Big East Rankings: Who Is The Best Coach In The Conference?

By Daniel Benjamin | Oct 21, 2014

Mar 22, 2014; Buffalo, NY, USA; Villanova Wildcats guard Ryan Arcidiacono (15) and Villanova Wildcats head coach Jay Wright talk to the media after losing to Connecticut Huskies after a men's college basketball game during the third round of the 2014 NCAA Tournament at First Niagara Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports /

Coaches are the faces of the college basketball world and there are several very good coaches coaching in the Big East in 2014-15.

The Big East has had very little turnover in the coaching ranks the past few seasons. Eight of the league’s 10 head coaches have been at their present school at least three seasons heading in the 2014-15 season. Marquette’s Steve Wojciechowski and Butler’s interim coach Chris Holtmann are the only new coaches in the conference this season.

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Wojciewowski replaces the departed Buzz Williams, who left for Virginia Tech, while Holtmann takes over the Bulldogs after head coach Brandon Miller took a leave a absence for medical reasons.

Jay Wright of Villanova is the most senior coach, entering his 14th season as the head man with the Wildcats. John Thompson III is the second most-tenured Big East coach as he enters his 11th year at Georgetown, while the other six coaches are entering at least their fourth season at their respective schools.

The other coaches are Ed Cooley (Providence), Steve Lavin (St. John’s), Chris Mack (Xavier), Greg McDermott (Creighton), Oliver Purnell (DePaul) and Kevin Willard (Seton Hall).

1. Jay Wright (Villanova) gets the top spot due to the Wildcats’ resurgence into national prominence. Wright took over a mediocre Villanova program in 2001 and made the NIT his first season. Wright led the Wildcats to the NCAA tournament in 2005, which marked the first time the program reached the Big Dance since 1999.

Villanova set a program record with 29 victories (29-5) and won the inaugural Big East regular season conference crown — as the conference is currently configured. The Wildcats, who are the favorites to win the conference in 2014-15, reached the third round of the NCAA tournament last season before falling to eventual national champion Connecticut.

Wright, 52, has the most victories among current conference coaches with 405 career victories. He is 285- 149 (.657) with the Wildcats and 124-91 (.611) against Big East foes. The three-time Big East Coach of the Year has led Villanova to two regular season Big East crowns and 12 postseason tournament appearances, including nine NCAA tournament bids.

The Wildcats are 13-9 in the NCAA tournament under Wright and have reached the Final Four once (2009), the Elite Eight twice and the Sweet 16 four times. In addition, five Wildcat players have reached the NBA under Wright’s tutelage.

Wright still has many years of coaching ahead of him and could catch legendary coach Rollie Massimino as the greatest coach in the history of Villanova basketball.

2. John Thompson III (Georgetown) is a tremendous talent evaluator and an innovative coach. He gets bumped to the second spot in the rankings due to his lack of success in the NCAA tournament and the fact that the Hoyas were a major disappointment last year (14-18, seventh in the conference).

Thompson is 295-146 (.669) during his tenure at Georgetown and has led the Hoyas to a postseason appearance in each of his 10 seasons. The Hoyas have won three regular season Big East crowns, one conference tournament title an made seven NCAA tournament appearances under the 48-year-old Thompson.

However, Thompson is just 9-7 in the NCAA tournament. The Hoyas have not won a NCAA tournament game in three of its last four appearances though Thompson has led the team to a Final Four and a Sweet 16 appearance.

Thompson was named the Big East Coach of the Year in 2013.

3. Steve Lavin (St. John’s) is a great coach and motivator despite going through tough times with the Red Storm. He is also an excellent recruiter.

Lavin led St. John’s to their second 20-win campaign in four seasons last year. The Red Storm earned a No. 1 seed in the NIT but was upset by Robert Morris. The 50-year-old is 71-60 during his tenure with the Red Storm and has reached the postseason three times, including an NCAA appearance in 2011.

