What has been the tenure of SEC M BBall Coaches during the Expansion Era?

[jbcarol]

Auburn (updated)

Auburn hired Bruce Pearl who has one of the top winning percentages as an SEC coach. See the Tennessee update for his prior record and circumstances around his Show Cause penalty which expires in August 2014.

Tony Barbee, 42 was let go after his fourth SEC regular season with a cumulative 18-50 (.265) record. Barbee is from the Coach Calipari coaching tree and has close ties to William Wesley.

Jeff Lebo coached Auburn for six seasons going 35-61 in regular season SEC play and prorating to 5.8-10.2. He led Auburn to only one NIT appearance.

Renaissance man Cliff Ellis coached Auburn for 10 seasons going 73-87 (45.6%) which prorates to 7.3-8.7 over his career. Ellis took Auburn to the NCAA-T in '99, '00, and '03. The '99 team finished 29-4 and Auburn won the SEC Tourney. The '00 team was an SI preseason pick to win it all. Agent dealings cost Auburn's Porter eligilibilty. The '03 team made the Sweet 16.

Tommy Joe Eagles was the Auburn head man when the SEC expanded.  During his five seasons, AU was 29-55 (34.5%) which prorates to 5.5-10.5. Eagles won the 1990 SEC Coach of the Year award defeating Rick Pitino et al.

[jbcarol]

SEC Regular Season Wins    
                       
  397   Adolph Rupp (UK)       
  238     Dale Brown (LSU)    
  195     CM Newton (ALA, VU)    
  182     Ray Mears (UT)    
  178     Billy Donovan (UF)    
  178     Harry Rabenhorst (LSU)    
  172     Joe B. Hall (UK)    
  171     Roy Skinner (VU)    
  141     Hugh Durham (UGA)    
  139     Tubby Smith (UGA, UK)    
  132     Wimp Sanderson (ALA)    
  126     Norm Sloan (UF)    
  124     Joel Eaves (AUB)    
  122     Rick Stansbury (MSU)    
  112     Hank Crisp (ALA)    
  110     Don DeVoe (UT, UF)    
  109     Nolan Richardson (ARK)    
  107     Bob Polk (VU)    
  104     Rick Pitino (UK)    
  103     John Mauer (UT, UF)   

"We're all instant gratification, we all want the hurry-up fix.  If we leave this guy alone, Anthony Grant, leave him along for a couple of years, he'll get it right.  He's a damn good coach.  He knows what it takes to win.  If I were his AD, I would leave him alone simply because I can put my head on my pillow each night and go to sleep knowing he isn't going to cheat and he'll have good discipline in his program."

-- CM Newton

Chris Dortch ‏@cdortch ·1 hr
Win over Pitt today makes Florida's Billy Donovan second winningest coach in SEC history. Remember when they called him Billy the Kid?

[jbcarol]

Kevin Brockway ‏@gatorhoops ·45 mins
Told Billy D he passed Dale Brown (LSU) for second all-time SEC winningest coach "really I did not know that." drew a smile.

4-straight Sweet 16 trips.

[jbcarol]

John Clay ‏@johnclayiv ·15h
Stat for you: John Calipari and Rick Pitino enter Friday each with 8-game NCAA Tournament win streak and 12 wins in last 13 tourney games.

[jbcarol]

NCAA Tournament Record for Current SEC Coaches at SEC Schools:

Billy Donovan  Florida   34*-11
John Calipari Kentucky    14-2
Bruce Pearl Tennessee**  8-6
Kevin Stallings  Vandy     5-6
Cuonzo Martin Tennessee 3-1
Andy Kennedy Ole Miss    1-1
Frank Haith     Mizzou      0-2
Anthony Grant  Bama      0-1
Mark Fox        Georgia     0-1


* Most NCAA Tournament wins by an SEC Coach (Rupp was 30-18)
** Bruce Pearl is currently at Auburn

[jbcarol]

NCAA Tournament Record from 2010-Current (affiliation at the time of the NCAAT):

SEC:  34-15 (69%)
Big 10:  47-28 (63%)
ACC:  35-23 (60%)
Pac 12:  22-16 (58%)
Big East:  50-38 (57%)
Big XII:  33-28 (54%)
A10:  18-20 (47%---only 1 season with an above .500 record)
Mountain West:  11-17 (39%)

Hmmmmm..........

[jbcarol]

Ben Frederickson ‏@Ben_Fred ·Mar 25
Told Gene Keady that Cuonzo Martin said coaching against Glenn Robinson III makes him feel old. Keady's response? "I feel real old."

[jbcarol]

Antonya English ‏@TBTimes_Gators  16h
The #Gators have matched their school record for wins in a season with 35. #NCAATournament

[jbcarol]

Jon Solomon ‏@jonsol  8h
SEC has 2 teams in Elite Eight for 4th time in 5 years. Kentucky & Florida have 8 of SEC's 9 appearances in that period.

[jbcarol]

Kevin Brockway ‏@gatorhoops  1m
Gators Final Four appearance in 18 seasons under Billy Donovan (2000, 2006, 2007, 2014).

