Non-UConn, Best New England College BB Coaches All Time

[Vuce]

Was also considering Billy Donovan. How good was Calipari at UMass aside from the Camby seasons?

My dad had season tix to UMass back then so I would go to those games plus I had my UConn season tix too. Both teams were really good. Calipari’s UMass teams won 5 straight A 10 reg season and postseason titles, two of which were prior to Camby arriving.

 

[hardcorehusky]

Al Skinner for his work at BC and URI, Jack Kraft at URI and Tom Penders at URI

 

[Drumguy]

I was thinking of Bruce Webster of UB, (Duncan Idaho got him first above) but then also thought of Dave Bike, Sacred Heart

"Dave Bike was the former men's head basketball coach at Sacred Heart University. He led the Pioneers to a Division II national championship in 1986, and oversaw the transition of the program to the Division I level. He retired on May 30, 2013, after a 35-year career."

 

[Fishy]

There aren’t any.

Next question, please.

 

[Kolumbo]

And not one NCAA tourney win as a Head Coach in 20 seasons, and an overall record well under .500. In fact, If you remove the two seasons that you cherry picked to display, he was 69 games under .500 for his head coaching career.

That said, I liked him as an assistant coach under Calhoun. He just didn't have an extraordinary head coaching career outside of a couple of seasons.

In fact, if you remove the two seasons that you cherry picked, he was 13 games over .500. Sure, not HOF stats, but it was CCSU and he was there for 20 years.

 

[Old school]

Bill Dietrich at central
Brennan at vermont

 

[AZHuskiePop]

Has to be Dave Gavitt, Providence.

Ralph Willard Holy Cross
Howard Hopson Yale first NCAA team won a NC at Oregon
Dave Gavitt
Dr Tom Davis
Doggie Julian Holy Cross /Dartmouth
(Al mcQuiree was his asst)
Jim Valvanno NCS was a Perno Asst at UConn
Joe Mullaney Built the PC program (2) NIT’s
John Calipari
Rick Pitino
Billy Donavan
The above guys are listed as the top college BB coaches of all time.

Yale’s Frank Vancisian was an innovative guy whose
shuffle offense was copied
There are dozens of small school coaches but My memory sucks and research is difficult

 

[Huskybass]

In fact, if you remove the two seasons that you cherry picked, he was 13 games over .500. Sure, not HOF stats, but it was CCSU and he was there for 20 years.

That doesn't qualify him to be in a thread about great coaches, especially when his actual winning % was .476. If you consider that great, despite not one NCAA tourney win, we have different definitions of great.

 

[Palatine]

There was this guy up at Springfield College named James Naismith who was a pretty decent New England basketball coach. Although there were no established teams or records at the time. He later coached at Kansas. He was elected to the basketball Hall of Fame. Oh yeah, he invented basketball.

 

[Woof 101]

This guy did a hell of a Calhoun type of a job in a state that does not produce a lot of basketball players and tough to recruit to.

UVM to name basketball court after Coach Brennan

Center court at Patrick Gymnasium to be renamed after Coach Tom Brennan, who led the UVM men's basketball team to an upset win over Syracuse in 2005.

www.burlingtonfreepress.com

I see a mention of Ralph Willard above but how about George Blaney? Both had good tenures at Holy Cross.

 

[A10 fan]

This is easy. Buster Sheary of Holy Cross. 155–36 (.812) People look and see that he won the NIT in 1954 and shrug it off. 1954 was probably the last season where you can make a strong case for the NIT winner as the true National Champion. LaSalle won the NCAAs, but I think Holy Cross was better. They certainly beat better teams in the NIT semis and final, than LaSalle did in the Final Four. Sheary took over from Doggie Julian, and kept the train rolling. HC was a superpower in the period after WWII.

 

[JSB60]

Pitino
Donovan
James Jones
Gavitt


Joe Vancisin was an incredibly respected X and O guy whose teams mostly underachieved

 

[Improviser]

Pitino
Donovan
James Jones
Gavitt


Joe Vancisin was an incredibly respected X and O guy whose teams mostly underachieved

True.

Except for his first two years starting in 1956-57, and the Rick Kaminsky, Dennis Lynch, Bobby Trupin years in the early 1960's, Joe had 7 consecutive losing seasons before he politely resigned or was subtly induced to do so by alumni at the end of the 1974-75 season which ended in a 3-20 record. His 19 year coaching record was 206 wins and 242 losses over 19 years.

Yet, he made it into the BB HOF at Springfield.

KO had a better winning percentage. So maybe someday?????