Men's Basketball

The Golden Age of SEC Basketball Coaching

Published

7 years ago

April 14, 2019

Two years ago, the SEC sent a record eight teams to the NCAA tournament and six went on to win at least one game. This past season, the SEC sent seven teams to the NCAA Tournament, tied for second most amongst all conferences, and sent four to the Sweet Sixteen.

While the SEC is not yet as dominant as it was the 90’s, it is as competitive from top to bottom as any conference in the country and is continuing to improve thanks to a run of great coaching hires.

There is a strong argument that the SEC is the best-coached conference in the country, and I strongly believe that. One fact that validates that argument; the SEC has 10 coaches who have made at least one Sweet Sixteen, compared to 8 in each the ACC and Big Ten.

The SEC isn’t just a football conference anymore, let’s take a closer look and rank the best basketball coaches in the SEC.

1.John Calipari (27 seasons, 10 seasons at Kentucky)

Overall Record: 708-208 (77.3%)
Record at Kentucky: 305-71 (81.1%)
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 18
NCAA Tournament Record: 47-17 (73.4%)
Accolades: Inducted into Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame (2015), 2012 NCAA National Championship, 4x Final Four (11’, 12’, 14’, 15’), 13x Sweet Sixteen, AP Coach of the Year (2015), 3x Naismith Coach of the Year (96’, 09’, 15’) 3x NABC Coach of the Year (96’, 09’, 15’), 9x Conference Coach of the Year (93’, 94’, 96’, 06’, 08’, 09’, 10’, 12’, 15’)

John Calipari has unquestionably been the most successful coach in the SEC during his tenure at Kentucky, and there is a strong case to be made that he has been the most successful coach in the country. With seven Elite Eight trips and four Final Fours in 10 years (both are double the second most), it’s hard to dispute that.

2. Rick Barnes (32 seasons, 4 seasons at Tennessee)

Overall Record: 692-364 (65.5%)
Record at Tennessee: 88-50 (63.8%)
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 24
NCAA Tournament Record: 24-24 (50%)
Accolades: 2003 Final Four, 7x Sweet Sixteen, 6x Conference Coach of the Year

For a long time, Rick Barnes has been known as a coach that underperforms in March. While that may be true, he gets his teams to the Tournament. With 24 appearances, Barnes has more than 11 of the 14 teams in the SEC. In just four years, he has coached the Volunteers to one of their best seasons in history. Not many coaches in the country have the resume to matchup with Barnes.

3. Bruce Pearl (28 seasons, 5 seasons at Auburn)

Overall Record: 562-216 (72.2%)
Record at Auburn: 100-71 (58.5%)
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 10
NCAA Tournament Record: 15-10 (60%)
Accolades: 2019 Final Four, 5x Sweet Sixteen, 7x Conference Coach of the Year (93’, 94’, 02’, 03’, 05’, 06’, 08’), 1995 Div ll Coach of the Year, 1995 Div ll National Championship, 2x Div ll Final Four (94’, 95’)

Pearl’s career has been full of highs and lows, but one thing is for certain, he has coached his way up. With that being said, Pearl is one of the most passionate coaches in the Country and is coming off one of the most impressive runs in NCAA history as Auburn beat the three most-winningest programs in NCAA history en route to a Final Four. Pearl has brought fun and winning basketball to Auburn.

4. Ben Howland (23 seasons, 4 seasons at Mississippi St.)

Overall Record: 479-262 (64.6%)
Record at Mississippi St.: 78-56 (58.2%)
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 11
NCAA Tournament Record: 19-11 (63.3%)
Accolades: 3x Final Four (06’ ,07’ 08’), 5x Sweet Sixteen, 2002 AP Coach of the Year, 2002 Naismith Coach of the Year, 3x Conference Coach of the Year

Howland is one of just eight active coaches with at least three trips to the Final Four and only one of eight coaches in history to do it three consecutive seasons. However, Howland hasn’t made it out of the first weekend in nine seasons. Howland has taken every team he has ever coached to the NCAA tournament, and that consistency makes him one of the best coaches in the SEC.

5. Buzz Williams (12 seasons, Entering 1^st season at Texas A&M)

Overall Record: 253-155 (62%)
Record at Last Job (Virginia Tech): 100-69 (59.2%)
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 8
NCAA Tournament Record: 10-8 (55.6%)
Accolades: 4x Sweet Sixteen

Buzz Williams is returning to his alma mater for this upcoming season and will join Bruce Pearl as one of the sweatiest coaches in the SEC. Williams brought success to both of his previous coaching jobs at Marquette and Virginia Tech. In terms of postseason success, Williams has advanced at least one round in five of his eight tournament appearances including three Sweet Sixteen appearances and a 2013 Elite Eight appearance. Texas A&M has a good fan base, recruiting base, and plenty of resources/money. I fully expect Williams to continue his success at A&M.