[jbcarol]

Final Four Appearances by Coaches at an SEC School while an SEC School

Adolph Rupp ....  6
Billy Donovan ..  4
Joe B. Hall ......  3
Rick Pitino ......  3**
John Calipari ...  3***
Nolan Richardson 2*
Dale Brown ......  2
Hugh Durham ...  1****
Tubby Smith ....  1
Lon Kruger ......  1
Richard Williams 1
Harry Rabenhorst 1
John Brady ......  1

*Took Hogs to Final Four out of the SWC.
**Took Providence and UofL to Final Fours out of Big East
***Both Ex-SEC Final Fours Vacated
****Took Florida St. to final game as an independent

[jbcarol]

Jimmy Hyams ‏@JimmyHyams  10h
From 1980-90, UT had one coaching change in football and men's hoops (Wade Houston for Don DeVoe). From 1991-present, it has had 9 (4 in FB)

[jbcarol]

Radi Nabulsi ‏@RadiNabulsi ·38m
Breaking: #UGA announces that men's basketball coach Mark Fox has received a two-year extension on his contract.

[jbcarol]

Seth Emerson ‏@SethEmerson ·3h
News: Mark Fox has received a two-year extension from UGA. He is now signed through the 2017-18 season.

[UGa AD] Greg McGarity, in statement: "The improvement our team made throughout the 2013-14 season was very encouraging and with the loss of only one starter, the expectations for this coming season will be very high."

[jbcarol]

Mike Bianchi ‏@BianchiWrites ·5h
#Gators discovery of #Donovan is greatest college coaching hire of this generation. Bianchi column: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/college/gators/os-billy-donovan-mike-bianchi-0404-20140403,0,1525343.column ...

[jbcarol]

Question: You talked yesterday about thinking that something needs to be done for the players in terms of increasing the benefits or making it more fair. What do you think about the amount of money that you make compared to what the kids do and don't get? As a coach and former player in this tournament, are you ever concerned that some of the issues today could affect this or make it go away or change what has become the NCAA tournament as we know it now?

"Yeah, I'm not saying that the system is always fair or right," Donovan said. "I think in any system you can look at it and say, Is it fair and right? I think that's why change is good. I think that's why people look at what's right, what's wrong, what we can do.

"This is what I think has happened from an evolution from when I played. When I played in this event 26 years ago, there was a meaning about playing for Providence College. There was a meaning and a value, back then it was glorified that you just got a scholarship to college, that your family didn't have to pay for your education. You needed your degree to move on. Representing your school and your school colors and putting a college uniform on and representing the Big East, there were a lot of those things 26 years ago that were really valuable.

"I think what's happened now is because of the opportunity to earn money in the game of basketball, those opportunities are far greater than they were 26 years ago. A lot of kids now look at this as, I've got an earning window to make money playing this game, and really in a lot of ways I have a lifetime to get my degree and I can never earn as much money with my degree coming out of college that I could if I took an overseas job.

"Forget the NBA. We have had guys that have been at Florida that have been well over six figures as it relates to contracts. That's not even in the NBA. So there's an opportunity, they say, Listen, my body, my talent, all those kind of things.

"So I think when you talk about all those things there, we have set up a system in our country that we have brought academics and athletics together as an avenue for a player to get to where he wants to get to.

"I understand the D‑league has been formed and people say, Well, you can go to the D‑league, but really in essence the way the system is set up, it's set up that guys have got to go to school. They got to represent. That's the best way. Right now, probably the most logical way for these guys to pursue a professional career.

"I think you'll start to see, probably down the road, some things change. I don't know what the solutions are, I don't know what the answers are, but I think certainly a lot more can be done for the student‑athletes."

After a cup of coffee with the Knicks, Coach Donovan was working on Wall Street when Rick Pitino called him to be assistant on his '89-90 Kentucky team.

[jbcarol]

AP Top 25 ‏@AP_Top25  4h
FINALS WATCH: Don't like 'one and done'? Take it up with Oscar Robertson http://apne.ws/1jgaDIr  #FinalFour #TheBigO


Big O weighs in on succeed and proceed.

[jbcarol]

ESPN Stats & Info ‏@ESPNStatsInfo  12m
Kentucky has reached the National Championship for the 12th time, 2nd-most in NCAA Tournament history.

[jbcarol]

http://johnclay.bloginky.com/2014/04/09/kentucky-basketball-year-by-year

[jbcarol]

Basketball HOF ‏@Hoophall ·Apr 7
Welcome to the #HOF2014 Nolan Richardson, 1994 Naismith, NABC Coach of the Year

Basketball HOF ‏@Hoophall ·Apr 7
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2014! pic.twitter.com/aPzuOVFEs7

[jbcarol]

Number of Teams the SEC placed in the NCAA-T from 1999 Tourney to present with seeds in parentheses:

2014 [3]: Florida (1-overall), Kentucky (Eight), Tennessee (11)

2013 [3]: Florida (3), Mizzou (9), Ole Miss (12)

2012 [4]: UK (1-overall), VU (5), UF (7), Bama (9)

