Ranking the 10 Most Overrated Coaches in College Basketball

The head coach is the face of a college basketball program, but not all of the most well-known leaders are as pretty as they seem.

Reputations built over time have lifted some of the game's biggest names to a stature where it seems like they can do no wrong. Past successes continue to get more attention than current performance, often masking what has become frequent bouts of underachievement.

Look closer, though, and you'll see the wrinkles. Not actual ones, but the kind of performance-based blemishes that ultimately can lead to coaches getting labeled as overrated. When that happens, the only way to escape that designation is to lead their team on a deep postseason run.

Our list of the 10 most overrated coaches in college basketball features several whose teams are likely going to make the NCAA tournament, but odds are they'll be knocked out sooner than later. All told, they represent some of the most well-known (but also most frequently disappointing) coaches in the game, ranked in order of how much consternation they bring to their fans.

All records and statistics current through games of Tuesday, Feb. 17.

10. Andy Enfield, USC

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Year at school: Second

Record at school: 21-36

Career record: 62-64

Best result: 26-11, NCAA Sweet 16 in 2012-13 (with Florida Gulf Coast)

Remember when Dunk City was a thing? Yeah, USC fans wish that hadn't happen, because then maybe they wouldn't be saddled with a coach who was hired based off one weekend of work.

Andy Enfield led Division I newcomer Florida Gulf Coast to its first (and only) NCAA tournament berth in 2013, but instead of being a one-and-done the Eagles knocked off No. 2 seed Georgetown and then No. 7 San Diego State thanks to a team that was known as much for its love of dunks as for its complete lack of fear.

It was Enfield's first head coaching job, and just his second year, with his first FGCU team going 15-17. But that was enough to convince USC to hire him as a replacement for the fired Kevin O'Neill.

It was a move that didn't get much national praise, and to this point those skeptics have seemed spot on. USC went 2-16 in the Pac-12 last season and is 10-15 overall and 2-11 in conference play heading into Thursday's trip to seventh-ranked Arizona.

9. Josh Pastner, Memphis

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Year at school: Sixth

Record at school: 145-56

Career record: 145-56

Best result: 31-5, NCAA third round in 2012-13

There's little doubt that Josh Pastner is a master recruiter, first as an assistant under Lute Olson at Arizona and John Calipari at Memphis and in his time running the Memphis program. But a great coach? Well, the jury is still out on that, especially as his results have started to trend downward.

Pastner averaged 26 wins over his first five seasons, with a high of 31 two years ago. But despite all the regular-season success, he's only 2-4 in NCAA tournament games and hasn't made it out of the first weekend.

Now Memphis is headed to the NIT instead of the Big Dance, sitting at 15-10 overall and 7-5 in the not-so-tough American Athletic Conference. The Tigers have lost four times at home, including to Tulane, and that's not including an exhibition loss to a Division II school.

Yet, injuries and dismissals have impacted this season's results, and despite what's going on now Memphis has another top-notch recruiting class in line for 2015-16. But it's looking more and more like Pastner's reputation is headed toward falling into the dreaded category of being a great talent scout but not-so-good tutor.

8. Bruce Weber, Kansas State

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Year at school: Third

Record at school: 60-34

Career record: 372-185

Best result: 37-2, NCAA runner-up in 2004-05 (with Illinois)

Much like Peaked In High School Rob Lowe continues to ride the wave of his past achievements, so too does Bruce Weber.

Despite only one season with single-digit losses since 2006—and that was in his first year at Kansas State, working with Frank Martin's players—Weber seems eternally praised for the work he did back at Illinois. Specifically, what he did in one season a decade ago.

K-State athletic director John Currie said as much three years ago.

"Coach Weber's success as a head coach speaks for itself, which includes eight trips to the NCAA tournament and a national championship game appearance in 2005," Currie said at Weber's introductory press conference in March 2012.

Weber went 27-8 in that first year in Manhattan, though the Wildcats were bounced in their first tournament game. Last year they went out in the opening game again, albeit to Kentucky, and now this year's K-State team sits at 13-13 overall and 6-7 in the Big 12 ahead of Wednesday's trip to lowly TCU.

His 2004-05 Illinois team went 37-2, and that came in his second year with the Fighting Illini (and with a handful of holdovers from Bill Self's last recruiting classes). Since then, he's averaged 12.6 losses per season.

