Athlon Sports on Wednesday published a list entitled, “The Top 50 College Basketball Coaches for 2014-15.”
On that list, Larry Brown of SMU was ranked No. 29 and Kevin Ollie of UConn No. 30.
All of which begs the question, “What are they smoking at Athlon Sports?”
Larry Brown, 29th?
Kevin Ollie, 30th?
Between them, the two men have won two NCAA championships (including last year’s) and one NBA title.
One of them — Brown — is a Naismith Hall of Famer. And the only man ever to win an NBA title (2004) and an NCAA crown (1988).
The other — Ollie — beat the No. 1 (Tom Izzo), 3 (John Calipari), 4 (Billy Donovan) and 16 (Fred Hoiberg) coaches on this list en route to the NCAA title last spring.
When I passed this information on to my friend Jay Bilas of ESPN, his response was, “29th and 30th among coaches in what? Height?!”
He then added: “Reasonable minds can differ, and lists are to create discussion, but I differ with that. Brown is among the greatest coaches ever, and Ollie is as sharp and innovative as any young coach out there. That National Championship wasn’t luck.”
Ahead of these guys on the list are Auburn’s Bruce Pearl (No. 17), Tim Miles of Nebraska (No. 21), Tad Boyle of Colorado (No. 22), Lon Kruger of Oklahoma (No. 23) and Rick Barnes of Texas (No. 25).
All fine coaches but do they really belong ahead of Brown and Ollie?
I’ll say no.
Memphis coach Josh Pastner, who plays UConn and SMU in the American, had this to say of Brown and Ollie: “They are two of the best coaches in the entire country.”
There you go.
I think the folks at Athlon might be one toke over the line on this one.
Photo: Bill Shettle/AP
