Top 5 coaches of all time. Calhoun in or out? | The Boneyard

Top 5 coaches of all time. Calhoun in or out?

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Wooden
K
Rupp
Smith
Knight
Roy
Calhoun

These seem to be the names that are pretty much in the debate. I find it interesting that Calhoun is just 14 wins away from passing Bobby Knight for #3 on the all time wins list which im assuming he will get this upcoming season with St. Joes. The stats support him being top already but that problably clinches it. I say hes top 5 along with Wooden, K, Rupp and Knight.
 
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Wooden cheated on a MASSIVE scale.
Rupp was a racist.
Roy isn't a great coach.
Roy Williams is a very good coach. At some point, your resume speaks for itself. 9 Final Fours, 3 National Championships, and 900 wins is a legendary career. With that in mind, he accomplished that at Kansas and North Carolina, the bluest of blue bloods in the game. As we all know, Jim Calhoun literally built his own legacy at UConn, which had very limited success nationally before he got here. Therefore, Jim Calhoun is above that in my opinion. Calhoun accomplished more with less compared to any other HOF college basketball coach. Just look at the number of McD All Americans Jim Calhoun had during his tenure at UConn compared to Roy, Coach K, Calipari, Self, etc. It really is amazing when you look at it from that angle.
 

jleves

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Not sure how you can't put Wooden at 1 based on the numbers regardless of the 'issues'.

Coach K probably gets 2. Yeah, he gets a ton of top 25 kids, but that's part of coaching. Duke wasn't getting that level before he got there, so you can't count that against him. Less of a build compared to UConn, but still a great build.

Roy was handed places that recruited themselves, got great talent and didn't turn it into enough to be considered top 5.

Can't speak to Rupp or Smith with any confidence, so I can't really rank them.

Knight did some amazing things but had his issues as well.

Calhoun probably did the most remarkable building of a college from dregs to elite in history. He may never really get the accolades he deserves cause he was not the most likable person outside the program.

Bottom line, he's definitely top 5 as far as my blue colored glasses can see. Whether that's 3, 4 or 5, I don't know.

The fact that we had a coach who is actually in the discussion is amazing and expecting any other coach to approach that is wishful even though we all love our current coach.
 
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Not sure how you can't put Wooden at 1 based on the numbers regardless of the 'issues'.

Coach K probably gets 2. Yeah, he gets a ton of top 25 kids, but that's part of coaching. Duke wasn't getting that level before he got there, so you can't count that against him. Less of a build compared to UConn, but still a great build.

Roy was handed places that recruited themselves, got great talent and didn't turn it into enough to be considered top 5.

Can't speak to Rupp or Smith with any confidence, so I can't really rank them.

Knight did some amazing things but had his issues as well.

Calhoun probably did the most remarkable building of a college from dregs to elite in history. He may never really get the accolades he deserves cause he was not the most likable person outside the program.

Bottom line, he's definitely top 5 as far as my blue colored glasses can see. Whether that's 3, 4 or 5, I don't know.

The fact that we had a coach who is actually in the discussion is amazing and expecting any other coach to approach that is wishful even though we all love our current coach.
Calhoun is so much more likable than all of them, he just never played their game.
 
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I'm sorry but I can envision these seven in a room, each one telling their story, and JC getting the most respect of the lot.
 
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I have trouble ranking Rupp. Most of his accomplishments were before I started watching. But of the others, Wooden is first, and in some order Dean Smith and K come next. Knight was a great coach, but he won at a school that was already a basketball power in a state larger than ours that lived for basketball. Roy is a very good coach, but he's made his bones at 2 of the bluebloods, and has failed to dominate at either. He's neither the best coach Kansas ever had or that UNC had. What Calhoun accomplished, in a small state that had made one regional final in its history is far more than either Knight or Roy. If you don't think so, ask which is more likely -- Calhoun matching Knight at IU or Williams at UNC or either of them having won 3 national championships in Storrs.

Calhoun is ahead of both of them. And if you want to make a case that neither K or Dean Smith would have accomplished what Calhoun did here I don't disagree, but wins and changing the game puts them ahead.
 
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Calhoun probably did the most remarkable building of a college from dregs to elite in history. He may never really get the accolades he deserves cause he was not the most likable person outside the program.

Bottom line, he's definitely top 5 as far as my blue colored glasses can see. Whether that's 3, 4 or 5, I don't know.
This is the big one with me. The build he did here is the best the sport has ever seen and im not sure its even close. Its like Montana State being put in the Big East and 30 years from now theyre sitting on 4 national titles and regarded as a national power. It was about as unbelievable to say the same about Uconn in 1986. NO ONE saw this type of success. Its not only what he did what he was here but here we are nearly 10 years since he left and this program even through tough times has brand recognition and respect. Just look at the reaction to our move to the big east and our recent recruiting success. It seems the response nationally is "oh dung! Here comes Uconn again!" Thats Calhouns legacy. Definitely top 5 and easily #1 build in the sports history.