6. Frank Martin (12 seasons, 7 seasons at South Carolina)

Overall Record: 246-160 (60.6%)
Record at South Carolina: 129-106 (54.9%)
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 5
NCAA Tournament Record: 10-5 (66.7%)
Accolades: 2017 Final Four, 2x Sweet Sixteen, 2010 Conference Coach of the Year

Before making his way into the college ranks, Martin coaches high school basketball for 15 years and coached several players who went on to have professional careers including future NBA players Udonis Haslem and Steve Blake. In 2017, Martin coached the Gamecocks to one of the most improbable Final Fours in recent memory that featured wins over Duke and Florida. Martin has excelled at every level and he is respected because of that.

7. Mike White (8 seasons, 4 seasons at Florida)

Overall Record: 190-93 (67.1%)
Record at Florida: 89-53 (62.7%)
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 3
NCAA Tournament Record: 5-3
Accolades: 2017 Sweet Sixteen, 3x Conference Coach of the Year (13’, 15’, 17’)

Replacing the shoes of Billy Donavan is not an easy task. However, White has been successful. White has taken the Gators to three NCAA Tournament appearances including a Sweet Sixteen in 2017. White may be a young coach but he has had a successful tenure in Florida thus far.

8. Tom Crean (19 seasons, 1 season at Georgia)

Overall Record: 367-252 (59.3%)
Record at Georgia: 11-21 (34.4%)
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 9
NCAA Tournament Record: 11-9 (55%)
Accolades: 2003 Final Four, 4x Sweet Sixteen, 3x Conference Coach of the Year (02’, 03’, 16’)

There aren’t too many coaches that are easier to make fun of than Tom Crean. Yes, Crean is known to celebrate Sweet Sixteens but he has had successful seasons at both Marquette and Indiana. At Georgia, not a lot is expected from the basketball team but Crean has already signed one five-star recruit and three four-star recruits as he enters his second year in Athens.

9. Eric Musselman (21 seasons, Entering 1^st season at Arkansas)

Overall Record: College 110-34 (76.4%); NBA: 108–138 (43.9%)
Record at Last Job (Nevada): 110-34 (76.4%)
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 3
NCAA Tournament Record: 2-3 (40%)
Accolades: 2018 Sweet Sixteen, 2012 NBA D-League Coach of the Year, 2018 Conference Coach of the Year

Musselman may have the widest variety of coaching experience of any other coach in the SEC, coaching in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), United States Basketball League (USBL), NBA D-League, NBA, and now NCAA Division 1. Not only did he just coach in those leagues, but he also coached well. At the age of 28, Musselman became the first coach in professional basketball history to win 100 games and in the 2002-2003 season, he finished runner up in the NBA Coach of the year award to the greatest professional coach of all time, San Antonio Spurs coach Greg Poppovich. In four seasons as a college coach Musselman has made the tournament three times, including a trip to the Sweet Sixteen.

10. Will Wade (6 seasons, 2 seasons at LSU)

Overall Record: 134-65 (67.3%)
Record at LSU: 43-20 (68.3%)
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 2
NCAA Tournament Record: 1-2 (33.3%)
Accolades: 2014 Conference Coach of the Year

Wade may not be coaching next season after being suspended at the end of the regular season due to an FBI wiretap that features Wade making a “strong a** offer” to a recruit. However, in all three of Wade’s coaching stops, he has taken them all to the postseason. In two years at LSU, he has bought enough players and had enough luck to win the SEC regular season title.

11. Cuonzo Martin (11 seasons, 2 seasons at Missouri)

Overall Record: 221-151 (59.4%)
Record at Missouri: 35-30 (53.8%)
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 3
NCAA Tournament Record: 3-3 (50%)
Accolades: 2014 Sweet Sixteen, 2011 Conference Coach of the Year

Martin has had two coaching stops in the SEC including Tennessee where he led them to a Sweet Sixteen and now Missouri. In his eight seasons as a coach of a mid to high-level D-1 basketball program, Martin has been to the tournament three times. Which I would consider underachieving when you consider the NBA talent he has had on his teams including Jaylen Brown, Ivan Rabb, Michael Porter Jr., and Jontay Porter.

12. Nate Oats (4 seasons, Entering 1^st season at Alabama)

Overall Record: 96-43 (69.1%)
Record at Last Job (Buffalo): 96-43 (69.1%)
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 3
NCAA Tournament Record: 2-3 (40%)
Accolades: 2x Conference Coach of the Year (18’, 19’)

Oats is considered to be one of the best young coaches in the country and has earned that. In just four seasons in his first head coaching job at Buffalo, Oats took the Bison to three tournament appearances and advanced each of the past two seasons. Oats has the potential to continue to rise up the ranks and if he can bring Alabama the success he had at Buffalo, that will come sooner rather than later.