2011 [5]: UF (2), UK (4), VU (5), UT (9), UG (10)

2010 [4]: UK (1), Vandy (4), UT (6), UF (10)

2009 [3]: LSU (Eight), UT (9), MSSt (13)

2008 [6]: UT(2), VU(4), Hogs(Eight), MSt(Eight), UK(11), UGa(14)

2007 [5]: UF(1), UT(5), VU(6), UK (Eight), Hogs (12)

2006 [6]: UT(2), UF(3), LSU(4), Hogs(Eight) ,UK(Eight), Bama(10)

2005 [5]: UK(2), UF(4), Bama (5), LSU (6), MSt (9)

2004 [6]: UK(1), MSt(2), UF(5), VU(6), Bama(Eight), SC(10)

2003 [6]: UK(1-overall), UF(2), MSt(5), LSU(Eight), Bama(10), AU(10)

2002 [6]: Bama(2), UG(3), MSt(3), UK(4), UF(5), OM(9)

2001 [6]: UK(2), OM(3), UF(3), Hogs(7), UG(Eight), UT(Eight)

2000 [6]: LSU(4), UT(4), UF(5), UK(5), AU(7), Hogs(11)

1999 [6]: AU(1), UK(3), Hogs(4), UT(4), UF(6), OM(9)

1998 [5]: UK (2), SC (3), OM (4), Hogs (6), Vols (Eight)

1997 [5]: UK (1), SC (2), UGa (3), OM (Eight), VU (10)

1996 [4]: UK (1), State (5), UGa (Eight), Hogs (12)

1995 [5]: UK (1), Hogs (2), State (5), Bama (5), UF (10)

1994 [4]: Hogs (1), UK (3), UF (3), Bama (9)

1993 [4]: UK (1), Vandy (3), Hogs (4), LSU (11)

1992 [4]: UK (2), Hogs (3), Bama (5), LSU (7)


2009 is still the worst year but 2013 came close.

[jbcarol]

SEC Coaches total number of Regular Season Conference wins from '91-92 to Present. This balances on-the-court success with ability to sustain a career and a desire to stay with the SEC School over other options.

Coach                 Wins  Avg. Season Seasons
Billy Donovan        192      10.5-6.5   18
Tubby Smith         139      11.6-4.4   12
Rick Stansbury      122        8.7-7.3   14
Kevin Stallings      118        7.7-8.3   15
Nolan Richardson   109        9.9-6.1   11
Mark Gottfried        84        8.0-8.0   10.5
Rick Pitino             80       13.3-2.7    6
Eddie Fogler          77         7.7-8.3   10
John Brady            74         7.1-8.9   10.5
Cliff Ellis               73         7.3-8.7   10
Andy Kennedy        67         8.1-7.9    8
Bruce Pearl            65        10.8-5.2   6
John Calipari          62        12.2-3.8   5
Richard Williams     53         7.6-8.4    7
Rod Barnes            50         6.2-9.8    8
David Hobbs          50         8.3-7.7    6
Anthony Grant        46        8.8-7.2    5
Lon Kruger             44        8.8-7.2    5
Jan van Breda Kolff 43        7.2-8.8    6
Rob Evans              43        7.2-8.8    6
Jerry Green            41       10.2-5.8    4
Dave Odom            41        5.9-10.1   7
Mark Fox                40        7.6-8.4    5


Average season is based on 16 games as most former coaches had only 16 game seasons from '91-'12.

Nolan Richardson won a significant number of SWC games for Arkansas prior to '91-92.

Richard Williams, Rick Pitino, Eddie Fogler, and Lon Kruger all had SEC victories in seasons prior to '91-92.

Tubby Smith's total reflects wins at UGa and UK.
Eddie Fogler's total reflects '91-'02 wins at Vandy and USC.

Billy Donovan, Kevin Stallings, Andy Kennedy, and John Calipari are active SEC coaches.

[jbcarol]

Matt Jones ‏@KySportsRadio ·2 hrs
Rick Pitino apparently wrote a letter to a federal judge asking for leniency for Richie Farmer in his sentencing

[jbcarol]

SEC Coaches NCAA Tournament seeding and accomplishment from most recent:

Calipari ('10-present)
             2014: 8 seed, NCAA Finals loss to UConn; beat 35-0 Wichita St.
             2012: 1 overall seed, Championship win over Kansas
             2011: 4 seed, Final 4, beat #1 Ohio St., lost to UConn
             2010: 1 Seed, Elite 8 loss to WVU

[jbcarol]

No coach in UK history has had a 5-year start to his career as good as John Calipari. 

Where does his 5-year stint rank among the best-ever 5-year stretches for UK coaches?

