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

[jbcarol]

Bama (updated)

New Orleans native Avery Johnson, 50 was named Bama's new coach. Johnson played in the NBA from '88-'04 and was the NBA Coach of the Year in 2006 when he led the Mavs to the NBA Finals.  This is Johnson's first college coaching position. His son plays for A&M.

John Brannen, a six-year assistant, was interim coach for Bama's 1-1 showing in the 2015 NIT. The Northern Kentucky native was named head coach at NKU.

Anthony Grant, 48 was fired after his sixth regular season at Bama. The former Billy Donovan assistant and VCU head coach led Bama to one NCAA Tournament game in 2012 after finishing 5th in the SEC. Grant finished 53-47 in SEC regular season games.

Philip Pearson was an interim coach at Bama who replaced Mark Gottfried in season in '09. Pearson was 5-6 during his regular season run.

Mark Gottfried coached at Bama for 10.5 seasons. His regular season SEC record of 84-83 of course prorates a shade better than 8-8. Gottfried led Bama to five straight NCAA-T appearances from his 4th season to his 8th. His '04 team (20-13, 8-8 SEC) made the NCAA-T Elite 8, Bama's best showing in the Big Dance ever. Bama made the post season 8 times under Gottfried reportedly turning down an invite to the CBI in '08.

Gottfried's '02 team was the SEC regular season champion (12-4). His '03 team was Number 1 in the AP poll for two weeks, the first time ever for Bama.

David Hobbs coached at Bama from '92-93 to '97-98. In his six seasons, Bama made the second round of the NCAA-T twice. Hobbs had a 110-76 overall record during his Bama tenure and a 50-46 record in SEC conference play.

Winfrey Sanderson coached Bama's first year in the expanded SEC and his last of 12 seasons as Bama's head man.  Sanderson was 10-6 in his last SEC regular season taking Bama to the SEC-T finals and the NCAA 2nd round. Sanderson was associated with Bama athletics for 32 years until Nancy Watts' face made contact with his hand.

Sanderson led Bama to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA-T six times. His teams won the SEC Conference Tourney in '82, '87, '89, '90, and '91. Bama also won the SEC regular season title in '87.

[jbcarol]

Tennessee (updated)

Tennessee hired former longtime Texas coach Rick Barnes, 60 to replace Tyndall. Barnes has led teams to more NCAA tournaments in his 28 years as a head coach (22) than Tennessee has in the history of the school (20). His 604 wins are the eight most of any active NCAA Division I men's coach.

Donnie Tyndall, 43 from Southern Mississippi was hired to replace Martin. He was 56-17 in two seasons in Hattiesburg, making the NIT in both seasons. 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.

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.

Tyndall went 16-16, 7-11 in the SEC in his one season at Tennessee. AD Dave Hart fired Tyndall with cause after receiving an NCAA report of improper financial aid and academic violations that occurred at Southern Miss.

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]

Mississippi State

Ben Howland, 57, the former UCLA and Pitt coach was chosen to replace Rick Ray after a two year absence from coaching.  Howland led UCLA to consecutive Final Fours in '07 and '08 and tied for the Pac 12 regular season champion in his last season. Discipline problems centered around player Reeves Nelson created issues for Howland. He won 67% of his Pac 12 games and is UCLA's second most winning coach (233) passing former Georgia and UCLA coach Jim Harrick.

Rick Ray was named State head coach for the '12-13 season from Clemson where he was an assistant.  Player transfers, injuries, and suspensions made Ray's first season one of the toughest in the SEC. Ray, now 44, was 13-41 in SEC play in his three seasons leading the Bulldogs.  He was fired on March 21, 2015.

Rick Stansbury completed 23 seasons on staff at State, and 14 as head coach.  His regular season conference record ended in '11-12 at 122-102 or 54.5%. That prorated to 8.7-7.3. Stansbury's teams won the SEC-T in '02 and '09. They won the regular season title in '04. State has been to the NCAA 2nd Round four times, his farthest advancement, the last time in '08.

Stansbury's teams made the NCAA six of fourteen times. They have been in post season play every season but three. There is no post-season for State in '11. The distraction during the last three years due to player issues led to the end of Rick's tenure. His long time assistant, Phil Cunningham got the head coaching job at Troy after the '13 season. Stansbury is currently an assistant coach for Billy Kennedy at A&M.