7. Johnny Dawkins, Stanford

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Year at school: Seventh

Record at school: 133-96

Career record: 133-96

Best result: 23-13, NCAA Sweet 16 in 2013-14

Being part of the Mike Krzyzewski coaching tree is a prestigious distinction, something that can lead to many doors opening that would otherwise stay shut. It doesn't always lead to success, though, as only Notre Dame's Mike Brey has managed to avoid getting fired at least once (not counting those hired since 2008).

Johnny Dawkins landed the Stanford job in 2008 and immediately led the Cardinal on a deep postseason run. It was in the College Basketball Invitational, a tournament that is for teams not good enough for the NIT, but it still counts, right?

After two losing seasons, Dawkins brought Stanford its first national title in basketball since 1942. Those NIT trophies are almost as good as the NCAA ones, right?

Dawkins finally got Stanford into the NCAA tourney last year and managed to push the team all the way to the Sweet 16 (shocking Kansas along the way). That surprise run gave Dawkins what seemed like a lot more credit than it should, which is why it seems that the Cardinal being a bubble team this year isn't drawing as much ire as it should be.

Stanford is 16-9 overall and 7-6 in the Pac-12 heading into Saturday's visit from rival Cal. Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller has the Cardinal as the third-to-last team into the field of 68 if the tourney began today.

6. Tom Crean, Indiana

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Year at school: Seventh

Record at school: 119-105

Career record: 309-201

Best result: 27-6, NCAA Final Four in 2002-03 (with Marquette)

Tom Crean managed to get Marquette into the Final Four and help land the school a major conference upgrade by moving into the Big East, two very significant accomplishments during the early portion of his head coaching career.

The resume entries since then aren't as notable and likely would be put in a smaller font in order to make those earlier achievements stand out more.

At 18-8 overall and 8-5 in the Big Ten, Crean has Indiana headed back to the NCAA tournament this season after missing out last year. The Hoosiers didn't play in any postseason event after going 17-15 in 2013-14, with athletic director Fred Glass famously declaring "we're Indiana. We don't play in the CBI."

This game after only two years of getting the Hoosiers into the dance, two very good years (with a combined 56 wins and back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances) but only two all the season. In the three seasons before that, he averaged 9.3 victories while pulling the program out of the Kelvin Sampson train wreck.

Crean isn't a bad coach, he's just not that great. And he's certainly not good enough to get away with coming off as a poor sport and cocky quite often, such as with his tendency to do so-called "blow-by handshakes" after losses.

5. John Thompson III, Georgetown

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Year at school: 11th

Record at school: 244-112

Career record: 312-154

Best result: 30-7, NCAA Final Four in 2006-07

We understand how the game is played. Sometimes it's not just about what you know, it's about who you know. Or, in some cases, who you're related to.

Did George W. Bush become president because his father had held the office? No. But did it help make the path to the White House a little smoother? Probably.

The same could be said for John Thompson III landing the job his father, John Jr., previously held. Georgetown was a college basketball afterthought before John Jr. came along, winning the 1984 NCAA title along the way, so when the school had a chance to hire his son from Princeton in 2004 it was pretty much a no-brainer.

And JT III has had some pretty darn good Hoyas teams during his tenure, as well as no losing records, and this season's Georgetown team (17-8 overall, 9-5 Big East after Tuesday's win against St. John's) should be a lock for his eighth NCAA bid in 11 seasons.

But are bids alone enough? Especially when several of those invites have come with lofty seeds, only to see Georgetown crash and burn far early? He's lost to double-digit seeds five times, including to No. 15 Florida Gulf Coast in 2013.

If a sixth such early loss happens this year, as is projected to be possible, will Thompson's lineage lose value?

4. Jim Boeheim, Syracuse

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Year at school: 39th

Record at school: 964-329

Career record: 964-329

Best result: 30-5, NCAA champions in 2002-03

With a national championship, a Final Four appearance in four decades and more wins than any other Division I coach not named Krzyzewski, Jim Boeheim is undoubtedly among the greatest the game of college basketball has ever seen.

He's been as such for quite a while, even before being inducted in the Hall of Fame 10 years ago.

