(Photo Courtesy of Deadspin)
This weekend’s Final Four featured four teams that are all too familiar with the NCAA men’s basketball championship. All four are among the 50 winningest college basketball programs in Division I history (in case you’re wondering, so is Minnesota, coming in at No. 50), and all four have won National Championships (in case you’re wondering again, so has Minnesota…they were the Helms and Premo National Champions in 1902, 1903 and 1919). (And, no, I do not know what the Helms and Premo National Championships are.)
Of the four, Kentucky and Kansas are clearly the crème de la crème when compared with Ohio State and Louisville. Kentucky has more wins than any other team in Division I history (2052), and has won the second most championships (7). Kansas has the second most wins in history (2038), and has won three championships. As it turns out, the two schools will play for the National Championship on Monday night. But before Cardinal and Buckeye backers get their knickers in a twist, that’s not to say that Louisville and Ohio State are lacking in basketball tradition. Louisville has been one of the premiere programs in the country the last thirty years, winning championships under Denny Crum in 1980 and 1986 before enjoying a resurgence that landed them in two Final Fours under Rick Pitino. Similarly, Ohio State dominated the college landscape in the 1960’s, winning the 1960 championship and losing the title game in ’61 and ’62 before later emerging as one of the last decade’s best teams with 3 Final Four appearances and runner-up finish in 2007. Clearly, this year’s Final Four teams are steeped in basketball tradition and tournament history, which will make all of the games that much more compelling.
While the teams themselves carry winning traditions, what about their coaches? Sure, Thad Matta, Rick Pitino, John Calipari and Bill Self have excelled at nearly every stop in their coaching career. But do they all have something that even Gophers coach Tubby Smith has…a national championship? The answer is, of course, no. While Pitino won a championship in 1996 with Kentucky, and Self won the title in 2008 with Kansas, neither Thad Matta nor John Calipari has ever won a championship of their own. After Ohio State lost 64-62 last night to Kansas, Matta will remain title-less for at least another year. By the time Monday’s championship comes to an end, Calipari could still be with him.
And this begs the question: Of all the great coaches who have roamed the sidelines of the NCAA tournament, which ones are the best to have never won an NCAA championship? Behold, the greatest NCAA tournament coaches not to have won a title.
Before perusing the list, however, there are a couple of things to keep in mind. First, undoubtedly regular season wins are important. As such, a coach’s career win-loss record carries some sway. But when weighed against wins in the NCAA tournament, the tournament wins are more valuable. Second, a coach’s consistency in making it to the Big Dance should never be underestimated. But even more important is how he did once he got there. Coaches who struggled to advance in the tournament fell further down the list. Finally, solid performance after solid performance certainly deserves respect. But those near championship misses are the ones that really tug at the heart strings. Coaches who suffered heart-breaking losses in the Final Four or Championship tend to find themselves higher on the list. With those thoughts in mind, and without further adieu…
The Top Ten Greatest Coaches Who Never Won an NCAA Title
Gene Keady always had a crazy face to give, but put some great teams into the tourney (Photo Courtesy of insidesocal.com)
10. (tie) Gene Keady–Western Kentucky (1978-80), Purdue (1980-2005)
Career Record: 550-289 (.655)
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 18
Sweet 16 Appearances: 5
Elite 8 Appearances: 2
Final Four Appearances: 0
The iconic coach of the Purdue Boilermakers led his team to the NCAA tournament 18 times in 25 years, but rarely did his teams make it to the second weekend of the Big Dance. When they did, it wasn’t for long. Win or lose, Keady always gave us those crazy faces, and he did it with class.
NCAA Tournament Highlight: Led by Glen “Big Dog” Robinson, the Boilermakers advanced to the Region Final in 1994 before losing to Grant Hill and the Duke Blue Devils 69-60.
NCAA Tournament Lowlight: In 1996, Keady and his Boilermakers narrowly avoided becoming the first No. 1 seed to ever lose to a No. 16 seed when they squeaked by Western Carolina 73-71. They lost in the second round 76-69 to Tubby Smith’s Georgia Bulldogs.
Norm Stewart never reached a Final Four, but went to 16 NCAA tournaments (Photo Courtesy of addins.whig.com)
10. (tie) Norm Stewart–Northern Iowa (1961-67), Missouri (1967-99)
Career Record: 634-333 (.655)
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 16
Sweet 16 Appearances: 4
Elite 8 Appearances: 2
Final Four Appearances: 0
Much like Keady, Stormin’ Norman was a model of consistency during his 31 seasons at Missouri—17 seasons with 20 wins or more, including a stretch from 1976 to 1995 when the Tigers went dancing 15 times in 19 seasons. But he never made it to the Final Four. An interesting side note on Stewart, he treated Missouri’s rivalry with Kansas with such reverence that the Tigers were not allowed to lodge, dine or gas up when the team played at Kansas – he didn’t want their taxes supporting their rival school.
NCAA Tournament Highlight: After winning the Big 12 championship and earning a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, the Tigers advanced to the 1994 Elite 8 before losing to Arizona 92-72.
NCAA Tournament Lowlight: Leading top-seeded and No. 1-ranked UCLA 74-73 in a 1995 second round matchup, he was 4.8 seconds from pulling off the upset of the tournament…until Tyus Edney happened.
