Where every SEC coach stands on ESPN’s ranking of NCAA Tourney coaches’ actual basketball ability
By Adam Spencer
Published:
When it comes to NCAA coaches, none had a better career than St. John’s Chris Mullin. Sure, his St. John’s team plays on Wednesday night in the First Four for the chance to be a No. 11 seed, but Mullin’s own career was much better.
He was on the famous USA Basketball Dream Team, for one, and is in the Basketball Hall of Fame. At the other end of the spectrum is Bruce Pearl. The Auburn coach couldn’t play basketball even at the high school level after suffering an injury during his freshman year of football.
On Wednesday, ESPN ranked all 68 coaches in the NCAA Tournament based on their basketball careers, and the results were quite interesting. Here’s where the seven SEC coaches involved in March Madness stand among their peers:
- No. 8 — Tony Benford, LSU
- No. 11 — Mike White, Florida
- No. 25 — Ben Howland, Mississippi State
- No. 41 — John Calipari, Kentucky
- No. 47 — Kermit Davis, Ole Miss
- No. 49 — Rick Barnes, Tennessee
- No. 68 — Bruce Pearl, Auburn
It’s safe to say Will Wade — the suspended LSU coach — would have been much lower on the list than Benford, who played professionally.
See the reasoning behind ESPN’s rankings here.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