1. 1946-51 (Coach: Adolph Rupp)
Record: 159-15 (Win%: 91.4)
SEC Record: 58-2
National Championships: 3
Final Fours: 3
SEC Regular Season Championships: 5
SEC Tournament Championships: 4
NCAA Tournament Record: 10-2 (Played in NIT TWICE)

2. 1992-97 (Coach: Rick Pitino)
Record: 154-23 (Win%: 87.0)
SEC Record: 68-12
National Championships: 1
Final Fours: 3
SEC Regular Season Championships: 2
SEC Tournament Championships: 4
NCAA Tournament Record: 19-4

3. 2009-14 (Coach: John Calipari)
Record: 152-37 (Win%: 80.4)
SEC Record: 63-21
National Championships: 1
Final Fours: 3
SEC Regular Season Championships: 2
SEC Tournament Championships: 2
NCAA Tournament Record: 18-3 (Missed Tournament ONCE)

4. 2000-05 (Coach: Tubby Smith)
Record: 133-35 (Win%: 79.2)
SEC Record: 65-15
National Championships: 0
Final Fours: 0
SEC Regular Season Championships: 3
SEC Tournament Championships: 3
NCAA Tournament Record: 11-5 (Missed Tournament NEVER)

5. 1974-79 (Coach: Joe B. Hall)
Record: 121-33 (Win%: 78.6)
SEC Record: 68-22
National Championships: 1
Final Fours: 2
SEC Regular Season Championships: 3
SEC Tournament Championships: 0 (tournament only held in 1979)
NCAA Tournament Record: 11-2 (Missed Tournament TWICE)

[jbcarol]

Matt Jones ‏@KySportsRadio ·35m
"If the rule goes to two years, I will be at Kentucky "a long time" --- John Calipari

[jbcarol]

Tennessee (updated)

The Vols have had six coaches spanning the original 12-Team SEC Expansion Era ('91-92 to '13-'14). They will now look for their seventh.

Cuonzo Martin, 42 took the Vol head coaching job after leading the Missouri State Bears for three seasons. He is the fifth D1 coach from the Gene Keady coaching tree. The Vols went 10-6 in the '12 SEC regular season and earned second place via the SEC tie-breaker. Tennessee lost to Middle Tennessee State in the second round of the NIT. The '13 team went 11-7 in SEC play but lost in the opening round of the NIT to Mercer.

Tennessee fans started a petition drive in the midst of the '13-14 season to replace Martin with Bruce Pearl who ended up at Auburn. The team went on a tear as the players noted that they increased their intensity in defense of their coach. Tennesse got by Iowa in the First Four and then made the Sweet Sixteen. Martin was a candidate for the Marquette job as his buyout decreased in half on April 1, 2014. On April 15 it was reported that Cuonzo had taken the Cal Bears job after Mike Montgomery retired.

Martin was 32-20 (61.5%) in SEC play in three seasons.

Bruce Pearl  was coach for six seasons at UT.  In SEC regular season play, Pearl was 65-31 (including his 8-game suspension in '11), a 68% winning percentage. This prorates to a 10.8-5.2 SEC average season.

Pearl took UT to the NCAA-T each season. 2010 was the Vols first Elite Eight appearance in program history. Pearl has also made the Sweet Sixteen twice. Tennessee won the SEC regular season crown in '08 and finished with an overall 31-5 record. The Vols earned a first round SEC bye in Pearl's first four seasons, failing last season in the Elite Eight year. Out of conference road wins were enough to propel UT into the tourney this season.

AD Mike Hamilton made remarks on a radio program that seemed to distract the Vols and after a good start they lost by 30 in their first round game against Michigan in '11.

Pearl was preceded by Buzz Peterson who was Michael Jordan's college roommate. Buzz coached four years at UT. His regular season conference record was 29-35 (45%). This prorates to a 7.25-8.75 average season. Buzz failed to make the NCAA-T and his team was eliminated in the NIT in the first round in two tries.

Jerry Green coached UT for four seasons from '97-98 to '00-01. His regular season conference record was 41-23 (63%) going 12-4 twice. This prorates to a 10-6 average. Green took the Vols to the NCAA-T each season with the Sweet Sixteen being their crowning achievement. At the time it was UT's second Sweet Sixteen appearance ever and first in 19 seasons. Tennessee shared the SEC Regular Season championship in 2000.

Current USC Coach Kevin O'Neill coached UT for three seasons and could not get a rebuilding job accomplished. O'Neill was hired after his Marquette team defeated UK in the NCAA-T second round in '94.

O'Neill was 14-24 in SEC regular season play. He made the post season once, a first round elimination in the NIT.

Wade Houston coached at UT for five seasons. He was the first black head coach in a major sport in SEC history. Houston was Denny Crum's long time assistant at UofL and he brought his son Allan who became UT's all-time leading scorer.

Coach Houston's teams failed to make the NCAA-T. They did qualify for the NIT twice. He twice lost 22 games overall and his last season, '93-94 saw a 5-22 record, UT's worst in history.

[jbcarol]

Ben Frederickson ‏@Ben_Fred ·55 secs
Dave Hart said he had offered Cuonzo Martin close to a half a million dollar raise and a 2 year extension. Buyout would have been 1 million.

