10 College Basketball Coaches Who Would Be the Best Fits in the NBA

In basketball, the pro game is a lot like the college game. Only not really.

You're still throwing a ball through a hoop and what not, but the center of gravity is differently seated in the NBA galaxy, where even the deepest benchwarmer can play like a college star.

That gives the coaches a different set of roles, which require a different set of capacities. Sometimes they overlap and translate, sometimes they don't. For every Larry Brown, there is at least one Jerry Tarkanian. Maybe several Jerry Tarkanians.

In the pros, coaches have to put the players over themselves. You're less a teacher than a kind of corporate manager. That means being able to set ego and your notions of "program" aside. You have to hold attention spans and buoy motivation over 82 games, instead of 35 or so. The gaps among teams are smaller in the pros, while individual talent and money are just a tiny bit bigger.

The X's and O's can always be changed. But personal style? That's a little more lasting. Here are the 10 college coaches who appear to have the approach necessary to fit in at the next level. They are listed in no particular order.

John Calipari, Kentucky

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John Calipari might be the most obvious member of this list.

His Kentucky Wildcats are constantly celebrated and/or criticized for serving as an unabashed way station between amateur play and the NBA. The list of his recent one-and-done alums—John Wall, Anthony Davis, DeMarcus Cousins and the roll call goes on—could fill a franchise roster by itself. This season, with his team's No. 1 ranking and whopping nine McDonald's All-Americans, will only bolster that reputation, good and bad.

Hard to see how his touch for talent management wouldn't translate. Sure, he went 72-112 in his first NBA go-around, but that was with a pretty bad New Jersey Nets team: His predecessor, Butch Beard, went 60-104.

And that was a long time ago, too. One would have to think Calipari has advanced since then. At least some NBA people think so, given that the Cavaliers offered him $80 million to coach there (he turned it down). But you have to think it's a matter of time before the factors line up to successfully lure Calipari away from Lexington.

Shaka Smart, VCU

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The hummingbird energy of Shaka Smart and the "havoc" style of play he champions have single-handedly turned VCU from a basketball nothing into very much of a something.

At the tender age of 37, he has led his team to a Final Four. In the Division I ranks, only Butler's Brad Stevens—now coaching the Boston Celtics—has surpassed the 137 victories Smart has amassed in his first five seasons as a head coach. And that goes for all of NCAA history, not just recent years.

Smart has said he's in Richmond for the long term and has backed that up by turning down offers from big schools like Illinois and Marquette. But hey, he's a young guy, and NBA organizations can offer some pretty enticing things.

Though the NBA is not necessarily a defensive league and Smart is a defense-first kind of guy, there's probably a pro team somewhere that could do with an infusion of the kind of intensity Smart brings to all phases of life and basketball.  

Mike Krzyzewski, Duke

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On the one hand, Mike Krzyzewski is as set at his program as any coach in the country. He is richer and more famous than half the NBA head coaches as it is. The guy is 67 years old, has been with the Blue Devils for almost 35 years and has repeatedly stated and demonstrated that he's a tough sell to leave the school with which he is synonymous. 

There's also the small fact that Coach K is not exactly the nice guy (NSFW language in there) and players' coach he purports to be when the cameras are rolling.

But that big ego might just be the key to his inclusion on this list. What if LeBron James and Kevin Love don't get it rolling this season, and James (a friend of Krzyzewski's from their highly successful time together as player and coach, respectively, on the U.S. national team) convinces the Cleveland purse-string holders to loosen the tethers on Ol' Coach K? 

The perfect situation, the gaping hole in his resume and, oh yeah, the money might be too much for Krzyzewski to resist, even at this late stage of his career.

Fred Hoiberg, Iowa State

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They love Fred Hoiberg in Ames, Iowa, maybe more than any other college town loves its resident hoops coach.

And why not? He's an Ames native and Iowa State alum, his backstory is the stuff of tall tales, he has led a remarkable resurgence for the Cyclones and has heretofore steadfastly refused the siren song of the pros.

That coach-town relationship will probably always be a special one, but the NBA's call might eventually grow too loud to ignore. The 42-year-old Hoiberg is considered a great basketball mind. He played 10 years in the big league and immediately upon retirement (which came early because of a heart condition) joined the Minnesota Timberwolves' coaching staff, then later the front office.

