The Nolan Richardson/Mike Anderson dynamic is a fascinating one to watch.
No matter how much Anderson and his former mentor insist that it’s not all about how Mike’s best Hog teams stack up to Nolan’s best Hog teams, we all know it’s very much about that. There are massive expectations at play here, as there would be at any program that has been to the mountaintop in the last 20 years.
You got to give Nolan credit, though. He’s able to diffuse the fan base’s aggravation over the Hogs’ continuing road woes with his sense of humor, as he did Monday at The Downtown Tip Off Club in North Little Rock:
A lot of people think that [Anderson] ought to be me. Hell, please don’t be me. Hell, I may be the ugliest guy in the United States of America … I wanted my [players] to be ugly. I wanted us to play ugly. The only thing I wanted pretty was my wife. My kids were ugly. It didn’t matter.”
Still, this got me to thinking what other former proteges (players or coaches) have had the task of fulfilling their mentors’ shoes at the same program where that mentor was a legend.
The qualifier for “legend” status here is to have won a national championship at the NCAA Tournament:
Oklahoma State
Legend
Hank Iba (1934-1970)
National Titles: 1945, 46
Overall winning 67.4%; Conference 62.8%
Successor
Eddie Sutton (OSU player 1956-58; OSU assistant 1958-59)
Head Coach (1990-2006)
Deepest Tourney Postseason Run as HC: 1995 & 2004 NCAA Final Fours
Overall winning 70.9%; Conference 63%
Marquette
Legend
Al McGuire (1964-77)
National Title: 1977
Overall winning 78.7%; Conference NA as Marquette was an independent)
Successors
Hank Raymonds – MU assistant (1961-77)
Head Coach (1977-83)
Deepest Tourney Postseason Run as HC: 1979 NCAA Sweet Sixteen
Overall winning 71.6%; Conference NA as Marquette was an independent
Rick Majerus – MU player (1967-68); MU assistant (1971-83)
Head Coach (1983-86)
Deepest Tourney Postseason Run as HC: 1985 NIT Third Round
Overall winning 61.5%; Conference NA as Marquette was an independent
Michigan State
Legend
Jud Heathcoate (1976-1995)
National Title: 1979
Overall winning 60.5%; Conference 52.9%
Successor
Tom Izzo – Michigan State assistant (1983-95)
Head Coach (1995-present)
Deepest Tourney Run as HC: 2000 National Champs, 2009 Title Game
Overall winning 71.2%; Conference 68.5%
Indiana
Legend
Bob Knight (1971-2000)
National Titles: 1976, 1981, 1987)
Overall winning 73.5%; Conference 70%
Successor
Mike Davis – IU assistant (1997-2000)
Head Coach (2000-2006)
Deepest Tourney Run as HC: 2001 National Title Game
Overall winning 59.3%; Conference 57.3%
North Carolina
Legend
Dean Smith (1961-1997)
National Titles: 1982, 1993
Overall winning 77.6%; Conference 72.8%
Successors
Bill Guthridge – UNC assistant (1967-97)
Head Coach (1997-2000)
Deepest Tourney Run as HC: 1998, 2000 Final Fours
Overall winning 74.1%; Conference 68.8%
Matt Doherty – UNC player 1980-84
Head Coach (2000-03)
Deepest Tourney Run as HC: 2001 NCAA Second Round
Overall winning 55.2%; Conference 47.9%
Roy Williams – UNC player 1968-69 J.V.; assistant (1978-88)
Head Coach (2003-present)
Deepest Tourney Run as HC: National Titles in 2005 & 09
Overall winning 78.9%; Conference 72.9%
Nevada – Las Vegas
Legend
Jerry Tarkanian (1973-1992)
National Titles: 1990
Overall winning 82.9%; Conference 91.5%
Successor
Dave Rice – UNLV player (1987-1991); UNLV assistant (1991-2004)
Head Coach (2011-present)
Deepest Tourney run as HC (2011 2nd Round NCAA Tourney)
Overall Winning 78%; Conference 64.3%
Last, but not least…
Arkansas
Legend
Nolan Richardson (1985-2002)
National Title: 1994
Overall winning 69.7%; Conference 61,7%
Successor
Mike Anderson
Head Coach (2011-present)
Deepest Tourney run as HC: None
Overall Winning 59.6%; Conference 38.9%
I’m sure I’m missing other examples. Please fill me in.
