Top 10 Men’s College Basketball Coaches of the 2010s
The 2010s decade saw a wide variety of success among the college basketball spectrum. Basketball is a roller coaster ride the entire season and with the madness of March anything can happen. Here’s some of the best coaches of this decade.In the modern era of college basketball, no coach has arguably had a more dominant five-year stretch. This guy took Villanova from irrelevance to two national championships in three years, practically out of nowhere. The Wildcats were a mess, yet he led them to five Big East regular season titles and four Big East tournament championships. Simply put, he's one of the best there is now, and he always gets the most out of his teams.
Coach K at number four? Yes, he has two national championships and four conference championships, and he's never won fewer than 25 games in a season this decade. Yet, he has faced disappointments too. The Blue Devils haven't won the ACC regular season title in nine years, and since 2015, they've only had two Elite Eight appearances and zero Final Four appearances. This is despite having some very decent players. In the end, do all the wins and stats in his favor outweigh the disappointments in March?
Roy Williams has been consistent throughout the entire decade. He led the Tar Heels to two national championship games, winning one and losing the other at the buzzer. He has four Elite Eight appearances and five ACC regular season titles. UNC has almost always been near the top with Williams at the helm.
If you look at the first half of the decade, he'd be an easy number one. He had three Final Fours, a national championship, and a runner-up finish within a five-year span. He was the first to capitalize on the one-and-done era, but his success has declined since then. However, Big Blue has always remained a powerhouse and seemingly controlled the SEC throughout most of, if not the entire, decade.
It took him a few years to get going, but now the Virginia Cavaliers are rolling. They've won four of the last six ACC regular season championships and two ACC tournament championships. Yes, we all know UMBC will live on in infamy for Virginia as one of the greatest upsets of all time and a significant what if. Yet, look what they did after that: they won the whole thing. That isn't easy to accomplish, but he found a way. That alone deserves a spot on this list.
Talk about consistency, Bill Self has been just that. The Jayhawks have always been a top 10 team, and this decade, they won nine Big 12 regular season titles, including 14 in a row dating back to the 2000s. He made two Final Four appearances and achieved a national runner-up finish. The Jayhawks are one of only two teams to win over 300 games in the decade. However, Kansas has had some disappointing losses in March, even with talented teams.
Izzo has been very consistent with MSU, leading the Spartans to three Final Fours this decade. They always play at a high level and have been a conference power for nearly the entire decade. Few can claim they are better than him.
Gonzaga has absolutely dominated the WCC under Few, winning nine WCC regular season titles and seven WCC conference championships. The highlight of the decade was a Final Four and a runner-up finish in 2017. The Bulldogs have established themselves as a national powerhouse. They are the only other program to win over 300 games this decade besides Kansas. However, how many are actually legitimate? The WCC is nowhere near a Power Five conference.
Bob Huggins always has a competitive team, and he consistently gets the most out of his players, especially on defense. The Mountaineers made the Final Four in 2010, and he has won 25 or more games in four straight seasons now. They are always considered a tournament threat in March.
This guy has been at Texas Tech for two seasons now, and I debated whether or not to put him on the list. However, the turnaround he has achieved in his short time at Texas Tech has been nothing short of incredible. He led the Red Raiders from the Big 12 basement to two Elite Eight appearances, a Final Four, and a national runner-up finish. On top of that, he ended the Jayhawks' 14-year reign in the Big 12. Overall, it's been a very successful tenure so far.