Gene Bartlow may be the greatest couch you've never heard of. (Photo Courtesy of latimesblogs.latimes.com)
9. Gene Bartow–Central Missouri (1961-64), Valparaiso (1964-70), Memphis State (1970-74), Illinois (1974-75), UCLA (1975-77), Alabama-Birmingham (1979-96)
Career Record: 647-353 (.647)
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 14
Sweet 16 Appearances: 5
Elite 8 Appearances: 3
Final Four Appearances: 2
One of two coaches on this list who coached for five different Division I teams, he worked with more teams in more places than would seem humanly possible. 6 colleges, 2 high schools, Puerto Rico (in the ’72 Olympics), and the United States (in the ’74 FIBA World Championships), to name a few. Bartow made the Final Four twice, losing to John Wooden’s UCLA Bruins and Bob Knight’s Indiana Hoosiers. No shame in that…
NCAA Tournament Highlight: In 1974, Bartow led the Memphis State Tigers all the way to the National Championship game, where they lost 87-66 to John Wooden and the UCLA Bruins.
NCAA Tournament Lowlight: The 1990 NCAA tournament pitted Bartow’s UAB squad against UCLA, the school where he coached for two years. UAB lost 68-56.
Lefty Dreisell never made the Final Four, despite coming close a number of times. (Photo Courtesy of basketball.about.com)
8. Lefty Driesell–Davidson (1960-69), Maryland (1970-86), James Madison (1988-97), Georgia State (1997-2003)
Career Record: 786-394 (.666)
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 13
Sweet 16 Appearances: 8
Elite 8 Appearances: 4
Final Four Appearances: 0
At a glance, Driesell’s tournament resume is underwhelming. But remember that, until the mid-70’s, there was no at-large bid. Even then, it wasn’t until 1980 that the field expanded to 48 teams. That means Driesell spent the majority of his time at Maryland competing with North Carolina, Duke and North Carolina State just to have the chance to go to the Dance.
NCAA Tournament Highlight: In 1985, Driesell’s Terrapins were a 5-seed in the inaugural year of the 64-team format. Led by superstar Len Bias, Maryland advanced to the Sweet 16 before losing to eventual National Champion Villanova 46-43.
NCAA Tournament Lowlight: In 1969, Driesell led Davidson to its second consecutive Region Final. And, for the second consecutive year, he faced Dean Smith and North Carolina. Losing by four in ’68 was tough enough…losing by two again in ’69 was brutally hard.
Jack Gardner is one of the only coaches along with Rick Pitino and Roy Williams to coach two schools to the Final Four. Pretty good company. (Photo Courtesy of Bleacher Report)
7. Jack Gardner- Kansas State (1939-53), Utah (1953-71)
Career Record: 486-235 (.674)
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 8
Sweet 16 Appearances: 5
Elite 8 Appearances: 5
Final Four Appearances: 4
Jack Gardner is one of three coaches in NCAA history to coach two separate programs to two different Final Fours. The others? Roy Williams and Rick Pitino. While Gardner coached in four Final Fours, he never won the big one.
NCAA Tournament Highlight: In 1951, Gardner coached perhaps the greatest team in Kansas State history. The Wildcats finished the season 28-4, losing to Kentucky in the National Championship, which was played at Williams Arena in Minneapolis. K-State’s semifinal route of Oklahoma A&M was the deepest any of his teams ever won a game in the NCAA tournament.
NCAA Tournament Lowlight: In 1966, Utah lost in the Final Four to Don Haskin’s Texas Western team. Although Gardner would coach for another five seasons, the Final Four loss would be the last NCAA tournament game he coached, as his teams failed to qualify the following years.
Lou Henson is the all time wins leader at New Mexico AND Illinois. (Photo Courtesy of simplemindedentertainment.com)
6. Lou Henson- New Mexico State (1966-75), Illinois (1975-96), New Mexico State (1997-2005)
Career Record: 779-422 (.649)
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 21
Sweet 16 Appearances: 4
Elite 8 Appearances: 3
Final Four Appearances: 2
It’s tough to be the all-time wins leader at two different schools. But that’s exactly what Henson accomplished at New Mexico State and Illinois. Henson’s teams didn’t have deep tournament runs very often—he had only three Elite 8 teams in 39 years of coaching. But stretches of six NCAA tournament appearances in eight years during his first stint with the Aggies, and eleven out of thirteen at Illinois, demonstrate the consistency Lou-Do had.
NCAA Tournament Highlight: The 1970 New Mexico State Aggies has the honor of being the only team in school history to advance to the Final Four. An 87-78 win over Drake in the Region Finals got them there, Henson’s first Final Four.
NCAA Tournament Lowlight: Henson’s 1989 Illinois squad was perhaps the best he ever coached. Featuring a frightening roster of talent, one that included the likes of Kenny Battle, Nick Anderson, Kendall Gill, Steve Bardo and Marcus Liberty, the Illini finished the regular season 27-4 and earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Illinois advanced to the Final Four, beating three ranked teams along the way, where they faced a Michigan team they’d beaten by double digits twice in the regular season. But the Wolverines nicked Illinois 83-81 on a tipped basket by Sean Higgins with 2 seconds remaining (at 5:13 of highlight), ending the Illini’s season and perhaps Henson’s best chance at a National Championship.
Part 2 of the Top 10 Greatest Coaches Never to Win a Championship
Joe Buri is a former high school athletic director who currently works as an attorney in corporate America. In addition to writing for TC Huddle, he also volunteers as an assistant varsity basketball coach at a local Twin Cities high school. Once dubbed “The Human Stump,” he considers holding former NBA forward Devean George to 39 points a highlight of his collegiate basketball experience.
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