College Basketball Coaches Facing Most Pressure in 2014-15 Season

The bigger the job, the greater the pressure.

Some of college basketball's most notable coaching names have a lot of expectations this season, but this isn't simply a matter of being looked to for lots of wins, a deep tournament run or a national championship. The specific pressures each coach faces is different, based on the job and the situation.

You can't really compare what one has to deal with to the other, but we can list those who have the most weight on their shoulders in 2014-15 and illustrate just what they have to deal with this season beyond just their opponents.

Steve Alford, UCLA

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Pressure: To win with his own players

Steve Alford had a pretty successful first season at the helm of UCLA in 2013-14, getting the Bruins into the Sweet 16 for the first time in six years.

Now the question is: Can Alford do that again, or better? Because it will mean having to do so with his own recruits, rather than a team comprised mostly of those left in the cupboard by previous coach Ben Howland.

So far this season UCLA has looked very impressive, and it's been because of a mix of not only Howland holdovers (Tony Parker, Norman Powell) but also players Alford has brought in. Sophomore point guard Bryce Alford, the coach's son, has been spectacular running the offense, while the debuts of power forward Kevon Looney and guard Isaac Hamilton have been as good as advertised.

In a lot of ways, coaches in their first season with a program get a pass because of the transition. But with Alford succeeding in that first year, his expectations have been raised. If he can't meet those, all of the progress made in year one will be for naught.

Larry Brown, SMU

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Pressure: To prove staying power

There's no denying that Larry Brown is among the greatest coaches in basketball history, both professionally and at the college level. The fact he's shown he can win almost anywhere is a testament to that.

But in his third year with SMU, the 74-year-old Brown is facing the kind of challenges that are normally reserved for guys coaching in the NBA. His best incoming player (guard Emmanuel Mudiay) decided to go overseas rather than toil for a season without pay, and then standout big man Markus Kennedy was ruled ineligible for the first semester.

Combine that with a massively upgraded nonconference schedule—done so in response to SMU missing the NCAA tournament last season because of a weak out-of-league slate—and it's the kind of scenario that's usually led Brown to walk away. Throughout his coaching career Brown has resigned from jobs multiple times during seasons, and at his age each gig could be his last.

The Mustangs lineup isn't equipped right now to play tough competition, not until Kennedy returns in late December. They were overwhelmed at Gonzaga and then were worn down at Indiana. Still to come: games against Arkansas, Wyoming, UC Santa Barbara and at Michigan.

That's the kind of tough stretch that could make or break Brown.

John Calipari, Kentucky

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Pressure: To prove platooning works

It's been so far, so good for John Calipari's ambitious plan to essentially field two different teams of starters in order to maximize Kentucky's overwhelming depth as well as keep his many superstars invested in team success. The Wildcats have faced only one real quality opponent, but when they played Kansas—more like demolished the Jayhawks—in the Champions Classic, the platoon system was so effective it made the possibility of an unbeaten season seem quite plausible.

But the real proof will be in the pudding that comes with a season full of potential ups and downs. The first has come over the weekend, with Alex Poythress missing two games because of illness, thus causing Calipari to have to shuffle his five-man units. Sophomore guard Dominique Hawkins got Poythress' spot against Boston University and Montana State, but he made just one of eight shots in the latter game and logged only 15 minutes.

At some point, a player is bound to get banged up, which will lead to more shuffling. Some will have off games, and if that stretches into multiple outings, that could affect playing time, requiring further changes to the playing rotation.

Critics are going to be looking for any chink in the platoon concept's armor, so Calipari faces the pressure of having to show that it's a system that will work in the long run. And not just this season, but beyond, as future groups of recruits will be making their choice to play for Kentucky based on how they'd fit into such a platoon scenario.

Tom Crean, Indiana

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Pressure: To restore tradition

Tom Crean was hired by Indiana to try to get the storied program back to its old level of prominence, before Bobby Knight wore out his welcome and started a gradual downward trend that continued through the Mike Davis era and then hit bottom with Kelvin Sampson's recruiting violations.

But in Crean's tenure with the Hoosiers he managed to restore the success and then almost as quickly had to go away again. And with off-the-court issues mounting since February, there's not much wiggle room for him to take his time winning again.

As Bleacher Report's Scott Henry wrote, "five different players committing substance-related offenses in nine months is more than most programs will tolerate, especially if the team isn't contending for conference titles."

Indiana won 56 games over a two-year span from 2011-13 but couldn't get past the Sweet 16. It failed to make any postseason tournament last season, but Crean has a talented team to work with now. He's also got a schedule that can build confidence, though tough neutral-site games against Louisville, Butler and Georgetown could come back to bite Crean.

Update: The pressure Crean is under no doubt increased after Monday's 88-86 home loss to Eastern Washington, snapping Indiana's 43-game homecourt nonconference win streak.

Mark Few, Gonzaga

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Pressure: To finally live up to expectations

"This is Mark Few's best team since he took over the Gonzaga program."

Numerous college basketball experts have used versions of the above phrase to describe the 2014-15 Bulldogs, who with the addition of talented transfers from Kentucky (Kyle Wiltjer) and USC (Byron Wesley) and freshmen (Domantas Sabonis) to veterans like Kevin Pangos and Gary Bell Jr. are getting picked to go deeper than any Gonzaga team since it burst onto the scene in 1999.