Stansbury's mentor Richard Williams coached State for 12 seasons. In '91 he took them to their second NCAA-T appearance ever and first since '63. (State had waived appearances in other seasons. The '63 appearance is remarkable. Google it.)

State shared the '91 regular season championship with LSU. In '96 State won the SEC-T over Kentucky and made the NCAA-T Final Four losing to Syracuse. Williams also led State to the Sweet 16 in '95.

During his tenure, State made the NCAA-T three times and post season play five times.

Williams's overall regular season SEC percentage was 44% which prorates to an average 7-9.  Williams had a combined 23-49 in his first four seasons and finished at State with a 4-12 campaign. State was 26-8 overall in '96.

[jbcarol]

http://johnclay.bloginky.com/2015/04/07/coaches-with-multiple-ncaa-basketball-titles

[jbcarol]

SEC Coaches NCAA Tournament seeding and accomplishment:

Johnny Jones:

2015: 9 seed, 1st game loss

[jbcarol]

 Kevin Brockway @gatorhoops  ·  18h 18 hours ago

Florida's current staff of Billy Donovan (202), John Pelphrey (25) and Anthony Grant (54) have combined for 281 SEC coaching wins.

[jbcarol]

Oscar Combs @wildcatnews  ·  19 hours ago

SEC may be setting a NCAA record this spring with 18 "Power 5" conference head basketball coaches to run 14 SEC programs. Just count 'em.

In addition to current 14 head coaches, Fla has added frormer (sic) Ala boss Anthony Grant to join former Arky coach John Pelphrey as assistants.

Former Miss. State head man Rick Stansbury is now associate head coach at Texas A&M while former Auburn coach Tony Barbee is at Kentucky.

[jbcarol]

SEC Coaches at current schools, NCAA Tournament seeding and accomplishment:

Mike Anderson:

2015: 5 seed, 3rd round game (1-1)

[jbcarol]

 Zac Ellis @ZacEllis  ·  1h 1 hour ago

AM RT: From Shaka to Howland, grading college basketball's major coaching hires. http://www.si.com/college-basketball/2015/04/16/shaka-smart-ben-howland-best-coaching-hires ...

Howland's arrival in Starkville is the cornerstone of the SEC's strong off-season. Mississippi State shocked much of the college basketball world by hiring the former UCLA coach to replace Rick Ray, who was fired after three seasons. The Bulldogs now employ a coach who has taken three teams to the NCAA tournament, reached three Final Fours and won 69% of his games. But Howland couldn't advance past the second round in his final five seasons at UCLA. Meanwhile, off-court troubles and recruiting misses soured his reputation. Starkville is not Los Angeles, so Howland must prove he can still recruit. But the Bulldogs are undoubtedly trending upward thanks to his arrival. Grade: A

Rick Barnes, Tennessee

Tennessee athletic director Dave Hart might have saved his job by hiring Barnes. Hart was forced to fire coach Donnie Tyndall after one season due to an NCAA investigation into Tyndall's former school, Southern Miss. The Vols then upgraded with Barnes, who is fresh off a Texas tenure in which he reached the NCAA tournament in 16 of his 17 seasons. That wasn't enough in Austin, but it would be cause for celebration in Knoxville. The question is how far Barnes can take the Tennessee program once it's in the tournament. Getting to the dance is the Vols' first priority, however, which makes Barnes a stellar hire. Grade: B+

Avery Johnson, Alabama

It's not often a major college program hires a coach without any college experience. But by bringing in Johnson, Alabama did just that. Johnson has plenty of head-coaching experience on the NBA level, having spent six-plus seasons with the Mavericks and Nets. The good news is Johnson brings more name recognition and energy to Tuscaloosa than the departed Anthony Grant. The bad news is no one knows how Johnson will translate to the recruiting trail. For now, Johnson brings a necessary spark to the Crimson Tide. Grade: B-

[jbcarol]

 Kevin Brockway @gatorhoops  ·  2h 2 hours ago

Donovan's contract status, recently signed extension at UF thru 2020 that pays about $4 mil/yr. Buyout is $500K.

