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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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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JULY 10: Jim Calhoun accepts the Best Coach award onstage during The 2019 ESPYs at Microsoft Theater on July 10, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JULY 10: Jim Calhoun accepts the Best Coach award onstage during The 2019 ESPYs at Microsoft Theater on July 10, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images) /

No. 7: Jim Calhoun

When Jim Calhoun joined the UConn Huskies, they had won three NCAA tournament games in their history. When he left, they had three national titles.

Most basketball fans will remember “The Shot” in the ’90s, or the Huskies valiant battle against the Duke Blue Devils in the 2004 Final Four, but not as many will remember just the grueling process that Calhoun endured making this UConn team noteworthy. From 9-19 in their first year in the Big East at their worst to 34-2 just a few years later, and then on, Calhoun was there every step of the way in this program-building process.

It’s easy to win when the system is already in place, it’s the putting it there that’s the difficult part of being a head coach, and the stuff that makes you a legend.

Calhoun started off his time at UConn with a program in shambles, and joined the best coaches on this list in a few key ways: the first, Calhoun was a winner. He would go on to win 50 NCAA Tournament games (48 with UConn), and win 855 total games, tying for sixth all-time.

His total career accolades have seen him pull in those three tournament victories, four Final Four appearances, seven Big East Tournament titles, an AP Coach of the Year Award and being named as a John R. Wooden Legends of Coaching Award recipient.

At age 77, Calhoun’s spot is sealed and if he continues to impress and grow on his win total while at St. Joseph, it could go up even more.