13. Kermit Davis (21 seasons, 1 season at Ole Miss)

Overall Record: 423-251 (62.8%)
Record at Ole Miss: 20-13 (60.6%)
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 6
NCAA Tournament Record: 2-6 (25%)
Accolades: 6x Conference Coach of the Year (89’, 03’, 12’, 13’, 17’, 19’)

Kermit Davis exceeded all expectations this past season, taking a team that was predicted to finish last in the SEC to the NCAA tournament. However, Ole Miss layed an egg in their first-round game by losing by 23 to Oklahoma. As a 21-year coaching veteran, Davis has not done a lot as a head coach and has to do more to move up this list.

14. Jerry Stackhouse (No college, Entering 1st season at Vanderbilt)

No College Coaching Experience
NBA D-League Record: 79-33 (70.5%)
Accolades: 2017 NBA D-League Champion, 2017 NBA D-League Coach of the Year

I believe Jerry Stackhouse was a great hire for Vanderbilt, however, he has no college coaching experience and it is very different from the NBA level which is why he is ranked so low. However, Bryce Drew showed the Vandy is capable of getting five-star talent and with Stackhouse’s basketball knowledge and prestige, he can carry the Commodores out of their 0-16 SEC record this past season.

Men's Basketball

Kentucky Competes at Annual Pro Day Inside of Rupp Arena

Published

24 hours ago

October 7, 2026

Jack Ransdell

Photo via Marissa Gilchrist | UK Athletics

Kentucky held its annual Pro Day on Tuesday, Oct. 6, where NBA scouts were able to watch the team go through individual drills and a live game-like scrimmage. There are plenty of takeaways that stood out during the two hour practice. Let’s dive into it:

1.) Franck Kepnang Shows Off in the Paint

The first thing that stood out was transfer big man Franck Kepnang, with the seven-foot big from Washington dominating in the paint. Starting with the individual drills, he showed his size and ability to get downhill off of a pick-and-roll.

The bigs went through a finishing through contact drill, and the new Wildcat seemed unfazed by the pads being pounded against him. With Moreno and Kepnang running the paint together, it will make it very difficult for opposing teams to stop both of them.

2.) Ousmane N’Diaye Has High-Scoring Performance

Overseas big Ousmane N’Diaye was another standout in front of the NBA scouts. In the first six-minute “quarter”, N’Diaye led all scorers with eight points.

He showed off his ability to score at all three levels, hitting multiple threes and also demonstrating his ability to score in the paint. N’Diaye wasn’t playing the five spot, which really allowed his team to stretch the floor and help with spacing.

With Moreno, Kepnang, N’Diaye and Reece Potter all standing at seven-feet tall, Mark Pope has the opportunity to run a four-big lineup all while each player hones a different skillset. Having this much size will pay dividends come time for conference play.

3. The Forwards Do a Little Bit of Everything

A few other players who performed well were Milan Momcilovic and Braydon Hawthorne. Momcilovic played very unselfish during the inter-squad scrimmage, looking to first get his teammates involved and not forcing his game whatsoever.

He did hit a nice step-back 3-pointer at the buzzer in the second “quarter”, highlighting his 10-point performance. Hawthorne had some great looks from beyond the arc and did a phenomenal job getting his teammates open, driving and distributing the rock.

He finished with six points and one assist.

Overall, the whole team appeared molded together and played as a unit rather than just isolation ball, which is a great sign in early October. There is no shortage of individual talent on this roster, and that was evident on Tuesday, with leaders and experience at every position.

The wait is almost over BBN. Kentucky will take the court in its first exhibition game on Friday, Oct. 16, when Little Rock comes into town. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET and will air live on SEC Network+.

Men's Basketball

Mark Pope Gives Update on Vacant Roster Spot, Potential Coaching Addition

Published

1 day ago

October 7, 2026

Kaylayah Ivy

Photo by Chet White | UK Athletics

Kentucky still has room to add to both its roster and coaching staff, but Mark Pope appears comfortable with where things currently stand.

At Kentucky’s 2026 Media Day, Pope was asked whether the Wildcats plan to move forward with their current 14-man roster and if there was any update on a potential addition to his coaching staff.

His answer on both fronts was similar: Kentucky likes the group it has.

“Our roster right now is what we’re expecting to go to battle with,” said Pope. “We’ll always be open to opportunities if they arise. Everything changes so fast, it’s pretty incredible, but I like our group.”

