Legendary College Basketball Coaches, Revisited
Mike Krzyzewski, head coach of the Duke Blue Devils, once said: “I don’t look at myself as a basketball coach. I look at myself as a leader who happens to coach basketball.” Now that March Madness is nearly upon us, it seems appropriate to revisit and honor some of college basketball’s greatest “leaders”, who happened to also coach basketball.
John Wooden
Known as the “Wizard of Westwood”, John Wooden served as Head Coach for the UCLA Bruins from 1948 to 1975. Wooden’s team won 10 National Championships during that time (7 of them in a row), and Wooden also coached his players to 88 consecutive victories over that stretch. John Wooden played basketball in the ‘30’s at Purdue, and was the first to both be named All-American three times and also win a National Championship. As a coach, Wooden tallied up 4 perfect (30-0) seasons at UCLA, and racked up a record of 664-162 (.804 Win %) during his coaching tenure. Wooden was inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame both as a player (in 1961) and as a coach (in 1973); then, in 2009, John Wooden was given the ultimate honor of being named The Greatest Coach of All Time by The Sporting News. Despite passing away last year, Wooden’s seat at UCLA home games is left empty in his memory.
Adolph Rupp
Although Adolph Rupp’s name may be the least recognizable of those on this list, his contributions to college basketball were monumental. Rupp played ball at Kansas in the early ‘20’s under legendary Head Coach Forrest “Phog” Allen (who was also assisted in coaching duties by basketball’s Godfather himself, James Naismith). Then, from 1930 to 1972, Rupp served as Head Coach at Kentucky—coaching the Wildcats to victory 876 times, a loss only 190 times, and an 82% win percentage during his tenure. Rupp’s 82% win percentage still stands as the 2nd most of all time, Kentucky went on to win 4 National Championships under Adolph Rupp, and Rupp was named National Coach of the Year 4 times during his tenure. Rupp was later enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1969, and was enshrined again in the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.
Bob Knight
From 1971 until the end of the 20th century, Bob Knight served as Head Coach at Indiana, coaching the Hoosiers to 3 National Titles, 1 NIT Championship, and 11 Big Ten Titles over that span. Nicknamed “The General”, Knight has become a household name across America for chair-throwing stunts as well as his brash, loud-mouthed, hold-nothing-back attitude. But despite setbacks to his reputation, Knight was also a 4-time National Coach of the Year, a 6-time Big Ten Coach of the Year, and coached the U.S. Men’s Basketball team to Olympic Gold in 1984. Bob Knight was also inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991.
Dean Smith
During his 36-year career as Head Coach, Dean Smith became legendary both at North Carolina, as well as across the college basketball universe. From 1961 to 1997, Dean Smith coached his Tar Heels teams to an 879-254 record (.796 Win %), and retired as the all-time leader in coaching victories (879), although that would later be surpassed. Dean Smith coached UNC to 2 National Titles in 1982 and 1993, as well as to 11 Final Fours, and currently holds the 9th highest win percentage of any NCAA coach ever. Smith is a 4-time National Coach of the Year, a 9-time ACC Coach of the Year, was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1983 and into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006. But perhaps none of these accolades do justice to Dean Smith’s memory at North Carolina more than this: 97% of his Tar Heel players graduated from UNC with their degree—the mark of a true leader, both on the court and in the classroom.