[jbcarol]

SEC Regular Season Wins   
                       
  397   Adolph Rupp (UK)       
  238     Dale Brown (LSU)
  202     Billy Donovan (UF)   
  195     CM Newton (ALA, VU)   
  182     Ray Mears (UT)       
  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)
  127     Kevin Stallings (VU)   
  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)   

[jbcarol]

NCAA Tournament Record for Current SEC Coaches at SEC Schools:

Billy Donovan  Florida   34*-11
John Calipari Kentucky    18-3
Bruce Pearl Tennessee**  8-6
Kevin Stallings  Vandy      5-6
Andy Kennedy Ole Miss    2-2
Mike Anderson  Arkansas  1-1
Johnny Jones  LSU           0-1
Mark Fox        Georgia     0-2


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

[jbcarol]

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

Adolph Rupp ....  6
John Calipari ...  4***
Billy Donovan ..  4
Joe B. Hall ......  3
Rick Pitino ......  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]

 Keith Niebuhr @Keith247Sports  ·  3h 3 hours ago

Hard to believe this .... Billy Donovan is still ONLY 49 years old. If he goes Larry Brown, he could coach at least 13 more teams.

[jbcarol]

 Kevin Brockway @gatorhoops  ·  23m 23 minutes ago

Thunder struck: Donovan leaves UF for NBA: Billy Donovan led Florida basketball to tremendous heights in his 1... http://bit.ly/1Q3hJQ6

Florida became a nationally relevant college basketball program under Donovan, leading the Gators to back-to-back national titles in 2006 and 2007 and four Final Four appearances (2000, 2006, 2007, 2014). He led Florida to seven Elite Eight berths, 14 NCAA Tournaments and a school-record 467 wins.

With Donovan's departure, Florida will be searching for a new basketball coach for the first time since 1996. Possible candidates to replace Donovan include current UF assistants John Pelphrey...

No immediate word on financial terms of deal with OKC, but Donovan will need to pay a $500,000 buyout to leave his contract at UF.

Florida assistants John Pelphrey and Anthony Grant could also get a look, though one or both might follow Billy D to OKC.

[jbcarol]

SI College HoopsVerified account ‏@si_ncaabb

Billy Donovan leaves behind program he built to fulfill old dream (via @Andy_Staples) http://on.si.com/1PaMzUO 
10:24 AM - 30 Apr 2015

[jbcarol]

 Mike Huguenin @MikeHuguenin  ·  46m 46 minutes ago

Billy Donovan's departure means Florida will be only Power 5 school with new football AND basketball coaches in 2015-16 school year.

[jbcarol]

 SEC Network @SECNetwork  ·  37m 37 minutes ago

Some coaches build programs, others leave legacies. #Gators

[jbcarol]

The dean of SEC mens basketball coaches is Kevin Stallings.

[jbcarol]

 Steve Walentik @Steve_Walentik  ·  17h 17 hours ago

SEC added Howland, Barnes, Avery Johnson, but I think the league might be worse off on balance without Donovan.


Steve Walentik @Steve_Walentik  ·  37m 37 minutes ago

Blog: Donovan's departure is a huge blow to Florida and the SEC http://www.columbiatribune.com/blogs/courtside_view/donovan-s-departure-is-a-huge-blow-to-florida-and/article_11857557-8b44-52cd-8a2d-b10e480700b6.html ...

[jbcarol]

 Kevin Brockway @gatorhoops  ·  2h 2 hours ago

Bianchi: Donovan departure more devastating to Gators than the day Steve Spurrier left http://fw.to/woKwwsE

Billy Donovan was 29 years old when he came to Florida as "Billy the Kid." He left Thursday, a month before his 50th birthday, as "Billy the Legend." Donovan made a decision that he almost made eight years ago when signed a contract to coach the Orlando Magic. Except this time — now that he's agreed to a five-year, $30 million contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder — he's not going to change his mind.

This time, Daddy's not coming through that front door anymore.

For Gators fans, this will be remembered as the day the music — string music — died.