But we've heard this before. Few's teams form 2004-06 all earned No. 3 seeds or better in the NCAA tournament, though only one reached the Sweet 16. And in 2013, led by eventual first-round pick Kelly Olynyk, Gonzaga earned a No. 1 seed...and nearly became the first team to lose to a No. 16 seed before falling to Wichita State in the third round.

Gonzaga has been one of those programs that always seems to get mentioned as one ready to bust through and go deep, but it keeps not happening. Instead, Wichita State has supplanted the Bulldogs as the top mid-major team and is now considered an elite power program.

Few has had chances to go to other schools over the years, but he's stuck it out in Spokane. That dedication should be applauded, but he also has to come through and produce the results that warrant him getting such interest for bigger jobs.

Steve Lavin, St. John's

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Pressure: To match results to recruiting

Going back to his time at UCLA, Steve Lavin has always been able to land recruits. With his slick look and car salesman-like sales pitch, Lavin's teams have never been short of talent.

Yet Lavin's career coaching record heading into this season is 216-138, a .610 winning percentage that doesn't exactly scream success. At St. John's he's had two 20-win teams in four seasons, but only one NCAA tournament appearance despite landing several good recruits and getting into the living rooms of many others.

At some point, though, Lavin has to be able to produce more than just good-on-paper results, and this could be his do-or-die season. The Red Storm are in a very winnable league, with only Villanova starting the season ranked, though Butler, Creighton and Providence have all looked good early.

St. John's, on the other hand, has not. It trailed by seven at halftime to Division II Franklin Pierce before rallying to win by 13, and in wins against NJIT and Long Island it hasn't been exactly dominant.

Without success, Lavin will go down not only as one of the best recruiters in college basketball but also one of the least successful head coaches.

Kevin Ollie, Connecticut

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Pressure: To prove 2013-14 wasn't a fluke

Kevin Ollie is probably used to this by now, getting a lack of respect for what he's done and instead being expected to do more. It's something he dealt with throughout an NBA career that saw him play for a dozen teams in 14 seasons and in his short tenure in charge of Connecticut's program.

Having replaced a legend in Jim Calhoun, Ollie was basically an interim coach his first season before landing a long-term deal. Then, after winning a national title in his second year, he started to get more credit (as well as interest from the NBA to coach professionally) but was still looked at as a coach who essentially inherited a winner thanks to Shabazz Napier rather than someone who produced a championship.

Now, Ollie is under pressure to do it again. And right away.

UConn trailed by six at the half of its opener against Bryant, the same game it got its championship rings. Then in Puerto Rico, after a pair of tight contests against Charleston and Dayton, the Huskies were outplayed by West Virginia and lost by 10.

Last season UConn had four wins in its first nine games by two points or less, and that was with Napier, DeAndre Daniels and other veterans. Yet it seems like Ollie has to prove he can do even better this season, but with less.

Lorenzo Romar, Washington

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Pressure: To get back on track

Lorenzo Romar has won more than 250 games at Washington, ranking himself second on the school's all-time victory list. He turned around a program that had fallen to the bottom of what was then the Pac-10 Conference, and in doing so got much of the Seattle area's wealth of basketball talent to stick around.

But for the second time in his 13-year stay at Washington, he's in a multi-season rut. The last time that happened, from 2006-08, he responded with three straight NCAA tournament appearances and two conference regular-season titles in four seasons.

Yet the Huskies haven't gone dancing since 2011, and Romar isn't getting his pick of the best Seattle recruits on an annual basis anymore. Adding to the issue, Pac-12 newcomers Utah and Colorado have already surpassed his program.

Six of Romar's players have been first-round NBA draft picks, and he has another in sophomore Nigel Williams-Goss. However, expectations for this season's team aren't very high, at least outside of Seattle, and with another underachieving season his time at Washington may soon be over.

Mark Turgeon, Maryland

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Pressure: To show they belong

Maryland's move from the ACC to the Big Ten is one of the biggest of this past offseason, at least from a basketball sense. The Terrapins had been players in their old conference for a long time, but not since Turgeon succeeded Gary Williams in 2011-12.

Turgeon went 23-29 in ACC games in his three seasons and now moves into a league that might not be as strong at the top but is probably better overall in terms of team quality. Not exactly the best situation for a coach on the proverbial hot seat to be moving into, but that's what he faces.

It also didn't help that Maryland's roster went through significant turnover since last season, with several players leaving the program and others transferring in to join a large recruiting class. This new collection hasn't been tested yet, but if it struggles when Big Ten play comes, Turgeon might not survive past the first season of the transition to a new league.

Roy Williams, North Carolina

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Pressure: To separate season from scandal

North Carolina's on-court performance so far this season has been solid, and the Tar Heels should fare well in this week's ultra-tough Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas. Yet no matter what they do in games, the looming specter of the academic scandal that has enveloped the athletic program will continue to hang over everything coach Roy Williams does this season.

Past men's basketball teams are at the center of the allegations, and this has led to Williams being asked a lot of questions about things in the past during a time when he's trying to focus on the present and near future. If UNC were to struggle this year, the stress of dealing with that situation could be a contributing factor.

Williams must make sure one doesn't impact the other, which means having to shoulder all of that attention and all the inquiries himself and try to keep his current players shielded from distractions.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.