When it comes to college basketball, there are a select few coaches that are considered the best of all time. These coaches have won championships, broken records, recruited some of the best players in the game, and developed many of those players into stars who went on to the pros.
In this blog post, we will take a look at the top 10 best college basketball coaches ever to set foot on a court.
10. Jerry Tarkanian
Coach Tarkanian, often referred to as "Tark the Shark," established a remarkable 729-201 record across three different teams and 34 years of coaching. His longest-lasting job was with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas's Runnin' Rebels, whom he led to a 509-105 record over the course of 19 years.
Tark's stint at UNLV included six conference tournament championship wins, four trips to the Final Four, and a March Madness tournament win at the end of the 1989-1990 season. Apart from his teams' records, Tarkanian was well known for recruiting frequently overlooked prospects and turning them into stars on the court.
9. Tom Izzo
Tom Izzo is one of the most successful men's college basketball coaches of all time. During his 28-year (and counting!) tenure as head coach at Michigan State University, the Spartans have won ten Big Ten regular season championships and six Big Ten tournament titles.
Izzo's Spartans have made it to 25 successive NCAA tournaments, more than any other team in all of college basketball history. On top of that, Izzo has never had even a single losing season during his entire head coaching career.
His teams have made it to the NCAA Final Four eight times, taking home the championship title in 2000. With a five-year contract extension signed in late 2022, Izzo plans to continue bringing his passionate coaching style and dedication to excellence on and off the court to the Big Ten.
8. Bob Knight
Bob Knight, also known as "the General", was the head coach of the Indiana Hoosiers from 1971 to 2000. During his tenure at Indiana, he won three NCAA championships (out of five total Final Four appearances) and 11 Big Ten titles.
Apart from his wins as the Hoosiers' coach, Knight coached several All-Americans and worked with players and assistant coaches who went on to achieve greatness in their own right, including future Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski (be on the lookout for him later on this list!), future UCLA coach Steve Alford, and future NBA player and coach Randy Wittman.
7. Denny Crum
Denny Crum was the head college basketball coach at the University of Louisville from 1971 to 2001. During his tenure, he led the Cardinals to two NCAA National Championships in 1980 and 1986 out of six Final Four appearances and 23 total NCAA tournament appearances. His second March Madness title in 1986 put him in an exclusive group of only 11 coaches who have won multiple NCAA national championships.
Crum's Cardinals also won 12 Metro Conference regular-season titles and three Missouri Valley Conference tournament championships. Crum ended his time at UofL with a career record of 675–295 (.696).
During his prolific career, Crum coached many great NBA players, including the Utah Jazz's Darrell Griffith (aka "Mr. Dunkenstein") and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Wes Unseld.
6. Jim Calhoun
During his tenure as head college basketball coach at UConn from 1986 to 2012, Jim Calhoun led the Huskies to three National Championships (1999, 2004, and 2011) out of four Final Four appearances, on top of seven Big East Conference titles. With the Huskies' 2011 March Madness victory, Calhoun became one of only a half-dozen coaches ever to win at least three national basketball championships.
In addition, Calhoun produced several NBA players, including former career three-point record-holder Ray Allen, Rookie of the Year Emeka Okafor, and four-time NBA All-Star player Kemba Walker. Calhoun was known for developing a close bond with his players off the court, which enabled him to bring out their best performances on game day.
5. Adolph Rupp
The son of German immigrant homesteaders, Adolph Rupp was a legendary basketball coach at the University of Kentucky. Rupp led the Wildcats to four NCAA championship wins, 13 SEC tournament titles, and 27 regular-season championships within the SEC during his time as head coach.
With over 876 wins in his career (the seventh-best by an NCAA Division I coach) and an all-time winning percentage of .822 (second only to Gonzaga University's Mark Few, who currently has a career win percentage of .837).
Rupp's teams were known for their intense defense, which often led to fast break opportunities and easy baskets. He also emphasized fundamentals such as shooting accuracy, ball handling, passing, and rebounding, which helped develop players into stars.