On the court, Hoiberg prefers an up-tempo, high-scoring game, which has helped make the Cyclones a prime destination for players, most notably transfers.

This blend of bona fides ensures his name comes up regularly during NBA searches. In a 2013 anonymous poll of college and pro coaches, Hoiberg was identified as the college coach best equipped to make the leap.

Larry Brown, SMU

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Is Larry Brown an old man? Yes, he is. He's 74 years old. That's old. But as Aaliyah once taught us, age ain't nothing but a number.

Brown's distinguished career has been marked by two things. First, a sense of restlessness; he's never stayed put at any post (college or pro) for very long. Second, he's good at his job, being the only man to ever win NCAA and NBA titles.

Though Brown's Mustangs missed out on last season's big tournament, they've still experienced a great turnaround under his leadership and promise to be good again in 2014-15. The old man still has the touch. What if a pro team comes calling? There's no telling what Brown will do. Never has been, never will be. 

Gregg Marshall, Wichita State

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First at Winthrop, then at Wichita State, Gregg Marshall has excelled at getting great things out of seemingly unlikely circumstances.

Though the Shockers haven't tasted consistent postseason success the way they might like, they have had some terrific squads, and perennial-contender status seems to be more a matter of when than if (they're looking good again so far this young season, jumping out to a 3-0 start and high national rankings). That amazing 35-0 streak last season is not the kind of thing that just happens.

Marshall has shown the ability to be a players' coach while molding a team unit to exceed the sum of its parts. Like Marshall himself, his teams are tough and earn opponents' respect, win or lose. Sooner or later, his name has to bubble up in an NBA board room. 

Bill Self, Kansas

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Bill Self just has that look. I don't know what it is. It's that captain-of-industry charisma that characterizes the kind of guy who becomes a big-time college coach.

Or a big-time pro coach. Self's ambition is evident, as he moved in relatively short order from Oral Roberts to Tulsa to Illinois to the Jayhawks and enjoyed big success at each stop along the way.

He laid that ambition bare again this spring, when he said he'd be open to an NBA position should the right opportunity present itself. And that confidence is more than skin deep. He's shown he knows how to both coach and recruit, a talent that doesn't go unused in the dog-eat-dog world of NBA free agency. 

The importance of his NBA comment was blown out of proportion, in my opinion—the guy was just answering a question—but it nevertheless shows that the 51-year-old Self believes he has plenty to offer any team.

Kevin Ollie, Connecticut

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Kevin Ollie's professional stock has probably never been higher. At the helm of the defending-champion UConn Huskies, Ollie enjoys a reputation as an elite coach beloved by his players.

Ollie also has the built-in benefit of the doubt that can only be earned by playing as a pro. The veteran of no less than 12 different NBA locker rooms acknowledged during the offseason that at least one NBA team contacted him about its head coach opening.

But the UConn alum chose to re-up with the Huskies and has said his heart is in Storrs. But, at the risk of sounding cynical, isn't that what they all say, right up until they bolt? 

Billy Donovan, Florida

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You can forgive NBA teams for being a little gun-shy, after Billy Donovan accepted and then reneged on a 2007 offer to lead the Orlando Magic. 

But you also can't blame them for being interested. 

The architect of Florida's back-to-back national title teams always seems to have his group in the mix, no matter the wattage of their on-court star power. Donovan's teams keep pressure high and maximize possessions, which could work well in the short-shot-clock world of the NBA.

Donovan is also still young, and his track record of not only big college success but in grooming ready professionals like Joakim Noah, Mike Miller and Bradley Beal could give him respect in an NBA locker room right off the bat.

Tom Izzo, Michigan State

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How many other big-time coaches would dress up as a member of KISS for a public team event?

Not many, is the answer we are looking for. But Tom Izzo did it. What more proof do you need that the guy is a players' coach?

At the same time, Izzo is hard-nosed and frank. He's also enormously successful, what with a national title, six Final Fours and 17 consecutive Big Dance invitations in his pocket. You can argue without a ton of personal hardship that he's the most successful college basketball coach since the turn of the millennium.

And the pros have routinely come calling, most recently his home-state Detroit Pistons just this very spring. At a reasonably spry 59 years old, Izzo may still have some time to make the move and have a successful run with the right pro roster.