Poll: Best Coaching Coach (not named Geno):

[DefenseBB]

The issue comes down, for me, who does the best job to exceed expectations each year and has the team develop beyond what most other coaches could do. All are worth candidate, my final two are Scott Rueck and MM. Wes Moore was an honorable mention. The best coach is…Scott Rueck. Now that he is starting to get top players, let’s see when he can win a title.

 

[Shades]

Let the record show I wanted to vote for Kelly Graves.

 

[Wbbfan1]

Courtney Banghart is now the Head Coach at Univ. North Carolina. If she was still at Princeton, I'd be tempted to vote for her, but I'll wait until she gets more experience at a higher level. I voted for Tara.

 

[LoTrader]

I homered for Scott Rueck. I would have selected Wes Moore otherwise.

 

[TheFarmFan]

It's funny, because these questions usually don't omit Geno, so my default answer has been so obvious for so long that who number 2 was genuinely stumped me. If I could, I would attack the premise and break it down by aspect of coaching, and split my vote four ways:

I think Scott Rueck and Vic Schaeffer get the nod for getting the most from the least (in terms of talent and in terms of recruiting hurdles for non-optimal schools/locations), Tara gets the nod for best scouting, strategy, and game prep, and MM for best half-time adjustments. Unfortunately I haven't seen enough games from DePaul, Princeton, or NC State to make any year-over-year assessments, because those teams don't tend to show up as much on national broadcasts or against West Coast teams on channels I get, so I genuinely don't feel qualified enough to say.

 

[bennyskid]

One day I was talking to an OSU coach about game planning in the Pac - asking questions like how much of the game plan survives past the opening tip, how much latitude you have in adjusting your own schemes, etc.. . After a couple minutes he stopped and said, "Unless it's Tara." He just had to point out that Tara coaches at a whole different level than anyone else. Just to be sure, I asked, "Is it only Tara?" Yep. It's only Tara.

That said, I voted for Scott because, y'know, I'm a homer. And I think, objectively, Scott develops players better than Tara.

 

[bballnut90]

Why is Doug Bruno on here? Especially over the likes of Kelly Graves, Dawn Staley, Kim Mulkey, Jeff Walz, Brenda Frese, etc?

 

[DefenseBB]

I struggled whether to Include Kelly Graves as he did well at Gonzaga to get the Oregon job and has improved Oregon by leaps and bounds. It came down to my limiting it to 7 choices and picking Vic as the 7th due to his success as Blair’s assistant and the fact so many MSU fans believe. I could have left Banghart off but I have been impressed with her. I should have included Kelly in this upon further reflection....my bad. But to my defense HE DIDN'T belong in the top 7 of recruiting like some are thinking...

 

[MSUFan2003]

It's hard to pick one. I picked Vic because I think he did more with less talent in 2017. But Tara and Muffett have to be there too. And Kelly Graves.

 

[j66kicker]

Why is Doug Bruno on here? Especially over the likes of Kelly Graves, Dawn Staley, Kim Mulkey, Jeff Walz, Brenda Frese, etc?

You had me up until Brenda Frese...

 

[DefenseBB]

Why is Doug Bruno on here? Especially over the likes of Kelly Graves, Dawn Staley, Kim Mulkey, Jeff Walz, Brenda Frese, etc?

Well you must not be a UConn knowledgeable fan as:
1. He coached with Dawn on Geno’s Staff for 2 Olympics and 2 FIBA Titles
2. He win the Big East every year since UConn left
3. He is regularly in the top 25 poll yearly
4. He makes to 2nd round/sweet 16 every year
5. He is regraded as a good coach by utilizing what he has at a limited school.
Did I mention he is a good friend of Geno’s and I would be excoriated by this board if I excluded him.

 

[bballnut90]

Well you must not be a UConn knowledgeable fan as:
1. He coached with Dawn on Geno’s Staff for 2 Olympics and 2 FIBA Titles
2. He win the Big East every year since UConn left
3. He is regularly in the top 25 poll yearly
4. He makes to 2nd round/sweet 16 every year
5. He is regraded as a good coach by utilizing what he has at a limited school.
Did I mention he is a good friend of Geno’s and I would be excoriated by this board if I excluded him.

I'm not a UCONN fan and he's not in the league of most coaches listed. Might as well throw Jen Rizzotti and Carla Berube on there if being associated with USA Basketball or friends with Geno gets you coaching points.

 

[Dwilliams02]

I don't see Kim Mulkey. So I'm just moving along lol

 

[Geew1992]

I say Holly...............Considering she couldn't coach, as still able to pull to recruits in

 

[bballnut90]

You had me up until Brenda Frese...

Completely revamped a program dead in the water to 1 title and 3 Final Fours. Excellent at developing her players. Shes won more than anyone the OP listed besides Tara and Muffet. And FWIW, Tara hasnt won a title in almost 30 years. The crop of coaches the OP decided to put on there is puzzling, to say the least.

 

[MSUFan2003]

No Dawn Staley?

 

[j66kicker]

Completely revamped a program dead in the water to 1 title and 3 Final Fours. Excellent at developing her players. Shes won more than anyone the OP listed besides Tara and Muffet. And FWIW, Tara hasnt won a title in almost 30 years. The crop of coaches the OP decided to put on there is puzzling, to say least.

See your point on the OP’s list, but not that Brenda should be on it.

 

[bballnut90]

See your point on the OP’s list, but not that Brenda should be on it.

Didnt say she should be one of the 5-6 options, but she definitely should be on here over Doug Bruno (and Banghart)

 

[Shmermerer]

Didnt say she should be one of the 5-6 options, but she definitely should be on here over Doug Bruno (and Banghart)

You realize of all the regular teams in the top 25, Doug typically has the least amount of top 100 ranked recruits. The only way to do that is with making his players better and coaching a system that gets the max out of his players. Name another coach with the talent that he has that does wins more or is ranked higher. He absolutely should be on this list.