That leaves Kentucky with some flexibility as the season approaches, but no indication that another addition has to be made.

Mark Pope on the 15th roster spot and assistant coach vacancy:

"Our roster right now is what we are expecting to go to battle with, but we will be open to opportunities."

"I like our staff so much right now. There is a real synergy. There is the potential to grow the staff……— Tristan Pharis (@TristanUda) September 28, 2026

The Wildcats still have an open roster spot, but Pope’s comments suggest that the focus is less on filling it, and more on continuing to develop and build the group that is already in Lexington.

“Everything we’re doing right now is focused on growing this group the way we have and trying to build the best we can,” Pope added.

He expressed similar confidence when discussing the coaching staff. While another addition remains possible, he emphasized how well the current staff has come together as a whole.

“I like our staff so much right now. There’s a real synergy with what we’re doing.”

Praising several additions to the program, specifically pointing out Mo Williams, Keegan Brown and Stephanie Campbell when discussing additions Kentucky has already made.

“It’s actually by far the best I’ve felt with how our staff is functioning together.”

So, is Kentucky finished making moves? Not necessarily.

Pope made it clear that things can change quickly in the sport of college basketball, and that all operations will remain open if the right opportunity becomes available. For now, the Wildcats appear focused on continuing to build with the roster and staff already in place.

Men's Basketball

Can Mark Pope and Kentucky Finally Shake the Injury Bug?

Published

3 days ago

October 5, 2026

Blain Brooks

Photo via Chet White | UK Athletics

Through Mark Pope’s first two seasons with Kentucky, injuries haven’t just been here and there, they have cost both teams a deeper run in the postseason.

Now entering year three, the Wildcats once again have championship-level expectations and a deep roster, but the injury bug has already started to show itself.

BREAKING: Kentucky guard Jerone Morton has suffered a minor knee injury in practice.

He will be re-evaluated in several weeks with the staff optimistic for his return for the regular season. #BBN pic.twitter.com/lqltmfhl15— KY Insider (@KyInsider) September 28, 2026

Kentucky is yet to play an exhibition game, but Pope is already facing a familiar opponent, with a new injury suffered by guard Jerone Morton.

After last season, Kentucky had its complete roster for only 14% of his games through Pope’s first two seasons, and only 9% against power-four opponents. Sure, the reports this summer confirm that the Wildcats will be healthy for the regular season, but knowing the statistics, members of the Big Blue Nation still worry when any sort of injury is announced.

Pope’s first Kentucky team was still able to make it to the Sweet 16, but rarely did he have the chance to coach the roster exactly the way it was constructed.

Injuries to Lamont Butler, Jaxson Robinson, Andrew Carr and Kerr Kriisa made it nearly impossible to see the team that Pope and staff had envisioned. However, when that squad was fully healthy, they were something special.

In the 2024 Champions Classic, Pope led his team to take down No. 6 Duke, who hosted No.1 overall pick and basketball phenom Cooper Flagg. The Wildcats were able to go deep into their rotation, play with pace, and rely on different players throughout the night.

As the season progressed, however, Pope rarely had that luxury. BBN will likely speculate for years to come on how far in the tournament that 2024 team could’ve made it had they stayed healthy.

Year two brought even worse injury luck. Jaland Lowe suffered a shoulder injury during the Blue-White scrimmage that lingered throughout the season and eventually required season-ending surgery for one. Jayden Quaintance entered the year still recovering from a torn ACL, missing Kentucky’s first 11 games and playing just four times before swelling in the knee shut him down again.

Just as the Cats were starting to find some stability in their roster, Kam Williams would go down, suffering a broken foot during the Jan. 21 win over Texas. He underwent surgery shortly after, with the injury costing him the final 12 games of the season.

Williams’s absence was especially damaging because Kentucky was already without Lowe and Quaintance, leaving Pope without three players who had been expected to play major roles.

For a roster that had been constructed around depth and versatility, Pope spent much of the season trying to replace pieces that were never supposed to be missing in the first place.

BREAKING: Kentucky’s Jaland Lowe has officially been shut down for the season, per Mark Pope. 💔#BBN pic.twitter.com/ih9v8giAbn— KY Insider (@KyInsider) January 12, 2026

Kentucky is already dealing with several bumps in the road: Morton is recovering from a knee injury, while Trent Noah, Milan Momcilovic, Franck Kepnang and Williams have all dealt with health concerns during the offseason.

The good news for fans is that, unlike last season, Pope expects the roster to be close to full strength by the start of regular-season play.

With another talented roster in place, staying healthy could be just as important as anything that the Wildcats can do on the court. If Kentucky can finally shake the injury bug, Pope may finally get the chance to see just how far one of his teams can go when it matters most.