Post by slblions08 on Mar 7, 2016 1:33:54 GMT -5
Of course, I might get a lot of flack for this but just going based on recent results.
1. Randy Bennett: It is clear who the best coach in the league is. Of course, you have to take this with a grain of salt given the NCAA penalties. But in terms of everything from recruiting, to tactics to sweeping Gonzaga, Bennett is the clear leader in the clubhouse after 2016. He just seems to build every year despite not having the facilities advantage that Gonzaga has.
2. Mark Few: We have heard it before, can't win the big one. He finally got Gonzaga into the Elite 8 last year and put up a fight against eventual national champion Duke. but this year he couldnt get past the loss of Pangos and Bell, as well as the injury to Karnnowski. While they get nice recruiting classes, I'm not sure they develop quickly as evidenced by Perkins. Few is still solid, but I think of Bennett swapped with Few, Gonzaga would be better and St. Mary's not as good.
3. Marty Wilson: Pepperdine has arrived back towards the top of the conference, but surprisingly they lost twice to LMU and Dunlap. I would have had Marty at second, but he lost against bad teams, despite taking games from St. Mary's. But a couple good seasons in the row will help recruiting. If Wilson can pull together a good recruiting class or some transfers, watch out they will challenge eventually. However, they get to the Semi-Finals of the WCC tournament have a real shot at winning that game.
4. Dave Rose: BYU fans are not fans of the guy, and I tend to agree that his teams under perform. There will be a lot of talent next year on the roster. BYU loses to bad teams and has an abysmal defense. Should do a lot better in conference than they have done. They also disappointed this year in non-conference play which used to be a integral part of their program.
5. Rex Walters: He recruits okay, his players dont really love him, but every year his teams are around .500 and at least competes in the conference. It seems like his personality holds him back from taking the program to the next step, but I don't see USF passing any of the top four programs any time soon. But his ability as an in-game coach has his team always near the top. Finishing .500 is a great season for most of the teams in conference and USF is somehow always around there.
6. Mike Burns: He was the interim head coach of Pacific, and essentially walked in to a bad situation and finished tied for 7th in the conference with 6 wins. Pacific was a solidly coached team and had a lot of competitive games. They were improved from last year. He might not get to keep the gig if the purge the program of people around infractions, but he's built a resume for other potential jobs if his name is clear.
7. Eric Reveno: I really thought this was the year for Portland, especially after a nice win over BYU. But the shine seems to be off Reveno now. If he can nab another job in the Pac-12 or a better mid major, I'd go for it. But might no longer have those opportunities. He's really disappointed in simply winning games. He's recruiting decently but not putting results on the floor.
8. Mike Dunlap: Thus far Dunlap has led LMU to back-to-back seasons near the cellar, but he pulled off some late season wins to end up tied for 7th. LMU finished the regular season with a couple victories and a win against USD in the play-in game before losing a very competitive game to overall top seed St. Mary's. Dunlap can rise, but his season was not as impressive as Mike Burns whom he tied in conference play despite having superior talent, and his overall portfolio is not as good as Reveno. Dunlap does have two wins over Marty Wilson, my third ranked coach on the list which means that there is potential to grow.
9. Lamont Smith: The San Diego coach started the season on a high note by beating up San Diego State on an aircraft carrier, and actually got 4 wins this season, at least 2 more than I thought they would after losing their best two players including a topflight scorer. San Diego is still a couple years away, but if Smith is a recruiter, watch out they will be a thorn in the league.
10. Kerry Keating : I have no idea why he still has a job at Santa Clara. He has virtually wasted Brownridge and he hasn't been good in any season. He has vastly under performed up there at a good program.
11. Ron Verlin: He disappointed last year taking over for a legend, and then got his team a self-imposed ban. He was dismissed.
1. Randy Bennett: It is clear who the best coach in the league is. Of course, you have to take this with a grain of salt given the NCAA penalties. But in terms of everything from recruiting, to tactics to sweeping Gonzaga, Bennett is the clear leader in the clubhouse after 2016. He just seems to build every year despite not having the facilities advantage that Gonzaga has.
2. Mark Few: We have heard it before, can't win the big one. He finally got Gonzaga into the Elite 8 last year and put up a fight against eventual national champion Duke. but this year he couldnt get past the loss of Pangos and Bell, as well as the injury to Karnnowski. While they get nice recruiting classes, I'm not sure they develop quickly as evidenced by Perkins. Few is still solid, but I think of Bennett swapped with Few, Gonzaga would be better and St. Mary's not as good.
3. Marty Wilson: Pepperdine has arrived back towards the top of the conference, but surprisingly they lost twice to LMU and Dunlap. I would have had Marty at second, but he lost against bad teams, despite taking games from St. Mary's. But a couple good seasons in the row will help recruiting. If Wilson can pull together a good recruiting class or some transfers, watch out they will challenge eventually. However, they get to the Semi-Finals of the WCC tournament have a real shot at winning that game.
4. Dave Rose: BYU fans are not fans of the guy, and I tend to agree that his teams under perform. There will be a lot of talent next year on the roster. BYU loses to bad teams and has an abysmal defense. Should do a lot better in conference than they have done. They also disappointed this year in non-conference play which used to be a integral part of their program.
5. Rex Walters: He recruits okay, his players dont really love him, but every year his teams are around .500 and at least competes in the conference. It seems like his personality holds him back from taking the program to the next step, but I don't see USF passing any of the top four programs any time soon. But his ability as an in-game coach has his team always near the top. Finishing .500 is a great season for most of the teams in conference and USF is somehow always around there.
6. Mike Burns: He was the interim head coach of Pacific, and essentially walked in to a bad situation and finished tied for 7th in the conference with 6 wins. Pacific was a solidly coached team and had a lot of competitive games. They were improved from last year. He might not get to keep the gig if the purge the program of people around infractions, but he's built a resume for other potential jobs if his name is clear.
7. Eric Reveno: I really thought this was the year for Portland, especially after a nice win over BYU. But the shine seems to be off Reveno now. If he can nab another job in the Pac-12 or a better mid major, I'd go for it. But might no longer have those opportunities. He's really disappointed in simply winning games. He's recruiting decently but not putting results on the floor.
8. Mike Dunlap: Thus far Dunlap has led LMU to back-to-back seasons near the cellar, but he pulled off some late season wins to end up tied for 7th. LMU finished the regular season with a couple victories and a win against USD in the play-in game before losing a very competitive game to overall top seed St. Mary's. Dunlap can rise, but his season was not as impressive as Mike Burns whom he tied in conference play despite having superior talent, and his overall portfolio is not as good as Reveno. Dunlap does have two wins over Marty Wilson, my third ranked coach on the list which means that there is potential to grow.
9. Lamont Smith: The San Diego coach started the season on a high note by beating up San Diego State on an aircraft carrier, and actually got 4 wins this season, at least 2 more than I thought they would after losing their best two players including a topflight scorer. San Diego is still a couple years away, but if Smith is a recruiter, watch out they will be a thorn in the league.
10. Kerry Keating : I have no idea why he still has a job at Santa Clara. He has virtually wasted Brownridge and he hasn't been good in any season. He has vastly under performed up there at a good program.
11. Ron Verlin: He disappointed last year taking over for a legend, and then got his team a self-imposed ban. He was dismissed.