Where do you rank Calhoun..

[ForeverOrange]

Have to say #1, and I HATE admitting that. No program as been totally clean (including us) so I can't cast stones at some of the things said about him. When it comes to coaching, the guy has gotten the most out of his teams. Beat Duke when Duke was seemingly "unbeatable". Has quite a few players in the pros. He's turned that program from nothing into a constant top ranked team. Only 5 coaches have won at least 3 nc, that's rarified air, have to respect that.

If you asked me would you trade some of Uconn's lows in between championships for our consistency. I'd say yes in a heartbeat, nobody remembers the sprinkles of seasons that uconn has had their lows except those of us who can't stand them.

 

[Knicks411]

I can't put him ahead of Coach K though. I think K is the best college hoops coach of all time. Wooden has the titles, but it was a different game back then.

 

[Eric15]

I can't put him ahead of Coach K though. I think K is the best college hoops coach of all time. Wooden has the titles, but it was a different game back then.

Completely agree about Coach K. It's exponentially more difficult to win a national title in today's college basketball landscape than it was in the 1960s.

 

[ForeverOrange]

I can't put him ahead of Coach K though. I think K is the best college hoops coach of all time. Wooden has the titles, but it was a different game back then.

I thought this ranking was in the Big East. I wouldn't say #1 nationally, but top 5.

 

[Knicks411]

I thought this ranking was in the Big East. I wouldn't say #1 nationally, but top 5.

It was, sorry. But someone upthread mentioned Wooden as the #1 coach of all time.

 

[MikeSU02]

on the list of all-time greatest Big East coaches?

The goal is to win titles. He won 3 after building a program from the ground up.

He has to be #1 in the Big East and he is in the top 5 of all time for me.

And by the way, I fu@king hate UConn and Calhoun.

 

[IthacaMatt]

First in Big East, in top five of college basketball coaches all time.

Top 5 all-time may be a reach, unless you just don't consider some really great coaches from the 1950s and before. I mean, Naismith has to be in the Top 5, and people like Phog Allen, Adolph Rupp, etc. Top 10, for sure, though.

That third championship makes him #1 all time in the Big East. Big John Thompson is #2, and unless Boeheim wins another couple championships in the next few years before he retires (which is possible, just like how John Elway kind of redeemed his career with a couple late Super Bowls), he is #3 on the list.

 

[MyMeloMyMan]

Most people would take JB's consistency over JC's few nice highs. JB will be remembered as the better coach.

 

[br801]

Top 5 all-time may be a reach, unless you just don't consider some really great coaches from the 1950s and before. I mean, Naismith has to be in the Top 5, and people like Phog Allen, Adolph Rupp, etc. Top 10, for sure, though.

That third championship makes him #1 all time in the Big East. Big John Thompson is #2, and unless Boeheim wins another couple championships in the next few years before he retires (which is possible, just like how John Elway kind of redeemed his career with a couple late Super Bowls), he is #3 on the list.

Limiting it to guys who have coached in my lifetime, I'd put Calhoun in the top group with Wooden, Rupp, K, Knight, and Smith. Boeheim is in the very next tier with guys like Roy and Izzo. Obviously Naismith and Allen and some other early coaches factor in there somewhere, but I'm not sure how to do it.

I strongly disagree with your ranking of Thompson over Boeheim. If JB never coached another game, his overall body of work is far superior. Among Big East coaches, it's Calhoun and Boeheim with the others battling for a distant third. And since JB's story is still being written, he could conceivably overtake Calhoun before he's finished.

 

[Sgt Cuse]

First in Big East, in top five of college basketball coaches all time.

Yikes. I understand that rating out of NCAAT centric posters, but not out of a rational poster like yourself. True, JC took a nothing program and made them good, and won 3 championships. However, he has had some downs also. JB will have a longer tenure, more wins, and less down teams.

And we shouldn't forget JB rode out the SU probation. In UConn's down time, JC is leaving. Do you think JC would be anywhere near the record JB had with a school on probation? No way. And the flip side of that is JB how would/will capitalize on UConn's misfortunes and increase it's recruiting power (just as UConn took D Marshall from us and rose to prominence during our problems). We won't get to see that side of the equation on JCs resume. JC is almost Cal like in this regard. It's a lot easier to post good numbers when you leave the school before the hard times hit. Good for the coaches record, bad for the school.

JC's succession plan is a joke. It appears he didn't care. He got his man Ollie the gig, but did he really do this poor guy any favors? Looks like he put in a designated goat. That is going to be one short gig.

You really said JC is first in the BE? I wouldn't swap. Not even close. Most of the posters come here with their shades on, because the future has never looked brighter. I imagine UConns posters log on holding their nose, because that has got to be a nasty stench.

 

[armory]

All of the people giving him the #1 ranking are probably doing so because he basically built the program single-handedly and has the best resume of any big east coach ...
-
... yet none of you are considering the fact that he is retiring when the program needs him most. His retirement is the nail in that program's coffin.

 

[br801]

Yikes. I understand that rating out of NCAAT centric posters, but not out of a rational poster like yourself. True, JC took a nothing program and made them good, and won 3 championships. However, he has had some downs also. JB will have a longer tenure, more wins, and less down teams.

And we shouldn't forget JB rode out the SU probation. In UConn's down time, JC is leaving. Do you think JC would be anywhere near the record JB had with a school on probation? No way. And the flip side of that is JB how would/will capitalize on UConn's misfortunes and increase it's recruiting power (just as UConn took D Marshall from us and rose to prominence during our problems). We won't get to see that side of the equation on JCs resume. JC is almost Cal like in this regard. It's a lot easier to post good numbers when you leave the school before the hard times hit. Good for the coaches record, bad for the school.