Ben Frederickson ‏@Ben_Fred ·5 mins
Jordan McRae on the tension between Cuonzo Martin and #Vols fan base pic.twitter.com/F7gcs00N6c

[jbcarol]

Wes Rucker ‏@wesrucker247 ·15 hrs
#Vols AD Dave Hart hired Anthony Grant at Bama when people said it couldn't be done. Easy to laugh now but was HUGE at the time. #JustSayin

[jbcarol]

Jimmy Hyams ‏@JimmyHyams  10h
From 1980-90, UT had one coaching change in football and men's hoops (Wade Houston for Don DeVoe). From 1991-present, it has had 9 (4 in FB)

Now 10.

[jbcarol]

SEC Coaches NCAA Tournament seeding and accomplishment from most recent:

Cuonzo Martin ('12-'14)
             2014: 11 seed (First Four), Sweet Sixteen, lost to Michigan

[jbcarol]

SEC Coaches NCAA Tournament seeding and accomplishment from most recent:

Billy Donovan ('97-present)
             2014: overall #1 seed, Final Four, lo$t to eventual champ UConn
             2013: 3 seed, Elite 8
             2012: 7 seed, Elite 8 (1st 7 seed since '84 to make Elite Eight)
             2011: 2 seed, Elite 8
             2010: 10 seed, 1st round exit
             2007: 1 seed, National Champion
             2006: 3 seed, National Champion
             2005: 4 seed, 2nd round
             2004: 5 seed, 1st round exit
             2003: 2 seed, 2nd round
             2002: 5 seed, 1st round exit
             2001: 3 seed, 2nd round
             2000: 5 seed, National Finals game
             1999: 6 seed, Sweet 16   

[jbcarol]

MrSEC: Ranking of all 14 SEC jobs as if they were open right now.  We based our selections on facility size (fan support), stability (recent coaching turnover), and overall tradition (titles and tourneys).

3.  Arkansas

All-time:  29 NCAA tourneys, 6 Final Fours, 1 national title

Last 15 years:  0 Conference titles, 4 head coaches

Arena capacity:  19,200

Upside:  Strong

Arkansas eeks into the three-slot based mainly on what's happened there in the past, just not in the recent past.  The arena is top-notch and the recruiting base includes Memphis (if a coach can tap into it).  When the Hogs are rolling, a good case can be made that UA becomes a basketball school.  It's also hard to ignore a place with six Final Fours and a national crown.  There's plenty of upside in Fayetteville and Jeff Long has shown that he'll spend whatever cash the Razorbacks' biggest boosters will give him.

[jbcarol]

Evan Woodbery ‏@TennesseeBeat ·3 hrs
Slive on departure of 3 SEC bb coaches (all black): "One of the things that I take the most pride in is how far we've come on diversity."

Evan Woodbery ‏@TennesseeBeat ·3 hrs
Mike Slive says Bruce Pearl recently came to B'ham to speak with him. "He came to see me. We had a good conversation."

[jbcarol]

Dave Matter @Dave_Matter  ·  18m 
Age range among 13 current SEC head coaches: 42 (Ray) to 55 (Calipari). Average age: 49 years, two months

Dave Matter @Dave_Matter  ·  21m 
Lots of fan/media talk about age with Mizzou coach options. Kim Anderson turns 59 in May; Tim Floyd just turned 60 (continued...

Just for reference, Floyd is younger than Kruger, Pitino, Jim Crews, Huggins. 11 months older than Izzo; five months older than Rick Barnes

[jbcarol]

Marc Weiszer @marcweiszer  ·  4h
Former Georgia coach Dennis Felton and Frank Haith were both assistants under Rick Barnes. Now Felton will work on Haith's staff at Tulsa.

[jbcarol]

Tennessee (updated)

The Vols have just hired their seventh coach spanning the original 12-Team SEC Expansion Era ('91-92 to '14-'15).

Donnie Tyndall from Southern Mississippi was hired to replace Martin. At his opening presser he acknowledged that he was not Tennessee's first choice.  He looked to his attractive girl friend and noted that he was not her first choice either. In 2006, Tyndall became head coach at his alma mater, Morehead State who had gone 4-23 in the previous season under former UK All-American Kyle Macy. Tyndall personally called season ticket holders to get them back into the fold asking for "one more year."

In August 2010, Tyndall took responsibility for major infractions at Morehead State involving a Jersey booster. The program was placed on two years probation, not including post-season play.

Tyndall's 2011 team with Kenneth Faried upset Louisville in the NCAA Tournament. After the tournament, he went to Southern Mississippi where his teams went 56-17 in two seasons reaching the NIT quarterfinals in both seasons.

In Tyndall's first week on the job, all five of Tennessee's 2014 recruiting class have asked for and received a release from the Vols. One late commit followed Cuonzo Martin to Cal.  Tyndall replaced the losses with several transfers, jucos, and late-signing recruits.

Cuonzo Martin, 42 took the Vol head coaching job after leading the Missouri State Bears for three seasons. He is the fifth D1 coach from the Gene Keady coaching tree. The Vols went 10-6 in the '12 SEC regular season and earned second place via the SEC tie-breaker. Tennessee lost to Middle Tennessee State in the second round of the NIT. The '13 team went 11-7 in SEC play but lost in the opening round of the NIT to Mercer.

