College Basketball: 10 Players Who Turned into Great College Coaches

Almost all college basketball coaches played in college themselves.

Here is a quick look at the playing careers of 10 of the top coaches in today's college hoops.

Some of these coaches played in big-time programs, while some "hit the hardwood" at small colleges.

Some had great success. Others were pretty much "just along for the ride."

Josh Pastner: Memphis Tigers

Josh Pastner (right), the head coach for the Memphis Tigers, played for the Arizona Wildcats from 1996-2000.

Pastner, a 5'11" walk-on, played on U of A's 1997 National Championship team.

In his two seasons as a player, Pastner got on the floor in 17 games, scoring 19 points, grabbing five rebounds and handing out one assist.

Pastner completed his degree in only two-and-a-half years, taking as many as 33 units per semester. Insane.

He earned his bachelor's degree in family studies from Arizona in December 1998. Pastner went on to finish his master's degree in teaching and teacher education in December 1999 so that he could get on with his coaching career, which he started at Arizona.

Sean Miller: Arizona Wildcats

Arizona head coach Sean Miller was a point guard at Pitt from 1987-92.

He was the 1988 Big East Freshman of the Year.

Over his Pitt career, Miller averaged 10 points and 5.8 assists per game.

Miller was voted by an online poll of Panther hoops fans as Second Team of the Pitt Basketball All-Centennial Team.

He ranks 10th of all time among NCAA D1 career free-throw-percentage leaders (88.5 percent).

After graduating from Pitt with a degree in communications in 1992, he took a graduate assistant position at Wisconsin. 

Jamie Dixon: Pitt Panthers

Jamie Dixon, the Pitt Panthers head coach, played his collegiate ball at TCU.

Dixon led the Horned Frogs to two Southwest Conference titles (during his junior and senior seasons).

He earned All-SWC honors in 1987 and was an All-SWC Academic performer.

Dixon led the SWC in assists as a senior.

He was inducted into the TCU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007.

Dixon received his bachelor's degree in finance from TCU in 1987 and earned a master's degree in economics from UC Santa Barbara in 1992.

Billy Donovan: Florida Gators

Billy Donovan, the Florida Gators' head coach, played ball at Providence College from 1983-87.

After two unspectacular years, Donovan's hoops career took off under new PU head coach Rick Pitino.

Donovan averaged 15.1 points as a junior and 20.6 as a senior, when he led the Friars to the Final Four.

He earned the Southeast Regional MVP award.

Donovan was drafted by the Utah Jazz, played briefly for the Wyoming Wildcatters (CBA) and then played for Pitino (again) for one year with the New York Knicks.

Thad Matta: Ohio State

Thad Matta, the Ohio State head coach, was a two-year starter for Butler (1987-90) after transferring from Southern Illinois.

Matta led Butler in assists (100) and three-point field goal percentage (.433) in 1987–88 and in free-throw percentage in 1988-89 (.872).

He served as a team co-captain and finished his career in sixth place on Butler's all-time list for free-throw percentage (.800).

Matta began his coaching career at Indiana State.

John Calipari: Kentucky Wildcats

John Calipari, the Kentucky Wildcats' head coach, played ball at two different schools.

For his first two seasons (1978-80), Calipari played at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington.

For his junior and senior years (1980-82), Calipari played at Clarion State, where he led the team in assists and free-throw percentage.

Calipari got his start in coaching as an assistant at Kansas under Ted Owens and Larry Brown.

Rick Pitino: Louisville Cardinals

Rick Pitino, the head coach for Louisville, played guard for UMass from 1970-74.

For his Minutemen career, Pitino handed out 329 assists.

As a junior, he averaged 4.8 assists per game; as a senior, 6.5 APG.

Pitino started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at the University of Hawaii in 1974, and became a full-time assistant (and interim head coach) in 1975. Not a bad place to have a first job, huh?

He was then the first assistant hired by Jim Boeheim in 1976 as Boeheim began his tenure at Syracuse.

Jim Boeheim: Syracuse

Jim Boeheim, Syracuse's head coach, also played ball at Syracuse.

During his freshman year, Boeheim was a walk-on. By his senior year, he was the team captain.

After graduating from SU, Boeheim played professional basketball with the Scranton Miners of the American Basketball League during which they won two championships.

Boeheim got his start in coaching as a graduate assistant at Syracuse. He quickly moved into a full-time assistant's job, where he served for seven years before being asked in 1976 to become the head coach.

Boeheim has been the head coach for the Orange for the past 35 years.

Brad Stevens: Butler Bulldogs

Brad Stevens, the head coach for Butler, played college basketball at D3 DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana.

During his four years at DePauw, Stevens played in all 101 DePauw games, earning four varsity letters.

He earned multiple all-conference and academic all-conference awards, and was a three-time Academic All-American nominee.

He was a team captain his senior year, and averaged more than eight points per game during three of his four years.

Stevens first started in coaching by volunteering in the Butler basketball office, which quickly turned into an administrative position as coordinator of basketball operations under then-coach Thad Matta.

Mike Krzyzewski: Duke Blue Devils

Mike Krzyzewski, the head coach at Duke, played basketball at the United States Military Academy (Army), where he became a three-year letterman from 1967 to 1969.

As a senior, Krzyzewski was a team captain, a second-team All-NIT honoree and a North-South Game participant.

Krzyzewski graduated with a B.S. from West Point.

After serving five years as an officer in the United States Army from 1969 to 1974, Krzyzewski began his college coaching career as a graduate assistant at Indiana University under Bobby Knight (right), his former coach at Army.