Final Four 2017: Power ranking the coaches
Despite the 2017 Final Four field not exactly being the most predicted, the remaining coaches are elite.
With March Madness coming to a close, college basketball fans only have to wait another week to find out who the national champion will be. The Final Four begins Saturday with the title game on Monday and if you said you predicted this national semifinal field, then you’re probably lying to yourself.
Despite not being a popular bracket selection, the 2017 Final Four is consistent when it comes to great coaches. There are four proven winners left and it wouldn’t be much of a surprise to see any of them hoist the national title trophy and cut down the nets on Monday evening.
We did our best to power rank the Final Four’s head coaches. South Carolina, North Carolina, Gonzaga and Oregon are all in good hands. How do they stack up against each other, though?
Frank Martin
HC, South Carolina
It was hard to place Frank Martin fourth out of the remaining coaches, but truthfully, he’s becoming one of college basketball’s hottest commodities. It’s hard to believe just how far he has come as a coach since the early 1990s until now.
In fact, Martin was coaching junior varsity basketball while still in college before earning the varsity head coach role. He was let go shortly after due to recruiting violations of school staff members, despite not being accused directly, and then was an assistant at Northeastern, Cincinnati and Kansas State before getting the head coaching job with the Wildcats.
Martin is known as a hard-nosed head coach that doesn’t have time for nonsense, but after watching his celebrations in the locker room during the Final Four run, it’s clear that he’s much more than a disciplinarian. His players love him and he has a softer side.
The fifth-year head coach has taken South Carolina to its first Final Four in school history — the same year that the Gamecocks made their first Sweet 16 and Elite Eight. He is building the program up from nothing and proving that he belongs in the conversation of the best coaches in the SEC.