Tennessee fans started a petition drive in the midst of the '13-14 season to replace Martin with Bruce Pearl who ended up at Auburn. The team went on a tear as the players noted that they increased their intensity in defense of their coach. Tennesse got by Iowa in the First Four and then made the Sweet Sixteen. Martin was a candidate for the Marquette job as his buyout decreased in half on April 1, 2014. On April 15 it was reported that Cuonzo had taken the Cal Bears job after Mike Montgomery retired.

Martin was 32-20 (61.5%) in SEC play in three seasons.

Bruce Pearl  was coach for six seasons at UT.  In SEC regular season play, Pearl was 65-31 (including his 8-game suspension in '11), a 68% winning percentage. This prorates to a 10.8-5.2 SEC average season.

Pearl took UT to the NCAA-T each season. 2010 was the Vols first Elite Eight appearance in program history. Pearl has also made the Sweet Sixteen twice. Tennessee won the SEC regular season crown in '08 and finished with an overall 31-5 record. The Vols earned a first round SEC bye in Pearl's first four seasons, failing last season in the Elite Eight year. Out of conference road wins were enough to propel UT into the tourney this season.

AD Mike Hamilton made remarks on a radio program that seemed to distract the Vols and after a good start they lost by 30 in their first round game against Michigan in '11.

Pearl was preceded by Buzz Peterson who was Michael Jordan's college roommate. Buzz coached four years at UT. His regular season conference record was 29-35 (45%). This prorates to a 7.25-8.75 average season. Buzz failed to make the NCAA-T and his team was eliminated in the NIT in the first round in two tries.

Jerry Green coached UT for four seasons from '97-98 to '00-01. His regular season conference record was 41-23 (63%) going 12-4 twice. This prorates to a 10-6 average. Green took the Vols to the NCAA-T each season with the Sweet Sixteen being their crowning achievement. At the time it was UT's second Sweet Sixteen appearance ever and first in 19 seasons. Tennessee shared the SEC Regular Season championship in 2000.

Current USC Coach Kevin O'Neill coached UT for three seasons and could not get a rebuilding job accomplished. O'Neill was hired after his Marquette team defeated UK in the NCAA-T second round in '94.

O'Neill was 14-24 in SEC regular season play. He made the post season once, a first round elimination in the NIT.

Wade Houston coached at UT for five seasons. He was the first black head coach in a major sport in SEC history. Houston was Denny Crum's long time assistant at UofL and he brought his son Allan who became UT's all-time leading scorer.

Coach Houston's teams failed to make the NCAA-T. They did qualify for the NIT twice. He twice lost 22 games overall and his last season, '93-94 saw a 5-22 record, UT's worst in history.

[jbcarol]

Missouri

In 2011 Miami Coach Frank Haith, 47, took over for Mike Anderson who had taken the Tigers to the Elite Eight and the second round of the NCAA tournament after turning around the program following the Quin Snyder error.

Haith coached Mizzou to a 14-4 mark in the Big 12 but dropped their NCAA opener to Norfolk State. Haith's first SEC season ended tied for fifth at 11-7. Mizzou lost their NCAA opener.  Haith had been subject to a prolonged and bitter NCAA investigation tied to his time at Miami. He seemed to catch a break in 2013 when the NCAA acknowledged wrongdoing in their handling of the case.  Haith was suspended for a few games at the start of the '13-14 season in which Mizzou finished tied for sixth in the SEC and were able to advance to the NIT second round.  Haith left Mizzou for Tulsa after not receiving a contract extension. Haith was noted for heavy reliance on transfer players.

Frank Haith was 20-16 (55.6% or 10-8 on average) in SEC regular season play.

[jbcarol]

Missouri

Mizzou hired former player and assistant Kim Anderson (born May 12, 1955 in Sedalia). At 6-7, Anderson will match Andy Kennedy as tallest coach in the SEC in '14-15. Anderson played 21 games for the Trail Blazers during the '78-79 season. After a pro playing career in Europe, Anderson was an assistant to Norm Stewart from '82-85 and '91-99, working at Baylor in the interim. After a break from coaching, Anderson became head coach at Central Missouri, winning the DII National Championship in 2014.

In 2011 Miami Coach Frank Haith, 47, took over for Mike Anderson who had taken the Tigers to the Elite Eight and the second round of the NCAA tournament after turning around the program following the Quin Snyder error.

Haith coached Mizzou to a 14-4 mark in the Big 12 but dropped their NCAA opener to Norfolk State. Haith's first SEC season ended tied for fifth at 11-7. Mizzou lost their NCAA opener.  Haith had been subject to a prolonged and bitter NCAA investigation tied to his time at Miami. He seemed to catch a break in 2013 when the NCAA acknowledged wrongdoing in their handling of the case.  Haith was suspended for a few games at the start of the '13-14 season in which Mizzou finished tied for sixth in the SEC and were able to advance to the NIT second round.  Haith left Mizzou for Tulsa after not receiving a contract extension. Haith was noted for heavy reliance on transfer players.

Frank Haith was 20-16 (55.6% or 10-8 on average) in SEC regular season play.