[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        200      10.3-5.7   19
Tubby Smith         139      11.6-4.4   12
Kevin Stallings      127        7.8-8.2   16
Rick Stansbury      122        8.7-7.3   14
Nolan Richardson   109        9.9-6.1   11
Mark Gottfried        84        8.0-8.0   10.5
John Calipari          82        12.9-3.1   6
Andy Kennedy       78         8.3-7.7    9
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
Bruce Pearl            69         9.8-6.2   7
Anthony Grant        54          9-7        6
Richard Williams     53         7.6-8.4    7
Mark Fox                51           8-8       6
Rod Barnes            50         6.2-9.8    8
David Hobbs          50         8.3-7.7    6
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


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.
Bruce Pearl's total reflects wins at UT and AU.

Kevin Stallings, Andy Kennedy, Bruce Pearl, John Calipari, and Mark Fox are current SEC coaches.

[jbcarol]

 Riley Blevins @Riley_Blevins  ·  22m 22 minutes ago

Full story: Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy agrees to new contract keeping him in Oxford thru 2019 http://www.clarionledger.com/story/olemisssports/2015/05/05/ole-miss-coach-andy-kennedy-agrees-to-4-year-extension/26933885/ ...

Longest allowed by law.

Kennedy's new deal has a base salary of $1.925 million. He previously made $1.8 million a year in a contract that went through 2017.

The new four-year contract also includes performances incentives related to Southeastern Conference regular season and NCAA postseason success and an increase in assistant coach salaries, but those details were not immediately released.

"I greatly appreciate the opportunity," said Kennedy, who's 192-114 all-time in his nine seasons as head coach. "As a native Mississippian, it is an honor to continue in my role as a head coach at Mississippi's flagship university."

The new deal comes after Kennedy guided Ole Miss to its second NCAA Tournament appearance in three seasons, beating BYU behind an improbable 62-point second half in the first round and losing to Xavier in the second.

Ole Miss loses five senior from last year's squad, but returns All-SEC guard Stefan Moody.

Kennedy is the only coach in Ole Miss history to lead the Rebels to seven 20-plus win seasons and seven postseason berths, with two NCAA Tournament and five NIT appearances.

"The future of Ole Miss basketball could not be stronger," Bjork said. "Andy Kennedy is the core of that strength and we are pleased to announce his contract has been extended four more years."

Kennedy will coach in a new arena next season, as The Pavilion at Ole Miss is scheduled to be completed by December 2015 with construction estimated to cost $85 million.

[jbcarol]

The eight most intriguing coaching hires of 2015 (maybe ever)

Shaka Smart, Texas: Texas is one of the most underrated jobs in the country: Great weather, great town, great recruiting base, tons of money, lack of pressure to win...

Florida: There's a lot to talk about with the opening that Billy Donovan left in Gainesville, not the least of which is, you know, who actually gets the job. But there's more to it than that. Florida has been a top 10-15 program over the course of the last decade, but does that mean that it is a top 10-15 job? Or was Donovan the makeup covering the pockmarks? ...

Ben Howland, Mississippi State: Howland jumped at the first job that he could get this spring, going from sunny Southern California to Starkville, Mississippi. The former UCLA head coach has already landed the best guard in the country — Malik Newman —

Rick Barnes, Tennessee: Barnes might have been run out of Austin, but it didn't take him long to land back on his feet. The former Texas head man was quickly scooped up by the Volunteers to try and rebuild from the Donnie Tyndall disaster. Barnes will get players to Knoxville, and he'll do it without having the NCAA come to town.

Left out this coach:

[jbcarol]

UGA Men's Basketball ‏@UGABasketball

Congratulations to @CoachPPearson, who is now the #Dawgs' Associate Head Coach! http://gado.gs/45r 
1:42 PM - 5 May 2015

[jbcarol]

 Brett Dawson @BDawsonRivals  ·  7h 7 hours ago

If you were born the day Rick Pitino left Kentucky for the Celtics, Happy Birthday. You're now old enough to vote. I feel just plain old.

[jbcarol]

 Kevin Brockway @gatorhoops  ·  9h 9 hours ago

Last La Tech coach to jump to SEC job was Tommy Joe Eagles to Auburn in 1989. Went 64-78 in 5 seasons, 29-55 SEC. Died of heart attack in 94

[jbcarol]

Florida (updated)

Florida hired 38-year old Michael White, a Dunedin native to replace Billy Donovan. White was a four year Ole Miss starter at point guard for the Rob Evans' teams in the late-90s. White averaged 28 wins in his final three (of four) seasons for LaTech. His teams went to the NIT in each of those seasons unable to get an at-large bid or win the Conference USA tournament.  It has been reported that White turned down offers to coach Tennessee and Mizzou. Those jobs were filled by Donnie Tyndall and Kim Anderson.