But that's where the problem lies with Boeheim. Everything about his legacy is rooted in the past, almost as if innovation and creativity are words that shall not be spoken in the Carrier Dome or anywhere near Syracuse. His famed 2-3 zone defense pre-dates cellular phones, and despite today's players not too keen on playing that way, he's stuck to his guns.

This has led to varying results, often with wild swings, such as last year when the Orange began 25-0 and then finished with six losses in their last nine games and a first-weekend NCAA tournament exit.

Because Boeheim recruits a particular type of player for his zone, namely those with lots of length, his teams often lack in athleticism and scoring punch. Yet as the victories keep mounting, his legend continues to grow without much attention paid to diminishing results.

3. Steve Lavin, St. John's

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Year at school: Fifth

Record at school: 88-69

Career record: 227-140

Best result: 24-8, NCAA Elite Eight in 1996-97 (with UCLA)

Great hair, a flair for fashion and strong recruiting can only take you so far in college basketball. For Steve Lavin, it's taken him to both coasts and to two of the most famous programs, neither of which he's been able to do much with.

First at UCLA and now at St. John's, Lavin has looked flashy and been suave, a look that also worked great when he spent seven years on TV in between coaching gigs. On the court, though, the substance never matched the style, despite having a great reputation for landing big-time talent.

He was Jim Harrick's top recruiter at UCLA, and after Harrick was fired before the 1996 season Lavin was handed the keys to the Bruins' Ferrari. He drove it well those first few years, winning a Pac-10 title and going to the Elite Eight in his first season, but then the results kept getting worse despite the recruits still coming to Westwood.

At St. John's, it's been pretty much the same.

He got the Red Storm into the NCAA tournament in his first year but not again despite snaring many of the best players from the Tri-state area. The past two seasons have seemed like when he would break through, and strong nonconference runs backed up those hopes, but last year's team started 0-5 in the Big East and his current group is 6-7 in conference play after losing by 22 at Georgetown.

2. Jamie Dixon, Pittsburgh

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Year at school: 12th

Record at school: 305-106

Career record: 305-106

Best result: 31-5, NCAA Elite Eight in 2008-09

Jamie Dixon is one of 15 coaches at power-conference programs who have been in their current job since 2003 or earlier. His .742 win percentage and 25-plus wins-per-season average are both among the best in college basketball, he's led Pittsburgh to 10 NCAA tournaments, three Sweet 16s and an Elite Eight.

His 218 wins in his first eight seasons is the most in Division I history, and his 262-86 mark after 10 years made him the winningest (in terms of percentage) in Big East history.

But has any of that really seemed memorable? Seriously, can anyone who isn't a diehard Panthers fan or someone who closely follows college hoops recall a Dixon-led team that really stood out?

Maybe the most noteworthy part of Dixon's coaching tenure came in 2013, when just two days after getting blown out by Wichita State in an 8/9 NCAA tourney game he signed a 10-year contract extension that paid him $2.445 million last season, per USA Today.

1. Rick Barnes, Texas

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Year at school: 17th

Record at school: 399-174

Career record: 601-306

Best result: 26-7, NCAA Elite Eight in 2002-03

This season has been full of milestones for Rick Barnes and Texas. He joined the 600-win club Feb. 11, and his next victory—possibly Saturday against Iowa State—will give him 400 with the Longhorns, nearly twice as many as any other coach in program history.

Last spring he landed one of the highest-rated players ever to sign with Texas in center Myles Turner, this coming after a reclamation season in which he began it on the hot seat and ended it with a surprising third-place finish in the Big 12.

But this season has also been exasperating for anyone (i.e., most people) who thought Barnes bringing back his entire starting lineup and adding Turner to the mix would make this year's Longhorns team be the one that would end Kansas' 10-year run as conference champs. Instead, Texas is 17-9 overall and 6-7,  tied for seventh in the Big 12. He almost certainly will end up with 10-plus losses for the sixth time in seven years and may likely miss the NCAA tournament for the second time in three years.

This isn't an anomaly, though: it's par for the course during Barnes' time in Austin.

"Rick Barnes has consistently confounded the pundits," wrote Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports. "Often his team began the season overrated and failed to live up to the billing. Last year the Longhorns were supposed to be terrible and won 24 games. That brought back the wild-eyed optimism, and Texas was ranked 10th in the preseason AP poll—a ranking it has once again failed to justify."

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.