[jbcarol]

After the last shoe drops it's:

Kim Anderson
Mike Anderson     
John Calipari
Billy Donovan
Mark Fox
Anthony Grant
Johnny Jones         
Andy Kennedy
Billy Kennedy
Frank Martin
Bruce Pearl
Rick Ray               
Kevin Stallings
Donnie Tyndall

[jbcarol]

SEC Coaches NCAA Tournament seeding and accomplishment from most recent:

Bruce
Pearl 2011: 9 seed, first round 30 point loss to Michigan
        2010: 6 Seed, Elite 8
        2009: 9 Seed, 1st round loss
        2008: 2 seed, Sweet 16
        2007: 5 seed, Sweet 16
        2006: 2 seed, 2nd round

[jbcarol]

A&M hired Rick Stansbury as an assistant coach.

[jbcarol]

This season Billy Donovan will become only the seventh coach to lead an SEC team for 15 consecutive seasons ever.

Of the SEC's all-time leaders in regular season conference wins, only the following would have averaged at least 10-6 (62.5%) during their career beyond those already mentioned.

Rupp, UK, 397 SEC regular season wins, 84.1%
Mears, UT, 182, 70.5%
Hall, UK, 172, 73.5%
Skinner, Vandy, 171, 63.8%
Crisp, Bama, 112, 64.7%

A 10-6 conference average sustained over a period of years is rare in the SEC. Apart from the "UK Effect" it is extremely rare.

Kevin Stallings became the eighth basketball coach to lead an SEC program for 15 consecutive seasons in '13-14.

[jbcarol]

Story: The college basketball head coaching carousel whirls round and round. Darrin Horn continues to wait for an invitation to reboard.

In what should be some of the prime years of his coaching life, the 41-year-old Horn is instead learning the ropes of television as a college hoops analyst for ESPN.

"My goals haven't changed," Horn said last week. "I still want to coach, still want to be a head coach."

With all but a smattering of this offseason's college hoops vacancies filled, it seems all but certain that Horn will not be head coaching in 2014-15.

"I'll be back with ESPN next year," he said. "I've got a contract and I'll have an expanded presence from what I've been doing. So I'm excited about that."

After Horn was fired at South Carolina with a 60-63 record over four years, he made the decision not to stay in college coaching as an assistant. Instead, he and his family, wife Carla, daughter Caroline, son Walker, moved back to Darrin's hometown of Lexington.

"I'm still not ready to take an assistant's role yet," Horn said. "My kids are 13 and (will turn) 11 on Monday. You go back in as an assistant, you don't know how many times you're looking at moving (your kids) in a few short years. The other thing, I liked being the head coach, running your own program."

Being on ESPN allows Horn to maintain visibility in college hoops. With ESPN set to launch the SEC Network later this year, Horn would seem a natural fit for that platform. The ESPN analyst previously most identified with the SEC, Jimmy Dykes, left to become the new women's head basketball coach at Arkansas.

"I think that's a possibility," Horn said of the SEC Network. "There's no Jimmy Dykes. I'm the most familiar with the league they've got who's not 55, 60 years old."

It is hard not to contrast the approach Horn has taken post-South Carolina to the course John Pelphrey chose after he was fired as head coach at Arkansas following the 2010-11 season. The ex-Kentucky forward, a longtime Billy Donovan aide at Florida before starting his head coaching career at South Alabama in 2002-03, went back to the Gators as an assistant.

Which path is best if the goal is making it back as a college head coach?

Horn is trying to replicate what Steve Lavin did after he was fired at UCLA in 2003.

Pelphrey should draw inspiration from Doc Sadler.

What had to be dispiriting this year for both Horn and Pelphrey, 45, is that their names did not appear to get much traction for openings at schools such as Marshall or Southern Miss...

Horn led Western to the NCAA round of 16 in 2008.

[jbcarol]

SI: Bruce Pearl, Steve Wojciechowski among best hires of college basketball offseason

A rating of each according to the very scientific system of zero-to-three Pete Bells – the fictional coach portrayed by Nick Nolte in the 1994 classic Blue Chips

Auburn: Bruce Pearl
When a school does as well as it can hope to do in its search for a coach, that search is a success. So it is at Auburn, which is desperate enough for Pearl's energy, acumen and brand name that it can hope his NCAA transgression days are behind him. Pearl should be able to parlay his TV profile and track record (.704 winning percentage at Tennessee, six NCAA tournament berths including one Elite Eight trip) into recruiting advantages, and it's not like climbing into the upper echelon of the SEC should be all that tough.
RATING: THREE

California: Cuonzo Martin
Martin has one NCAA tournament appearance and zero connections to the West Coast, and now he plunges into a Pac-12 that has tremendous talent on the court and on the sidelines. There's something tenuous about a school finding a coach only because he was desperate to leave his previous job, especially when that coach's track record isn't overwhelming...
RATING: ONE

Missouri: Kim Anderson
Fair enough, to take a chance on a former player and assistant with the idea that he may be the next Bo Ryan. Anderson is fresh off winning nearly 75 percent of his games at Central Missouri and took home a a Division II national championship this spring. The background with the school won't count for much, though, if the wins don't follow. Retaining associate head coach Tim Fuller was a solid first step. Restocking a roster hit by the early NBA departures of Jabari Brown and Jordan Clarkson is the next one.
RATING: TWO