Oh and i forgot to mention the 2011 run to the title may be the greatest march run of all time.
 
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I'm sorry but I can envision these seven in a room, each one telling their story, and JC getting the most respect of the lot.
Yeah because his story is the most unlikely. Uconn was only supposed to become respectable fodder for the big schools of the big east not become a national power among the great basketball programs ever with a coach that would stand among the greats.
 
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Wooden, Dean, K, Calhoun, Rupp, Roy are top 6 of all time. Jay Wright straddles that line IMO.

Bullies who throw chairs, punch cops, choke/head butt/aggressively grab by the arm//throw players down into their chairs, and shoves and chokes fans (and are even called Bullies by other coaches) don't make the list.
 
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pj

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I have trouble with Rupp. Most of his accomplishments were before I started watching. But of the others, Wooden is first, and in some order Dean Smith and K come next. Knight was a great coach, but he won at a school that had already a basketball power in a state larger than ours that lived for basketball. Roy is a very good coach, but he's made his bones at 2 of the bluebloods, and has failed to dominate at either. He's neither the best coach Kansas ever had or that UNC had. What Calhoun accomplished, in a small state that had made one regional final in its history is far more than either Knight or Roy. If you don't think so, ask which is more likely -- Calhoun matching Knight at IU or Williams at UNC or either of them having won 3 national championships in Storrs.

Calhoun is ahead of both of them. And if you want to make a case that neither K or Dean Smith would have accomplished what Calhoun did here I don't disagree, but wins and changing the game puts them ahead.

Calhoun is a better basketball coach and program builder than K or Dean Smith. They were better recruiters, which is a key part of coaching, so I can see ranking them ahead of JC ... maybe ... but we'll never know how much the great recruiting of Wooden, Smith, and K was enabled by shady money.
 
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Wooden, Dean, K, Calhoun, Rupp, Roy are top 6 of all time. Jay Wright straddles that line IMO.

Bullies who throw chairs, punch cops, choke/head butt/aggressively grab by the arm//throw players down into their chairs, and shoves and chokes fans (and are even called Bullies by other coaches) don't make the list.
What about racists?
 
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K would tell you JC's teams were always his toughest games..Well coached and scouted/game prep.. If JC had the rosters Roy had.. He would have had 3 or 4 more NCs.. There are NC BB games that I occasionally watch where it seems like they win games despite Roy's coaching..Not because of it..Still prefer the narrative as it turned out in Storrs..JC is top 5
 
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Calhoun is so much more likable than all of them, he just never played their game.
IMO.. JC was more interested in respect from his peers.. Being liked by his peers was not a high priority of his.. He respected hard work and talent that developed to its highest potential..He walked the walk..No one "built" a Program like he did..Having said this.. Have had the chance to speak with him a few times briefly.. And he is likeable and actually has a great sense of humor..May want to try decaff instead of caff once in awhile..LOL
 
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SubbaBub

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Wooden gets play for the sheer dominance and reverence he still gets from current coaches beyond just wins or NC's

K is #2

Dean Smith is #3 for a lot of the same reasons as Wooden. He legacy as a coach is still relevant in spite of only 2 NC's.

Calhoun and Knight are very close but JC gets the nod not only for hometown bias but the last third of Knight's career fell off dramatically both on and off the court.

Rupp has been rendered a relic of a time no one wants to revisit. He's out and Roy is neither the best coach from Kansas or UNC. You'd have to put Pitino and Squid with all their baggage ahead of both of those guys.
 

HuskyHawk

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Can't argue Wooden, K or Smith really. I think Knight was the best actual basketball coach out of all of them. Won with less talent and got the most out of his guys. I don't know that I'd include Rupp given how different his era was. Between Roy, Knight and Calhoun there are good arguments for any of them. Calhoun is the best program builder ever.
 
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Wooden was the Lance Armstrong of his era. Amazing record, achieved by performance enhancing cheating.
 

ColchVEGAS

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Calhoun is definitely in. Nobody built a program like him.

I remember the 04 season when they faced Duke in the Final 4, Coach K had more McD All-Americans on his team than Calhoun had recruited to UConn in his career at that point. Calhoun was great at finding under the radar talent and squeezing everything out of them.
 
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Surprised some national media troll didn’t come on here and mention Izzo. They love Izzo, and he has 1 title and I just

Anyhow,

let’s do coaches and eliminate wooden and Rupp and James Naismith and Fogg. Different eras.

Let’s take the mid 1970s on. Starts with Bob Knight, dean smith, boeheim, Coach K, Calhoun...

I can make Calhoun a top 5 case. He is certainly had the most difficult job of all.

roy Williams majorly overrated for me .

Underrated?
Jay Wright
Billy Donovan
 
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Judging coaches in all time sense is hard. 5 most successful aren't the same as the 5 best.
 

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