 

[JoePgh]

I'm not sure that I would vote for Geno as the best "in-game" coach. I would certainly agree that he is far and away the best at player development, game preparation, and strategizing (i.e., designing the best offensive and defensive schemes to maximize the talents of the particular team he has). He and Pat Summitt are the all-time best at getting their players to play with intensity and focus for 40 minutes in every game.

But in-game decision-making is not his strength, as is reflected by the fact that (at least during the Maya/Stewie years), his teams had a sub-.500 record in games decided by 5 points or less. As I recall, it was quite a bit below .500. He has acknowledged mistakes with not calling time-outs when he should, and in one NCAA loss in the mid-2000's to LSU, he and the rest of the staff failed to recognize that LSU was switching their defense between man and zone based on whether their last offensive possession resulted in a make or a miss.

Despite all this, I would clearly vote for Geno as (by far) the coach best able to win basketball games with a given roster, which I assume is the point of the question. Add to that his recruiting skills (recently demonstrated for the umpteenth time) and his value-add for the most talented players that he coached, and he is beyond doubt the best coach ever to appear in the women's basketball arena.

I have often wondered what he would have accomplished with other team's rosters. If he had been the Baylor coach during the Griner era (and assuming that the roster each year was the same one that Mulkey had), I am pretty sure that he would have finished with more than 1 NC for that roster. If he had the Tennessee rosters during the Holly era, I'm quite sure that he would have taken them to the Final Four in every single year.

 

[bballnut90]

You realize of all the regular teams in the top 25, Doug typically has the least amount of top 100 ranked recruits. The only way to do that is with making his players better and coaching a system that gets the max out of his players. Name another coach with the talent that he has that does wins more or is ranked higher. He absolutely should be on this list.

Vic Schaefer built back to back runner up teams with very few highly rated recruits. Scott Rueck built a F4 team with zero highly touted recruits. There's 2.

Doug Bruno has never made it beyond the Sweet 16 and has only made it 5x in 30 years. I cant recall his team ever pulling a big upset or being in the hunt for a Final Four. He is a good coach but doesnt belong on this list.

 

[Zanzman]

Then don’t vote him

 

[bballnut90]

I'm not sure that I would vote for Geno as the best "in-game" coach. I would certainly agree that he is far and away the best at player development, game preparation, and strategizing (i.e., designing the best offensive and defensive schemes to maximize the talents of the particular team he has). He and Pat Summitt are the all-time best at getting their players to play with intensity and focus for 40 minutes in every game.

But in-game decision-making is not his strength, as is reflected by the fact that (at least during the Maya/Stewie years), his teams had a sub-.500 record in games decided by 5 points or less. As I recall, it was quite a bit below .500. He has acknowledged mistakes with not calling time-outs when he should, and in one NCAA loss in the mid-2000's to LSU, he and the rest of the staff failed to recognize that LSU was switching their defense between man and zone based on whether their last offensive possession resulted in a make or a miss.

Despite all this, I would clearly vote for Geno as (by far) the coach best able to win basketball games with a given roster, which I assume is the point of the question. Add to that his recruiting skills (recently demonstrated for the umpteenth time) and his value-add for the most talented players that he coached, and he is beyond doubt the best coach ever to appear in the women's basketball arena.

I have often wondered what he would have accomplished with other team's rosters. If he had been the Baylor coach during the Griner era (and assuming that the roster each year was the same one that Mulkey had), I am pretty sure that he would have finished with more than 1 NC for that roster. If he had the Tennessee rosters during the Holly era, I'm quite sure that he would have taken them to the Final Four in every single year.

Geno with Griner is interesting to think about. While Kim only won 1 title, she did a heck of a job developing Griner. Her offense improved immensely each year and went from being a lanky but athletic post to a true dominant force offensively.

2010 was UCONN's year no question with Moore/Charles. 2011 was much more of a toss up, but most predicted one of UCONN/Baylor/Stanford winning. Baylor lost pretty badly in the regional finals that year. Hard to say if Geno wouldve won a title with that team or not considering all of the upsets that year.

2012 they rolled to an undefeated season. Guessing he does the same.

2013 is a well documented wasted opportunity for Kim that started a string of underachieving seasons in the NCAAs. I have a hard time imagining that Geno doesnt win that year.

With that roster, I think Geno safely wins 2, possibly 3 titles.

 

[Shmermerer]

Vic Schaefer built back to back runner up teams with very few highly rated recruits. Scott Rueck built a F4 team with zero highly touted recruits. There's 2.

Doug Bruno has never made it beyond the Sweet 16 and has only made it 5x in 30 years. I cant recall his team ever pulling a big upset or being in the hunt for a Final Four. He is a good coach but doesnt belong on this list.

OSU has 5 top 100 ranked recruits on that team.

MSU has 6 top 100 ranked recruits that year I think they both did amazing jobs and are amazing coaches. I’m saying Bruno has done more with less talent and well I just showed that. Lol.

Like I said DePaul has 1 who was I think Kelly Campbell. By the way she has the best assist to turnover ratio in the country at the moment.

 

[TheFarmFan]

OSU has 5 top 100 ranked recruits on that team.

MSU has 6 top 100 ranked recruits that year I think they both did amazing jobs and are amazing coaches. I’m saying Bruno has done more with less talent and well I just showed that. Lol.

Since OSU has made the final four and MSU the championship game twice in a row, no he hasn't "done more" with less. He did less with less. Though admittedly, that claim is less powerful, rhetorically..