Top 10 College Basketball Coaches for the 2009-10 Season

One of the hardest lists to determine is a "Top 10" college basketball coaching list. Over the past decade of college basketball, there have been two college programs to win more than one NCAA title: the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Florida Gators. Florida has yet to make it back to the NCAA tournament after wining the 2006 and 2007 NCAA tournaments, where UNC has been a sustained presence in the Elite 8 throughout the past decade. The entering argument to be ranked in the top 10 was to have made it at least to the NCAA championship in the past 10 years, with most of the coaches on the list having one at least one national title. The other component for the top 10 is the prospects for the coaches team heading into the 2009-10 season. Although Syracuse, Florida, and UCLA are not consistently ranked in the preseason ncaa college basketball polls, they have the potential to be ranked once the season gets going. This is also why you see Coach John Calipari no higher than he is on the list, the Wildcats are stacked (which is why he is at nr 5), however, until Coach Cal wins a NCAA title, he will not break into the top 4 NCAA college basketball coaches.

#1 College Basketball Coach - North Carolina Tar Heels Coach Roy Williams

He is the coach of the 2005 and 2009 NCAA Champions, the North Carolina Tarheels. Coach Williams won 418 games at Kansas from 1988 until 2003 and then has gone one to win another 131 games for a .805 lifetime winning percentage at UNC. Coach Williams has won two national titles at UNC in 2005 and 2009 and has his defending champions back in the title hunt again this season.
2009-10 North Carolina Tar Heels Schedule

#2 College Basketball Coach - Duke Blue Devils Coach Mike Krzyewski

What can you say about Coack K that hasn't already been said? He has won 10 ACC championships, 10 Final Fours, and three NCAA titles during his coaching career at Duke. Duke is ranked again this season and should be the primary competition for North Carolina for the 2010 ACC title.
2009-10 Duke Blue Devils Schedule

#3 College Basketball Coach - Kansas Jayhawks Coach Bill Self

He is the coach of the 2008 National Champions, the Kansas Jayhawks and is the 2009-10 NCAA preseason college number 1 ranked basketball team. Coach Self has the tools to make another run at the Final Four and beyond this season. If he does manage to win a second title in three years, I would move him ahead of Coach K for recent title wins vs career wins.
2009-10 Kansas Jayhawks Basketball Schedule

#4 College Basketball Coach - Connecticut Huskies Coach Jim Calhoun

Coach Calhoun had the team last season to make it to the NCAA championship game, but it just didn't work out. Calhoun won the 2004 National Championship and has won over 70% of his games over the course of his career. He has over 700 career wins and two total national titles.
2009-10 Connecticut Huskies Basketball Schedule

#5 College Basketball Coach - Michigan State Spartans Coach Tom Izzo

Coach Izzo won the 2000 National Championship and lost in the title game last season to the North Carolina Tar Heels. His team is also ranked in the top ten heading into the 2009-10 NCAA season. Besides making a reputation for winning, Coach Izzo has also made a name for getting players ready for the NBA.
2009-10 Michigan State Spartans Basketball Schedule

#6 College Basketball Coach - Kentucky Wildcats Coach John Calipari

Coach Cal has made his name taking mid-major schools to the Final Four in Memphi and previously UMass. He won five consecutive Atlantic 10 titles and won over 20 games a year every year he was at Memphis. Coach Cal is now at Kentucky, and in just a few months signed the top NCAA recruiting class in the country. He has the Bluegrass state more excited about basketball than fans have been since the 1996-1998 championship years. If he pulls off the 2010 NCAA title, you just might see Coach Cal elected governor of Kentucky...or at least move up into the top 5 on the coaching list.
2009-10 Kentucky Wildcats Basketball Schedule

#7 College Basketball Coach- Louisville Cardinals Coach Rich Pitino

Coach Pitino is the only coach to ever take three schools to the Final Four. He won one national title at Kentucky in 1996 and had a .814 winning percentage in his time at Kentucky. He led Louisville to the top overall rating for last year's NCAA tournament and their first Big East title in school history last season.
2009-10 Louisville Cardinals Basketball Schedule

#8 College Basketball Coach - Florida Gators Coach Billy Donovan

I almost didn't list Billy Donovan on the top ten after failing to make the NCAA tournament the past two years. If he doesn't make it this year, then, I'll drop him to nr 10 or off of the lsit. You just can forget how dominant the Gators were in the two season they won the NCAA tournament.
2009-10 Florida Gators Basketball Schedule

#9 College Basketball Coach - Syracuse Orangmen Coach Jim Boheim

Coach Boheim won the 2003 NCAA Championship and has consistently had the Orangemen in the hunt for the Big East regular season and tournament titles.
2009-10 Syracuse Orangemen Schedule

#10 College Basketball Coach - UCLA Bruin Coach Ben Howland

Coach Howland's team is starting off the 2009-10 season with a numbe rof injuries. Since he has taken over at UCLA, he has led the Bruins to two National Title games. Previously as the coach of Pitt, he went to the Sweet Sixteen in back to back seasons.
2009-10 UCLA Bruins Schedule

Refs:
http://www.collegehoopsvideo.com/2009/10/new-college-basketball-coaches-in-2009/
http://www.collegehoopsvideo.com/2009/10/ncaa-basketball-tournament-history-and-past-champions/
http://www.collegehoopsvideo.com/2009/10/2009-10-ucla-bruins-basketball-schedule/
http://www.collegehoopsvideo.com/2009/10/2009-10-syracuse-orangemen-basketball-schedule/
http://www.collegehoopsvideo.com/2009/10/2009-10-michigan-state-spartans-basketball-schedule/
http://www.collegehoopsvideo.com/2009/10/2009-10-kentucky-wildcats-basketball-schedule/
http://www.collegehoopsvideo.com/2009/10/2009-10-kansas-jayhawks-basketball-schedule/
http://www.collegehoopsvideo.com/2009/10/2009-10-north-carolina-tar-heels-basketball-schedule/