49-year-old Billy "The Kid" Donovan leaves Florida as the third winningest coach in SEC history behind Coaches Rupp and Brown.  Coach Donovan has two NCAA championships, one other NCAA finals appearance, and a Final Four in 2014 after going 21-0 in the SEC regular season and tournament.  His three prior teams all reached the Elite Eight. Donovan passed Coach Rupp to record the most NCAA Tournament wins of any SEC coach.

Florida won the SEC Tournament three consecutive seasons, '05, '06, and '07, to go with the '14 title. The Gators won the SEC regular season title outright in '07, '11, '13, and '14 and shared it in '00 and '01. His only Florida teams to fail to make the postseason were his first and his last.  The Kid came to Florida in 1996 after two seasons at Marshall. Prior to that he was an assistant to Rick Pitino for five seasons at Kentucky.

Florida has had only three head coaches during the expansion era. Donovan's predecessor was Lon Kruger.

Kruger coached for six seasons, the first one prior to the expansion era. He led the Gators to their first Final Four in '94. Florida's first NCAA appearance ever was in '87 under Norm Sloan when the Gators made the Sweet Sixteen and Billy Donovan made the Final Four as a player at Providence.

Kruger's last season was a losing one. He finished with a 52% SEC conference winning percentage. Florida also made a first round NCAA tourney appearance in '95.

Twelve of Florida's 15 NCAA Tournament appearances have been post-expansion. Prior to 1975, only the conference recognized champion could participate in the tournament. The tournament did not expande to 64 teams until 1985.

[jbcarol]

 Jon Rothstein @JonRothstein  ·  19h 19 hours ago

The SEC landscape has changed the past few years with recent hires at LSU, Miss. St and A & M. Biggest key for Mike White at Florida? STAFF.

[jbcarol]

 ESPN College BBall @ESPNCBB  ·  5h 5 hours ago

While Mike White may be an unknown, his credentials were better than Billy Donovan's before he took over at UF.

[jbcarol]

Kevin Brockway @gatorhoops  ·  8 hours ago

With Florida's 72-68 win tonight over South Carolina, Billy D improves to 67-82 in his UF tenure in games decided by 5 points or less.

Kevin Brockway @gatorhoops  ·  4m 4 minutes ago

New UF coach Michael White's career record in games decided by 5 points or less is 22-6. Has shown ability to win the close ones.

[jbcarol]

 Kevin Brockway @gatorhoops  ·  8h 8 hours ago

New UF coach White 9th highest-paid in SEC: Florida has gone from employing one of the highest-paid men's bask... http://bit.ly/1cGJfoq

1. John Calipari, Kentucky, $7.5 million

2. Avery Johnson, Alabama, $2.83 million

3. Bruce Pearl, Auburn, $2.75 million

4. Rick Barnes, Tennessee, $2.25 mllion

t5. Kevin Stallings, Vanderbilt, $2.2 million

t5. Mike Anderson, Arkansas, $2.2 million

7. Frank Martin, South Carolina, $2.1 millom

8. Ben Howland, Mississippi State, $2.05 million

9. Michael White, Florida, $2 million

10. Andy Kennedy, Ole Miss, $1.8 million

11. Mark Fox, Georgia, $1.7 milliom

12. Johnny Jones, LSU, $1.5 million

13. Kim Anderson, Missouri, $1.2 million

14. Billy Kennedy, Texas A&M, $1.1 million

[jbcarol]

 Kevin Brockway @gatorhoops  ·  2h 2 hours ago

White isn't first coach to follow in footsteps of legend: Replacing a legendary coach can be humbling. ... http://bit.ly/1cHVam9

John Brady recalled his first few weeks replacing Dale Brown as LSU's basketball coach.

Brady had rearranged the coaching office and taken down some pictures. Despite being pressured to retire due to NCAA sanctions, Brown remained an icon at the school after leading the Tigers to two Final Fours and 448 wins in 25 seasons. So the mere office makeover created a stir.

