3) Miller- great coach, best interview in the league and a bball encyclopedia. He ran afoul in Arizona but seems like a pretty good guy
4) Holloway- great coach, great guy and master motivator.
5) English- too early to judge but he seems like he really knows what he's doing and has a higher ceiling than Cooley
6) Matta- really good coach and a good guy
7) Holtmann- Seems like a solid coach
8) Cooley- good coach but he's a sleaze
9) Pitino- amazing coach but he's the sleaziest
10) Neptune- worst coach in the league by far

This is my list too

 

[August_West]

Smart
Matta
Holloway
Miller
Holtman
English
McDermott
Neptune
Pitino
Cooley

 

[Jaydumo20]

Miller (he seems like a way better dude than I thought)
Smart
McD
Holloway
Kim
Thad
Cooley
Holtman
Neptune
Pitino

 

[willie99]

1). McDermott
2). Pitino
3) Smart
4) Miller
5) Holloway
6) English
7) Matta
8) Holtman
9) Cooley
10) Neptune

English off to a good start, prefer him over his predecessor

Neptune off to a horrible start, on the hot seat

Overrated Cooley has won 3 tournament games, advanced to the S 16 ONCE

McDermott, Pitini, Smart & Miller have impressive resumes

Holloway, Holtman and Matta are good coaches with difficult jobs

 

[ucp990411]

I dislike any coach who thinks they can beat us.

 

[MrSec224]

I dont Particularly Care for any of them to be fair. But if I had to choose:

Kinda Like Them
1. Shaheen Holloway
2. Kim English

I’d like him a lot more if we werent 2-7 against them
3. Doug McDermott

Respect but know hes a dirtbag
4. Rick Pitino
5. Sean Miller

Very Indifferent
6. Thad Matta

Don’t Like his General Demeanor
7. Shaka Smart

Hes bad at his job
8. Kyle Neptune

A Used Car Salesman
9. Ed Cooley

Need to Spend a Year With First and is ineligible for List
Chris Holtmann

 

[Huskyforlife]

I only dislike Cooley for his pretentiousness. Shaka for being on the court during live gameplay. McDermott got off softly for his racially charged comments.

Everyone else I'm indifferent to the coaches themselves. I find the English fan club on this board bizarre, since he hasn't won anything yet, or even made an NCAA tournament. But he hasn't showed any obvious character flaws, and I doubt he moves up the ladder this fast with no natural coaching talent.

If I were betting on a young up and coming coach in this conference, it'd be Holloway, at least he's outperformed expectations before. He needs to win enough games to get hired at a school with NIL.

The being mad at Pitino and general "cheaters" is always funny, like Calhoun was a saint. If you don't cheat, you end up like UConn football.

 

[storrsroars]

McDermott got off softly for his racially charged comments.

"Racially charged" seems a bit much. McDermott said something that a whole lot of other people, especially his age, would say w/o thinking of the origin. Same as "stay on the reservation". Call it "racially insensitive", but "charged" makes it sound like it had intent to harm. He got the appropriate punishment, IMO.

Greg McDermott's 'plantation' controversy, revisited: Timeline of Creighton coach's 2021 comments | Sporting News

McDermott is two years removed from making racially insensitive remarks to his team. The Sporting News lays out the timeline of events and the fallout from his comments.

www.sportingnews.com

"A lot of guys in that locker room were hurting from it, and I was hurting from what he said," Zegarowski says (via the Post). "At the same time, coach Mac has been a huge mentor for me and I know he would take a bullet for me and everybody in that locker room, including the coaching staff.

"I know he made a really bad mistake with what he said. Only I know everything he’s done for me as a player, but more important as a human being. He loves me, he loves everybody in that locker room. That’s my coach, I love that dude. People make mistakes, and that’s my guy."

 

[ARIDE]

Interested in how other UConn MBB fans feel about the other head coaches around the league. Here is the order I have from the top being who I like the most down to who I really dislike

1. Kim English
2. Shaka Smart
3. Ed Cooley
4. Thad Matta
5. Doug McDermott
6. Shaheen Holloway
7. Whoever is coaching DePaul
8. Kyle Neptune
9. Sean Miller
10. Rick Pitino

I have Kim English up top because he is in my opinion the best up and coming coach.

I put Pitino at the bottom. His take about playing Carnesecca after losing to us at the XL center was ridiculous. I don’t think the guy enjoys being the least interesting coach in the conference. I won’t say he is a bad coach, he is a great coach, but never liked the guy.

Why do u feel the need to do this?

 

[NJHoops]

Thad seems nice. Sha’s my guy. Shaka plays good defense. Don’t like McDermott at all. Pitino makes me feel physically ill. Cooley’s been awful, even when everyone was kissing his butt non-stop at Providence. That’s all I got.