Prior to Lavin’s first season in New York, the last time the Red Storm made the NCAA tournament was in 2002. Lavin missed most of the 2011-12 season while undergoing treatment for cancer.

Overall, Lavin is 216-138 (.610) in 11 seasons as a head coach. He led UCLA (1996-2003) to six NCAA berths and one Pac-12 championship. The Bruins reached the Sweet 16 five times and Elite Eight once under Lavin.

4. Greg McDermott (Creighton) has turned around the Bluejay program in four short years. However, it will be interesting to see how McDermott fares without his son, Doug, leading the charge. Doug McDermott, a three-time first team All-American, was the National Player of the Year in 2014.

McDermott has led Creighton to three straight NCAA tournament appearances and four consecutive postseason appearances. The 48-year-old is 107-38 with the Bluejays but just 3-3 in the NCAA tournament.

Overall, McDermott has compiled a 378-236 (.616) record with stints at Iowa State, Northern Iowa and D-II Wayne State.

If McDermott can continue to work his magic, he will likely continue his climb up the rankings.

5. Chris Mack (Xavier) climb up the rankings is perhaps the biggest surprises in the conference. The 44-year old has been a head coach just five seasons. He started after starting his coaching career at the JV level coaching girls’ basketball, before joining Skip Prosser’s staff as director of basketball operations at Xavier in 1999.

Mack has led Xavier to a 111-57 record and four 20-win campaigns including last year when Musketeers went 21-13. Xavier finished third in their first season in the Big East and was eliminated in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Mack is 4-4 in the NCAA tournament.

6. Ed Cooley (Providence) may be building something nice with the Friars as the team has improved in each of his first three campaigns. The 45-year-old led Providence to the NCAA tournament for the first time in a decade last year. The Friars, who won the Big East Tournament for the first time since 1985, has posted a winning record in consecutive years for the first time since 2002-04.

Cooley is 57-44 with the Friars and 149-113 overall as a head coach, having been at Fairfield from 2006-11. If Providence continues to improve, Cooley could possibly climb higher in the rankings.

7.Oliver Purnell (DePaul) has not experienced much success with the struggling Blue Demons but is a quality leader.

The 61-year-old has been a head coach for 26 years and has only made the NCAA tournament six times (0-6), though it is not like he has coached a powerhouse program (Radford, Old Dominion, Dayton, Clemson and DePaul.). He is 30-61 in four seasons with the Blue Demons and 436-358 overall. Purnell has won Coach of the Year three times during his coaching career.

8. Kevin Willard (Seton Hall) has re-energized the Pirates during his short four-year stint. Seton Hall went 17-17 last season and reached the semifinals of the Big East tournament for the first time since 2001. The Pirates also swept Georgetown and Xavier during the season.

Willard is 66-65 since taking over the Pirate program in 2010 but only 24-48 in the Big East, including 6-12 a year ago. The 39-year-old reached the postseason for the first time in his seven year career in 2012 and has a 111-114 record overall. Willard spent three seasons at Iona before moving to Seton Hall.

9.Steve Wojciechowski (Marquette) is in his first year as a head coach after serving as an assistant coach at Duke under Mike Krzyzewski since 1999. Wojciechowski played at Duke from 1994-98 and professionally in Poland for a year before going into coaching.

It is difficult to judge Wojciechowski as a coach since he has never been the guy in the “first seat.” But he has the pedigree and energy to succeed. Wojciechowski has already shown his recruiting ability as he has already received verbal commitments from four players in the class of 2015, including one five-star recruit (Henry Ellenson) and four four-star recruits.

10. Chris Holtmann (Butler) takes up the last spot because he was not supposed to be the head coach this year but Brandon Miller took a medical leave on Oct. 2. Miller, 34, went 14-17 during his first season with the Bulldogs including 4-14 in conference play.

Holtmann, 41, has three years of Division I head coaching experience. He coached at Gardner-Webb (2010-13) and posted a 44-54 record. Gardner-Webb went 21-13 during his final season at the school. Holtmann served on Miller’s staff last year.