"Some people were critical of that, that I shouldn't have done that," said Brady, now the head coach at Arkansas State. "But you have to put your own touch on the program in some way, shape or form."

At another tradition-rich program, Kentucky, Joe B. Hall faced the monumental task of replacing Adolph Rupp. Hall, an assistant under Rupp, wasn't Kentucky's first choice. But there were few around the country who wanted to replace Rupp, who built the Kentucky basketball program into prominence. Rupp led Kentucky to four national titles in 42 seasons before being forced into retirement in 1972.

"The theory was that whoever followed him would be a loser," Hall said. "Nobody wanted to be the guy who followed Rupp, they wanted to be the guy after the guy who followed Rupp."

But Hall lasted 13 seasons and put together a respectable run at Kentucky, leading the Wildcats to two Final Fours and their fifth national title in school history in 1978.

"I played for Coach Rupp, I worked for him for seven years," Hall said. "Nobody respected him more than I did. I didn't feel threatened when I lost the game that probably he would have won. I worked hard. I was true to myself and to the program. And I had enough success to keep the wolves off my back. There were always a few after you, but they wouldn't yell very loud. My supporters would put them down."

Brady said one of his regrets in replacing Brown at LSU was not trying to establish a relationship with him and his former players. The fact that Brown remained in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Brady said, added to his insecurity.

"I should have embraced Coach Brown, and reached out to him more, as he admits he should have done the same with me," Brady said.

Still, Brady found a way to navigate through the early probation years at LSU, lasting 11 seasons and posting a 192-139 record before being fired in 2008 (Arkansas State hired Brady the following season). In 2006, behind the talented duo of Glen "Big Baby" Davis and Tyrus Thomas, Brady led LSU to an SEC regular-season title and its fourth Final Four appearance in school history.

"If you are able to recruit it and you have good coaching with good recruiting, most of the time you'll have really good teams," Brady said. "We were able to do that for a while at LSU and we did it with local players and we were fortunate there in that we didn't have to go too far outside our own borders to secure the players that were necessary to win."

[jbcarol]

 Kevin Brockway @gatorhoops  ·  29m 29 minutes ago

White said he's excited to coach against other new coaches in SEC, "basketball has made a jump."

White on facing Andy Kennedy, who we worked for as assistant from 06-11 "It will be emotional thinking about what he can help me."

FWIW, new UF coach Michael White ($2/mil yr) still paid higher than Ole Miss' Andy Kennedy ($1.8 mil) and UGA's Mark Fox ($1.7 mil).

[jbcarol]

 Brett McMurphy @McMurphyESPN  ·  May 15

RT @NicoleAuerbach: Boeheim about Calipari at @DickieV gala: "If you have to coach in Kentucky, they should pay you $8 million"

[jbcarol]

Every day that Tony Barbee is not announced as the new Assistant Coach at UK becomes even more of a mystery. When Slice took the St Johns job, we all assumed Barbee would be the pick, since he was already on staff and got a waiver to help with recruiting while the job was posted. But as of now, nothing has yet been said about him and the long wait is curious as an onlooker. I haven't heard anything concrete to say he isn't getting the job and the delay may be much ado about nothing. But considering just how much of an obvious hire Barbee seemed to be just a few weeks ago, the delay is certainly odd if nothing else.

[jbcarol]

 Hugh Kellenberger @HKellenbergerCL  ·  2h 2 hours ago

Hugh Kellenberger retweeted Andy Staples

"Hey guys, no tough questions. My kids are here."


Andy StaplesVerified account ‏@Andy_Staples

Andy Staples retweeted Dan Wolken

Rick Stansbury sees no issue with this.
6:57 AM - 20 May 2015

Dan WolkenVerified account ‏@DanWolken

Now seeing some "get off my lawn" style backlash to the NBA players bringing kids to the press conference. This is gonna be a thing huh?
6:32 AM - 20 May 2015

[jbcarol]

 Edgar Thompson @osgators  ·  May 21

New UF coach Mike White quickly wins over #Gators with his energy as he looks to set the tone for a new era: http://bit.ly/1PYxyFL

Billy Donovan is gone to the NBA, but in the lobby of the UF basketball practice complex, it is like the iconic coach never left.

Donovan's image and list of accomplishments cover an entire wall. A trophy case across the room features the hardware from two national titles, four Final Fours and six SEC titles during Donovan's tenure with the Gators.