South Florida: Orlando Antigua
The program has made one NCAA tournament since 1992 and posted losing records in three of the last four years under the departed Stan Heath. It's a classic leap-of-faith hire: A 41-year-old first-time head coach with energy and an apprenticeship at Kentucky under John Calipari to boot. Antigua will have local talent to pursue; there were five top 35 prospects from Florida in the Class of 2014, per Rivals.com...
RATING: TWO

Tennessee: Donnie Tyndall
Tennessee spent less on basketball in 2012-13 than DePaul did, according to Department of Education figures. That's not the commitment befitting a top job in the SEC, let alone the country. But Tyndall has the personality and the ties to the Southeast to overcome that, and he can coach, coming off 27- and 29-win seasons at Southern Miss. His rapid work luring recruits and transfers should be an auspicious sign that he can roll up his sleeves and get work done when needed...
RATING: TWO

Tulsa: Frank Haith
First Haith ran fast from Miami, where he encountered some pretty significant NCAA troubles, and then he ran fast from Missouri, where he was losing his top players and the heat was soon to follow after two NCAA first-round losses and an NIT bid in his three seasons. There's not a lot to suggest he's a terrific coach, but at least Tulsa can point to his career .614 winning percentage at two big-conference schools...
RATING: 1.5

SEC's former and new coaches

[jbcarol]

Brandon Marcello @bmarcello  ·  18h
RT @KevinScarbinsky: Like Gus Malzahn, Bruce Pearl has rallied Auburn without winning a game. http://ow.ly/xjIIB

It's not unusual for a new coach - who's on the scene because the old coach failed - to do everything he can to bring a splintered program back together.

One of the standard moves in that regard is the athletic equivalent of a family reunion: A letterman's weekend.

He's inviting former coaches, too. Head coaches and assistants. One example: Cliff Ellis, who was let go by Auburn after the 2004 season but still has fond memories of his time on the Plains, is trying to work it into his schedule in his current job as the Coastal Carolina coach.

"We've got to heal," Pearl said Tuesday at the SEC spring meeting. "We've been through too many coaches and too many staffs, and so the way to do that is you invite the managers back, you invite the assistant coaches back, the guys that care about Auburn basketball. It is the Auburn family, but the family's been broken up so much that it's not healthy.

"We'll invite 'em back and some will come, and we'll keep inviting them back and then I've got to do something. I've got to do something that they can be proud of."

[jbcarol]

Kevin Brockway @gatorhoops  ·  1h
Florida men's basketball coach Billy Donovan turns 49 today.

[jbcarol]

Has former UK coach Joe B. Hall benefited from time?

It's interesting to me that since Adolph Rupp left UK, the 6 coaches that have coached the team since that time can be grouped into 3 categories: the highly successful (Pitino and Calipari), the disastrous (Sutton and Gillispie) and the consistent forces (Hall and Smith).  Joe B. Hall and Tubby Smith both won a national title, multiple SEC titles, and consistently won over 20 games a year.  But if you asked fans today, I think the overall opinion of the 2 men would be somewhat different.

What is the main difference between the 2 coaches in my opinion?  Hall hasn't been the coach for 30 years and Smith just 7 years.  And Hall has remained in the Kentucky area, keeping a presence in the program even after his retirement.  He struck a master stroke in starting a radio show with former UL coach Denny Crum that can be heard throughout the state.  And his familiar accent and knowledge of UK history has endeared him to many fans forever.  You won't find many Kentucky fans who have a negative word to say about Hall.  You certainly would find a few that would about Smith.

So is it just the length of time that Hall has been away from the sidelines that has softened some of the edges in his career?  Or is it his connections for the many years before becoming UK coach and remaining around after his retirement that has eliminated any negatives?  John Calipari has really seemed to embrace Hall, even allowing him to coach one of the teams during the alumni game.  It was something that Gillespie never seemed to do and irked many fans.  I just wonder after Tubby's retirement, if a coach attempts to bring him back into the program, would he be embraced as much as Hall?

Consider that Hall won 297 games in 13 season, Smith 263 in 10 years.  Hall had 4 10-loss seasons and Smith had 5.  But Smith never won less than 22 games while Hall did that 5 times, including a 13-13 season.  Hell, if any coach goes 13-13 at Kentucky these days, they are probably exiting stage left with a pink slip.  Each guy finished in the Top 10 of the Final Top 25 poll 5 times.

[jbcarol]

Florida hung a new banner next to the national championship banners hanging in the rafters of the Stephen C. O'Connell Center on Tuesday, commemorating the Gators' trip to the Final Four in 2014. The banner joins Florida's banners for Final Four appearances in 1994 and 2000, as well as the national title banners from the 2006 and 2007 seasons.

[jbcarol]

AL.com sports @aldotcomSports  ·  13h
Rich get richer as John Calipari's new Kentucky deal puts him in Nick Saban country. http://ow.ly/xGznX