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NCAA basketball: Ranking the 25 best college basketball coaches ever

By Nate Williamson

Mike Krzyzewski, Duke Blue Devils, Roy Williams, North Carolina Tar Heels. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Mike Krzyzewski, Duke Blue Devils, Roy Williams, North Carolina Tar Heels. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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Best college basketball coaches ever
(Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /

No. 8: Jim Boeheim

Though Jim Boeheim’s Syracuse Orange have only captured the elusive national title once in his tenure, Boeheim is a legend in the coaching world. Already inducted into the Hall of Fame back in 2005, Boeheim’s contribution to the game doesn’t just stop with his time with the Orange.

A John R. Wooden Legends of Coaching Award winner in 2006, Boeheim has what might be the most full personal trophy cabinet on this list. He’s been named many a prestigious award, including the Naismith College Coach of the Year, AP Coach of the Year, Clair Bee Coach of the Year, USA Basketball National Coach of the Year and has won the Big East’s top coaching award four times.

That’s not even close to the end of the list of his personal, nor team-earned awards.

Boeheim has wracked up a .708 winning percentage, taking 964 wins in his career as a head coach, with just 399 losses. Boeheim was groomed under another legendary head coach we’ll talk about further down the list and his signature 2-3 zone has carried him to being the second-winningest head coach of all time.

In terms of tactics, recruiting and success, Boeheim is in an elite class of coaches on this list, and top coaches of all-time wouldn’t be the same without him. He’s a lock for the top-10.