New coach Mike White enters the building each day and is enveloped by Donovan's shadow. Yet, White quickly has won over his new players and set the tone for a new era.

"There's probably a lot of doubters out there like, 'Oh, Florida is not the same. They are not going to be the same program, they are not going to compete like they used to because they don't have Coach D,' " sophomore forward Devin Robinson said. "We don't listen to that. We're going to keep getting better.

"We're playing with a chip on our shoulder. We have a lot to prove."

The Gators were 16-17 last season — the first losing season since 1998. But White has more to prove than anyone...

[jbcarol]

Jeff Goodman @GoodmanESPN  ·  1h 1 hour ago

Kentucky finally announces that Tony Barbee has been elevated to assistant coach.

[jbcarol]

Jeff Goodman @GoodmanESPN  ·  3h 3 hours ago

Mark Fox signs new five-year contract at Georgia.

[jbcarol]

Salaries earned by SEC basketball coaches

1. Calipari, Kentucky, $7.5 million per year.

2. Avery Johnson, Alabama, $2.83 million.

3. Bruce Pearl, Auburn, $2.75 million.

4. Rick Barnes, Tennessee, $2.25 million.

5. Kevin Stallings, Vanderbilt, $2.2 million.

5. Mike Anderson, Arkansas, $2.2 million.

7. Frank Martin, South Carolina, $2.1 million.

8. Ben Howland, Mississippi State, $2.05 million.

9. Michael White, Florida, $2 million.

10. Andy Kennedy, Ole Miss, $1.925 million.

11. Mark Fox, Georgia, $1.7 million.

12. Johnny Jones, LSU, $1.5 million.

13. Kim Anderson, Missouri, $1.2 million.

14. Billy Kennedy, Texas A&M, $1.1 million.

Note: Billy Donovan was the second-highest paid coach at $4 million. His salary rose from $1.7 million in 2003 to $3.5 million in 2007 (coming off back-to-back national championships) and topped out at $4 million this past season.

[jbcarol]

According to numbers released by the university over the weekend, John Calipari's coaching staff will be making a combined $1.44 million next season. Kenny Payne, the lead recruiter on the Wildcat staff, has a new contract worth $2.1 million over the next three years. Payne is likely the highest-paid assistant coach in the country.

For comparison's sake, at least 22 head coaches that made last year's NCAA tournament made less last season than the $700,000 that Payne will average over the course of this contract — Harvard, BYU, Hampton and Butler did not make the salaries public [nor should they]. That includes Dayton head coach Archie Miller and Davidson's Bob McKillop.

John Robic will be making $415,000 next season while Tony Barbee, who got promoted from special assistant to Calipari, will be making $375,000, the same amount that former assistant Barry 'Slice' Rohrssen was making before he left for the same job at St. John's.

[jbcarol]

After one year as a special assistant to John Calipari, Tony Barbee is happy to be back in the role of a full assistant coach. A former player and assistant under Cal, Barbee was head coach at UTEP and Auburn before reuniting with Calipari in Lexington.

"I see myself as a head coach and want to get back in that role," Barbee said Thursday. "But now that I'm an assistant coach, I'm gonna do that to the best of my ability and help Coach in any role he needs me to fill."

UK Coach John Calipari and Barbee go way back. Barbee was a freshman on Calipari's first Massachusetts team in 1989, started his own coaching career as a graduate assistant under Calipari in 1995, and later returned to the bench with his former coach at Memphis, where he was an assistant for six seasons.

Barbee's first head coaching job — at UTEP in 2006 — and four seasons of continued improvement there landed him the top job at Auburn.

That rebuilding effort didn't go so well, and four losing seasons later, Barbee was looking for a job.

He once again joined Calipari, this time as a "special assistant to the head coach," but that role limited what he could do as far as actual coaching. After one year of that, Barbee has been promoted to assistant and he's looking forward to a more hands-on approach.

"It's exciting for me to be back in the mix, working with the guys," he said. "It's why we do what we do, obviously, to help the kids grow — off the floor as well, but basketball's the passion.

"To be able to get back on the floor and work with the guys individually and help the team in that way is exciting for me after a year off."

