best X's and O's coaches in college basketball

[Noahtogo24]

Nice to see Coach Donovan getting his due:

Ranking the best X's and O's coaches in college basketball, in order of total points, with number of first-place votes in parentheses (voters: Eamonn Brennan, Andy Katz, Myron Medcalf, Dana O'Neil and me).



1. Mike Krzyzewski, Duke -- 49 (4)
2. Bill Self, Kansas -- 43 (1)
3. Tom Izzo, Michigan State -- 41
4. Rick Pitino, Louisville -- 33
5. Brad Stevens, Butler -- 30
6. Billy Donovan, Florida -- 13
7. Dana Altman, Oregon -- 12
8. Bob Huggins, West Virginia -- 10
9. Bo Ryan, Wisconsin -- 7
10. John Beilein, Michigan -- 6



Also receiving votes: Buzz Williams, Marquette 5; Thad Matta, Ohio State 5; Kevin Stallings, Vanderbilt 5; Gregg Marshall, Wichita State 4; Mike Montgomery, Cal 3; Greg McDermott, Creighton 2; Jamie Dixon, Pittsburgh 2; Fran Dunphy, Temple 2; Jim Boeheim, Syracuse 1; Shaka Smart, VCU 1; Bob McKillop, Davidson 1; Tom Crean, Indiana 1.

[RepubliGator84]

That's good company. Well deserved

[MadduxFanII]

Pretty steep drop-off after Stevens.

[InstiGATOR1]

I think I would have to go with Pitino or Self along with Donovan. The rest seem to be more like Steven who is an excellent defensive coach, but not so good in the actual Xs and Os of running an offense. Certainly that seems to me to be the case with Krzyzewski and Izzo.

[rserina]

Huge drop off from Stevens to Donovan, which is plain silly.

[gator1986]

Wow actually put a Florida guy in the list... Anyone see the top 50 players list in the other thread? No one gator player on the list lol... Such a joke

[gatordd]

Donovan is a great recruiter and team builder. I mean, his X's and O's are solid too but not what I would consider him known for...

[gatorbogey]

BD was never know [before] as a good x's&o's type. but i think as guys like jay bilas started breaking down the gator offense - especially during our nat'l title games, they gained an appreciation for BD's play designs, etc. i think BD is one that improves on that aspect w/ each year

[UFG8rGuy3283]

A lot has been made out of the way we handle the last play of the half/game, which I think is a deserved criticism.

One thing that I believe Billy has done a much better job of this year is the design of his inbound plays under our own basket after a dead ball. We have scored several times in that situation where in previous years we often had difficulty inbounding the ball period.

I think his X and O's are developing as Billy gets older. Not that he was a bad X an O's coach, but imo, he gets better each year.

[VTGator]

You realize who received 0 (ZERO!) votes? Calipari.

[tampajack1]

I believe that Billy has always been known as having a great offensive mind. I would rate Billy 3rd behind Coach K and Pitino. He is the best younger coach in college basketball.

[REM08]

Originally Posted by VTGator

You realize who received 0 (ZERO!) votes? Calipari.

I've always said that coaches have 4 roles (maybe some of you can think of more). CEO/Marketer (at some schools - would include UF), X's and O's, recruiting, and motivator/therapist. Every coach has strengths and weaknesses. If they're weak at one thing (which I think is debatable, potentially in this case) - they better be strong in others.

I would have had Billy higher on the list. I wouldn't put as much blame on him for end of game situations as some of you - think some of that falls on the player and their ability to execute/listen to coach.

[InstiGATOR1]

I view Xs and Os as offensive coaching more than defensive coaching. On defense you react of in the defense you are coached to play. On offense you follow a coaching plan.

[rserina]

Originally Posted by gatordd

Donovan is a great recruiter and team builder. I mean, his X's and O's are solid too but not what I would consider him known for...

Like Jack said, I've always considered him one of the best offensive coaches in the game. Offensive efficiency stats we've had over the years are just remarkable. It is only this year that he has started receiving attention for his defensive acumen. He has always switched defenses and done a good job adjusting to matchups. He just hasn't always been able to get kids to buy into it, in part because recruiting has focused so much on how prospects fit into the offensive system.

The only legitimate criticisms of Donovan are in specialty situations (baseline out of bounds, end of game, press offense, etc.), but even those are attributable more to his coaching philosophy and commitment to certain principles than strict Xs and Os. For instance, he doesn't like to call a timeout in end of game scenarios because he thinks it is harder when the opposing team can set its defense and would rather just run our offense than call a particular half-court play since we are so efficient running our basic offense. It would be different if we called plays every time down the court or something.

[Jonas]

yeah, I thought it is generally considered Billy D has been incredibly innovative in terms of offensive scheme. He might not be the best at calling a set play, but his system has been very effective.

[GatorNorth]

Originally Posted by VTGator

You realize who received 0 (ZERO!) votes? Calipari.

Where's Roy?

[InstiGATOR1]

Knight was certainly complimentary of Donovan tonight, if not by name. He said a couple of times how well coached this team is.

[jmoliver]

Billy doesn't get the bonus point for coaching a " blue blood"

[Mayhem41]

Originally Posted by InstiGATOR1

I view Xs and Os as offensive coaching more than defensive coaching. On defense you react of in the defense you are coached to play. On offense you follow a coaching plan.

False.

[CRIMDEFgator]

Let me preface this by saying that I know far less about basketball than most of you. Further let me state that I am a huge Billy D fan. We were nothing before him. That being said, the one thing that has left me scratching my head, throughout his career at UF, is his last couple minutes of the game management. How many times have we seen the Gators outplay a team (hello! Arizona game!) to the very end and then see them come back on traps, timeouts and free thows, with us playing the part of the New Jersey Generals. Again, that being said, that is my only criticism. Billy D rocks.