Modern society promotes instant results, and the impression they are always possible no matter the field. This mirage causes much stress in the world of college coaches, where in order for most new hires to build winning programs, a number of foundational changes must first be made – from making sure the players attend class and do their own tests, to recruiting guys who fit a particular style of play, to convincing a super-talented player it’s worth staying for a sophomore or junior season before bolting to the NBA.
Waiting for all these changes can especially be tough on fans of a program that has already been to the promised land. Especially when the coach who led the program there has an heir apparent who takes over for him. Everybody hopes – against reason – the successor will equal or surpass the mentor.
For the sake of perspective in these situations, it’s good to compare actual season-by-season results. In Part 1, we looked at how Mike Anderson’s first two seasons at Arkansas stacked up against his mentor Nolan Richardson’s first two seasons there. So far, Anderson comes out ahead.
How does this combo compare to other “legend-successor” duos around the nation? I’m especially interested in programs which, like Arkansas, have only won one or two titles. I’ve thrown the UCLAs, Kentuckys and Dukes out because those programs are quite frankly at another level in terms of branding and ability to recruit.
Below are the programs I consider most similar to Arkansas in terms of prestige. We’ll start with a legend-successor duo involving Eddie Sutton, the coach who preceded Nolan Richardson at Arkansas. If Sutton hadn’t left Arkansas for Kentucky in 1985, Richardson and Anderson likely never coach the Razorbacks. We’ll also see that Anderson’s first two seasons stack up well against Tom Izzo’s head coaching start at Michigan State.
Izzo is the only coaching disciple in the list who has actually outperformed his mentor.
Oklahoma State
LEGEND
Hank Iba (1934-1970)
1934-35: 9-9
1935-36: 16-8
SUCCESSOR
Eddie Sutton (player 1955-57; assistant 1957-58; head coach 1990-2006)
1990-91: 24-8, 10-4; Lost in NCAA tourney 3rd round
SRS*: 21.18
1992-93: 28-8 (overall season record), 8-6 (conference record)
SRS: 21.52; Lost in NCAA tourney 3rd round
* Simple Rating System – a rating from sports-reference.com that takes into account average point differential and strength of schedule. The higher the number, the better the team.
Villanova
LEGEND
Rollie Massimino (1973-1992)
1973-74: 7-19
1974-75: 9-18
SUCCESSOR
Steve Lappas
1992-93: 8-19 ; 3-15
SRS: 8.47
1993-94: 20-12, 10-8
SRS: 12.86
Michigan State
LEGEND
Jud Heathcote (1976-95)
1976-77: 10-17, 7-11
1977-78: 25-5, 15-3; Lost in NCAA tourney 3rd Round
SUCCESSOR
Tom Izzo (assistant 1983-95; head coach 1995-present)
1995-96: 16-16, 9-9
SRS: 6.78
1996-97: 17-12, 9-9
SRS: 18.65
Marquette
LEGEND
Al McGuire (1964-77*)
1964-65: 8-18
1965-66: 14-12
* McGuire won his only national tile in his last season: 1976-77
SUCCESSORS
Hank Raymonds (assistant 1961-77; head coach 1977-83)
1977-78: 24-4, lost in NCAA tourney first round
1978-79: 22-7, lost in NCAA tourney second round
Rick Majerus (player 1967-68; assistant 1971-83; head coach 1977-83 )
1983-84: 17-13
SRS: 9.28
1984-85: 20-11
SRS: 9.28
Georgetown
LEGEND
John Thompson (1972-99)
1972-73: 12-14
1973-74: 13-13
Thompson abruptly resigned early in the 1998-99 season with a 7-6 record. Esherick took over and coached the Hoyas to an 8-10 finish.
SUCCESSOR
Craig Esherick (assistant 1982-99; head coach 1999-2004)
1999-00: 19-15, 6-10
SRS: 6.63
2000-01: 25-8, 10-6; lost in NCAA tourney 3rd round
SRS: 12.09
UNLV
LEGEND
Jerry Tarkanian (1973-91)
1973-74: 20-6, 10-4
1974-75: 25-5, 13-1; Lost in NCAA tourney 2nd round
SUCCESSOR
Dave Rice (player 1987-1991, assistant 1991-2004; head coach 2011-present)
2011-12: 26-9, 9-5; Lost in NCAA tourney round of 32
SRS: 13.55
2012-13: 25-10, 10-6; Lost in NCAA tourney round of 64
SRS: 13.63
This post is an expanded version of an article which published in SYNC magazine.