[jbcarol]

SEC continues to raise basketball profile with new coaches

DESTIN, Fla. — When Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings first stepped into the meeting room this week in Destin, he immediately noticed four new faces.

And one familiar one missing.

With longtime Florida coach Billy Donovan leaving college for the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder earlier this month, Stallings has become the dean of Southeastern Conference basketball coaches.

The elder statesman felt the void at the league's annual spring meetings. But with new and experienced coaches Rick Barnes, Ben Howland and Avery Johnson in the room, Stallings also sensed that the league could be better positioned for bigger things.

"I think our league is so well positioned going forward that we're going to see some really incredible things," Stallings said. "The best of the SEC is getting ready to happen in men's basketball. We've got very proven, good, successful coaches and we have arguably the best program in the country in our league. Obviously some other people can make a similar claim. No many (sic), not very many."

EC filled its four openings with three veterans and an up-and-comer.

Barnes, who reached the NCAA Tournament in 16 of his 17 years at Texas, replaced Donnie Tyndall at Tennessee. Tyndall was fired after one season because of unethical conduct at his former school, Southern Mississippi.

Howland, who led UCLA to three straight Final Fours and the Pac-12 regular-season title last season, replaced Rick Ray at Mississippi State. Ray was fired after three losing seasons. And Howland already signed one of the nation's top recruits in guard Malik Newman. The Jackson, Mississippi, standout chose the Bulldogs over Kentucky.

Johnson, who spent more than two decades playing and coaching in the NBA and led the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA Finals in 2006, replaced Anthony Grant at Alabama. Grant was fired after six seasons, the last one an 18-14 campaign that was filled with injuries.

Florida went in a different direction, hiring little-known Mike White from Louisiana Tech. White has never been to the NCAA Tournament or played in the NBA, but he's widely considered a rising star in the college ranks.

"Those guys will do great things for the league," Stallings said.

The SEC has spent the last three years working to improve its men's basketball profile. Commissioner Mike Slive mandated better non-conference scheduling in hopes of getting more teams in the NCAA Tournament, and the results are starting to show. The SEC sent five teams to the tournament last season...

[jbcarol]

Kevin Brockway ‏@gatorhoops  4h4 hours ago
Former Florida men's basketball coach Billy Donovan turns 50 today.

[jbcarol]

Marc Weiszer ‏@marcweiszer 8h8 hours ago

SEC basketball profile could be raised by big-name coaches http://bit.ly/1GUI5Bu

Ben Howland was coaching in his third straight Final Four in 2008 at UCLA. Now he's trying to make Mississippi State relevant again.

Rick Barnes made the Elite Eight that year and reached the NCAA tournament in 16 of 17 seasons at Texas. He's Tennessee's new top man on Rocky Top.

Avery Johnson was an NBA Finals head coach with the Dallas Mavericks and also coached the Nets. Now he's at Alabama.

Michael White doesn't have their national profile, but the former Ole Miss player and assistant put together a 101-40 record in four seasons at Louisiana Tech making him a rising star that helped him land a marquee job at Florida.

Welcome to the SECs' new look in men's basketball, where more than a quarter of the conference coaches are in the first season in the league in 2015-16...

[jbcarol]

Jon Rothstein ‏@JonRothstein 26m26 minutes ago

Louisville's Rick Pitino has agreed to a contract extension through the 2025-26 season, per the school.

[jbcarol]

Clay Travis ‏@ClayTravisBGID 5h5 hours ago

Tennessee refused to rehire Bruce Pearl because of his NCAA issues and instead has hired two straight basketball coaches with NCAA issues.

[jbcarol]

Happy birthday ... To former Vanderbilt and South Carolina coach Eddie Fogler. He turned 67 on Friday.

[jbcarol]

Earlier this week American Pharoah returned to Churchill Downs, where he won the Kentucky Derby last month, with adoring crowds showing up to pay tribute.

Saturday the horse was paraded about the grounds, and earlier in the day Louisville head coach Rick Pitino was able to spend some time with American Pharoah.


Churchill Downs

Asked what basketball player he compare American Pharoah to, Pitino said "probably Grant Hill."

    "Grant was one of the nicest pros, the classiest pro and was a great star in college, just class all the way."

Pitino is the first current or former SEC basketball coach to visit a Triple Crown winner in at least 37 years.