4. Roy Williams
Following a decade as assistant to North Carolina Tar Heels' Dean Smith, Roy Williams became head coach at the University of Kansas. Williams had a long and successful career at KU. During a 15-year tenure, Williams took the Jayhawks to 14 consecutive NCAA tournaments, which culminated in four Final Four appearances and two runner-up attempts for the national championship. Williams also had nine conference titles and an .805 winning percentage under his belt by the end of his time at Kansas.
After returning to North Carolina in 2003, Williams took the Tar Heels to three ACC tournament championships and three NCAA national championship titles out of five Final Four appearances. His role as coach of two highly successful programs meant that Williams was the only NCAA coach to take two separate universities to four or more Final Four appearances. Under Williams' guidance, over 50 players were drafted into the NBA, with 32 of those men being first-round picks.
3. Dean Smith
During his 36-year tenure at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Dean Smith led the Tar Heels to two National Championships and 11 Final Fours. At the time of his retirement in 1997, Smith had racked up 879 career wins, a record that stood until it was surpassed by Bob Knight in 2007.
During his time with the Tar Heels, Smith coached future NBA superstars that included Michael Jordan, James Worthy, Vince Carter, Antawn Jamison, and Sam Perkins. Off the court, Smith encouraged his student-athletes in their academics, with almost 97% of his players receiving degrees. Smith was also an active desegregationist, bringing on North Carolina's first African-American college basketball player to play on a scholarship, Charlie Scott, and working to integrate local restaurants and businesses in Chapel Hill.
2. Mike Krzyzewski
In a career spanning almost half a century (with 42 of those years spent at Duke University), "Coach K" led the Blue Devils to five NCAA Division I national titles, the second-highest of any NCAA coach in college basketball history. He also holds the record for most Final Four appearances, at 13. Krzyzewski has won more March Madness tournaments than any NCAA coach except for John Wooden, and he was the first Division I men's coach to reach a career 1,000 wins.
Apart from his historic work at the collegiate level, Krzyzewski also served as assistant coach under the NBA's Chuck Daly for the so-called "Dream Team," which took home the gold medal at the 1992 Olympics. Banking on that success, Krzyzewski acted as the head coach of the gold medalist US teams at the 2008, 2012, and 2016 Olympics. Also on the international stage, Krzyzewski coached the US teams to gold-medal victory at the FIBA World Cup in 2010 and 2014.
As a coach, Krzyzewski was best known for his ability to bring out the best in his players, both individually and as a unit. He was a master motivator, creating an environment where every player could thrive.
1. John Wooden
It's hard to imagine anyone other than the Wizard of Westwood occupying the top spot on our list. Not only does the legendary Coach John Wooden deserve to be named the best college basketball coach of all time, but he also ranks among the top coaches in any sport.
As head coach at UCLA (a position he held for 27 years), Wooden won 10 championships within a 12-year span, including seven consecutive titles between 1967 and 1973. His Bruins also had an incredible 88-game win streak that spanned four seasons.
Both of these phenomenal records still stand to this day, leaving no doubt of Wooden's status as the winningest coach in the history of the game. In honor of his amazing record, Wooden was named the AP College Coach of the Year and the NABC Coach of the Year five times each.
Apart from his unsurpassed record on the court, Wooden was also renowned for his "Pyramid of Success," which consisted of various building blocks of character, work ethic, and skill. His straightforward, patient, and honest style of coaching (summarized in maxims such as, "Be quick, but don't hurry") continues to be an inspiring legacy to players, sports fans, and other coaches to this day.
Conclusion
The top college basketball coaches of all time have demonstrated tremendous success both on and off the court. From John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success to Mike Krzyzewski’s Olympic gold medal-winning Dream Team, these legendary figures have left an indelible mark on the sport that will continue to be remembered for generations to come.
Their commitment to excellence has been inspirational not only in sports but also in life, as they taught us lessons about discipline, work ethic, and skill development that can still be applied today.
Whether you are a fan or player of NCAA basketball or are just looking for some guidance from the great mentors from college basketball history, take inspiration from these top ten NCAA basketball coaches - may their legacy live on forever!