JC's succession plan is a joke. It appears he didn't care. He got his man Ollie the gig, but did he really do this poor guy any favors? Looks like he put in a designated goat. That is going to be one short gig.

You really said JC is first in the BE? I wouldn't swap. Not even close. Most of the posters come here with their shades on, because the future has never looked brighter. I imagine UConns posters log on holding their nose, because that has got to be a nasty stench.

At the moment JC is stepping down, I consider him to have a slight edge over JB, primarily because he has managed to win three national championships in an era where they are difficult to come by. And while JB has had fewer down years, it's not like UConn has had frequent horrible stretches under JC but rather just dips in performance that almost all top programs experience. Yes, JB has compiled an incredible body of work (and is continuing to add to it), buts let't not pretend JC didn't do the same.

Sarge, this isn't about who I'd prefer (I'd opt for JB, too) but rather my assesesment of what they have accomplished as basketball coaches at this point in time. If you want to factor in everything that comes with a particular coach (e.g. their recruiting methods, how they handled their players, exactly what they were willing to do in the name of winning, how they left their programs upon exiting, etc.) then that's a much broader argument and one that might raise questions about the careers of iconic coaches like Calhoun, Knight, Rupp and even Wooden.

 

[Knicks411]

It's a fair point on Calhoun leaving when UConn is in trouble, but I don't think you can compare it to JB and probation. Calhoun is leaving more because he's really old than anything else, IMO.

 

[br801]

All of the people giving him the #1 ranking are probably doing so because he basically built the program single-handedly and has the best resume of any big east coach ...
-
... yet none of you are considering the fact that he is retiring when the program needs him most. His retirement is the nail in that program's coffin.

Have you considered that Calhoun might have concluded that continuing to coach would be a nail in his own coffin?

 

[raf4488]

Most people would take JB's consistency over JC's few nice highs. JB will be remembered as the better coach.

LOL- yes, JC had just a "few nice highs." Other than 3 national titles, 4 final fours, 10 BE regular season titles, and 7 BE tournament titles, what has he done, really?

 

[raf4488]

Recognizing that Calhoun is the most accomplished coach the Big East has ever seen takes absolutely nothing away from JB. It's ok to admit this.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Limiting it to guys who have coached in my lifetime, I'd put Calhoun in the top group with Wooden, Rupp, K, Knight, and Smith. Boeheim is in the very next tier with guys like Roy and Izzo. Obviously Naismith and Allen and some other early coaches factor in there somewhere, but I'm not sure how to do it.

I strongly disagree with your ranking of Thompson over Boeheim. If JB never coached another game, his overall body of work is far superior. Among Big East coaches, it's Calhoun and Boeheim with the others battling for a distant third. And since JB's story is still being written, he could conceivably overtake Calhoun before he's finished.

Thompson vs. Boeheim is kind of like debating Mattingly vs. somebody like Jack Morris for the Hall of Fame. One guy put up great numbers but didn't win championships, and the other guy won championships, but didn't last as long as some other guys. Thompson mostly owned Boeheim head to head, especially in the Big East tournament.

 

[moqui]

All of the people giving him the #1 ranking are probably doing so because he basically built the program single-handedly and has the best resume of any big east coach ...
-
... yet none of you are considering the fact that he is retiring when the program needs him most. His retirement is the nail in that program's coffin.

he's one tough SOB and has never been afraid of a fight . . . if he was physically able to perform, he would be out there.

 

[jekelish]

I'm going to cop out and list JB and JC as coaches 1A and 1B on the list. It's just too hard to put one above the other for me.

 

[Gabjon]

The day JB retires I'm going to BUMP the h*ll out of this thread!

 

[Knicks411]

he's one tough SOB and has never been afraid of a fight . . . if he was physically able to perform, he would be out there.

Dude came back last season when maybe he shouldn't have. I do think this is partly a power play to get Ollie a job though.

 

[Sgt Cuse]

Recognizing that Calhoun is the most accomplished coach the Big East has ever seen takes absolutely nothing away from JB. It's ok to admit this.

You do realize that you can't have two people both being the most accomplished coach in the BE? So, yes, by saying that JC is the most accomplished you are certainly taking something away from JB. And don't come at me with "since, blah, blah, blah". We're talking the BE. When SU leaves it will be JB's coaching records that the rest of the league will be chasing.

And the idea that you don't include how they leave the program as part of their legacy is baffling. It diminishes the work JB is doing to take SU to an even higher level. It is a short sighted view that encourages the win at all cost philosophy.

JC mentioned in the earlier article about how he considered retiring after the last NC. When he thought of all the returning talent and the possibility of 2 in a row, he couldn't do it. Sounds very self centered. Now look at what he is giving this Ollie guy. I think his timing was more to stick it to management, than out of any motivation for Ollie. And it will be detrimental to the program because it is has started a coaching carousel. And we should add in the sub par recruits that just commited. The end game from JC looked to be all about JC, and have very little to do with UConn.

I understand JC has 3 NCs to JBs 1. But if you allow for factors other than that, the scales tip rather quickly.

 

[Knicks411]

You don't think th e health is playing a large role in why Calhoun is retiring? I bet the health is 95% of the reason he's retiring.

 

[UnderHisOwnPower]

You don't think th e health is playing a large role in why Calhoun is retiring? I bet the health is 95% of the reason he's retiring.

I'm sure it is. The prospect of scratching out only 10 wins or so this year has him sick to his stomach.

 

[rrlbees]

3 coaches that shouldn't be considered are Wooden, K, and Calhoun.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2