College Basketball: Ranking the 10 Biggest Coaching Egos in the Country

First things first, I have quite the ego. I generally think I'm pretty great at just about anything I do. I mean, read my bio for crying out loud.

So, I don't have a problem with someone else that has a big ego.

In fact, I want people in high profile jobs to have a pretty high opinion of themselves. Sure it can sometimes cross over into extreme arrogance, but if it's just someone being supremely confident in themselves, then that is a good thing in my book.

Show me someone that is the best in their field, and I'll show you someone that has a pretty big ego.

It's natural.

And one of those jobs that requires someone to have a pretty healthy ego is being a premier college basketball coach. With all of the newspaper, radio, television and Internet coverage of the sport you have to be able to ignore a lot of crap written by people usually a lot less intelligent than me and having a big ego can help you do that.

So this isn't written as a slam on the following coaches. OK, not completely.

Yes, there will be the occasional dig at these guys, but by and large, this is written with respect. Because as I pointed out, ego and success often go hand in hand.

So you could easily look at this as a best coaches list if you would like. Me, I'm calling it the 10 biggest coaching egos in the country.

10. Travis Ford

Travis Ford?  Really?

Yes, and this one is personal...so sue me.

Travis Ford is a grade A jerk. I'll never forget how rude and condescending he was when he ran a basketball camp in my hometown with his father back when I was in middle school.

He constantly talked trash to the campers (not sort of friendly like you see with Jordan at his camps, but really arrogantly) and refused to even sign autographs for most of the kids. And as almost anyone with any connection to his dad Eddie can tell you, he got it honest.

I'm so glad that he didn't get a sniff at the UK job when it was open either of the last two years. Ford has the ego of a championship level coach with the resume of mediocrity.

Am I being petty? You better believe it. But it is my article...so there.

9. Tubby Smith

I really like Tubby Smith. Still have his autographed picture on the wall and everything.

But boy did he have quite the ego.

Why? For the simple fact that he really thought he was a good enough coach to win at Kentucky with low mid-major talent. And to be totally honest with you, he won a lot more games than what his talent dictated.

That was always the rub the last few years with Kentucky fans toward Smith. They all knew he could flat out coach, he just didn't have the desire to recruit like you have to recruit to get the best players. And he was too loyal to mediocre assistants.

Still, the man could coach circles around most guys. He just wasn't quite as good as he thought he was, and it eventually cost him his job.

8. Roy Williams

Any coach that could wear that tie and all of the pastel colors that Williams has made famous has to have an ego. However, like most of the guys on this list, Williams' ego is well founded.

The guy has arguable been the best coach in college basketball for the better part of two decades, and he's not afraid to let you know it. Yet, he has held on to just enough humility to not rank higher on the list.

Williams doesn't constantly toot his own horn or rush to the cameras for publicity like some coaches do, but he also makes sure you know how good he is. If I were to compare him to another guy in sports it would be Phil Mickelson or FIGJAM for short.

Yeah, I like that comparison a lot actually.

7. Billy Donovan

You just know that Rick Pitino is making this list, don't you? Well, Billy Donovan is like Rick Pitino 2.0.

You can't really fault Donovan though, as he is still young for a head coach and has already been at Florida forever and has multiple Final Fours and national titles on his resume. His career already matches or exceeds most of the guys in the Hall of Fame as college coaches.

So he has earned the right to have a big ego.  But have one he does.

I remember when Florida came to Rupp Arena once, and Donovan had his guys on the floor during a shoot around. Donovan was running down Kentucky's history, talent, bourbon and anything else he could think of. And while I knew he was just trying to pump up his team, it came a little too naturally to just be an act.

There was an edge there that made you know he really felt what he was saying. He thought he was the shi...well, you know.  And he largely has been.

So nothing but props from me to Billy D. He may look like Eddie Munster, but he can get things done on the court.

6. Brad Stevens

I know what you are thinking. That I'm just trying to be controversial. That I'm just trying to be different and outlandish.

Trust me, I'm not. Brad Stevens has a huge ego based on two things.

First, the guy never gets flustered and never panics. And anyone who can stay as calm as he does has to think he knows something that nobody else knows.

Stevens is like the Jake Roberts of college basketball coaches. Always calm, always thinking and usually coming out ahead.

Second, he has stayed at Butler. Loyalty my backside, Stevens thinks he can continue to win and win big at Butler. He doesn't leave because he is determined to win it all at Butler.

It's not going to happen, but he thinks he can do it.

That is ego my friends.

5. Jim Boeheim

Have you ever seen a Jim Boeheim press conference? If so, then you know why he is on the list. If not, consider yourself lacking in your lifetime allowance of sarcasm and contempt.

Boeheim is also the only coach in the country that consistently thinks never leaving New York and playing real games, winning at least 20 games a year and being a big name school is enough to make the tournament every year.

And every time they get left out of the tournament I love it.

4. Bob Huggins

Bog Huggins' press conferences contain more mumbling than a mummy convention.

Bob Huggins hasn't agreed with an official since...

The nicest thing Bob Huggins has ever said to his mother was %^&% you!

OK, slight exaggerations I'm sure, but I can't think of anyone that has an ego that so far outdistances what they have accomplished as Bob Huggins. The only coach that is close is John Calipari.

Huggins has a smug look on his face every minute of every game. He's constantly sniping at players, assistant coaches, water boys and anyone else with the nerve to get within 10 feet of his bench. He's really a pretty nasty acting man.

And I love him.

3. Rick Pitino

Remember that sex scandal Pitino found himself in last year. Shortly after it was made public, Pitino took to the media and gave a fabulous lesson on arrogance.

Just watch the video above, and you will see what a runaway ego looks like.

"On the day Ted Kennedy died" will live on forever.

2. John Calipari

Speaking of coaches running to cameras when the red light is one, none are more willing than John Calipari. He's the ultimate showman, and he loves the spotlight. And he has one of the biggest egos not only in college basketball but probably all of sports.

He was obsessed with how many Twitter followers he had until he finally got to his 400 millionth one. And now he supplies those loyal followers with an endless barrage of tweets about yogurt that I'm sure he thinks are priceless gems.

He's constantly popping up on ESPN or national radio and is always selling the brand of the school he is working at as if it is the greatest place in the world. Of course, not too subtly he also selling himself as the brand behind the brand.

He runs a player's program, in his words, which is really code for, "I'm a player's coach."

The man has an out of control ego and probably thinks his poop tastes like ice cream. But at the end of the day, he wins, and he wins big. So I'm cool with his ego as is the rest of Big Blue Nation.

1. Mike Krzyzewski

Why do I think Coach K. has the biggest ego in college basketball? It's simple really.

It's not that he thinks everyone at ESPN should kiss his ring; he does, and they do.

It's not that he whines non stop to officials; he does, and it works.

It's not that he thinks he is the greatest coach of all time; he probably does and might very well be.

No, it's his halftime interviews...or the lack thereof. Coach K is the only coach arrogant enough to find these interviews beneath him, so we are instead blessed with an endless supply of assistant coaches telling us what the master has deemed enough.

And the media lets him get away with it. That's balls.

And that's why Coach K. has the biggest ego in the sport.

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