In college basketball, it is a program’s head coach who gets paid the big bucks, receives the glory for accomplishments, and makes the final call on all program related decisions.
However, as many of those head coaches will tell you, their assistant coaches are just as responsible for a program’s success as anyone. The assistants often put together scouting packages, meet with players after practice for skill work, and put in the most leg work on the recruiting trail, all while getting paid a fraction of what their boss makes.
While there is one head coach on our list of potential breakout coaches, we tok this opportunity to highlight some of the country’s top assistants, who could see their names linked to some high profile jobs after successful seasons next year.
1.) Justin Hutson, Assistant Coach, San Diego State Aztecs
Many consider Hutson to be the architect of SDSU’s stout defensive reputation over the past six or seven seasons, and is also one of the top recruiters in the country, helping bring some serious talent to The Mesa for head coach Steve Fisher. For a while, it seemed ridiculous that he wasn’t getting more buzz around vacant coaching options out West, but much of that could be due to the fact that he is many people’s favorite to take over SDSU when Fisher retires.
2.) Larry Krystkowiak, Head Coach, Utah Utes
Our lone head coach on the list, Krystkowiak guided the Utes into the Pac-12 and has successfully pulled off one of the greatest rebuilding jobs in the country. Striking gold with JUCO point guard Delon Wright certainly helped, but he’s made his money by finding local talents like Jordan Loveridge and Brekkot Chapman, while developing under recruited prospects like Brandon Taylor. The question here is whether or not he sees Utah as a long-term option for him. Despite their history, Utah isn’t one of the top six or seven jobs in the conference, and with continued success, it’s reasonable to think he might garner interest from programs who do hold that esteem in their power conference. Many around the country are waiting to see how the Utes perform with Wright manning the point in 2015-2016.
3.) Stan Johnson, Assistant Coach, Marquette Golden Eagles
Johnson was the Ace in Herb Sendek’s sleeve at Arizona State, and when Bobby Hurley was hired, Hurley planned on retaining Johnson in Tempe. However, Johnson was a hot commodity in the coaching ranks and opted to bolt for Milwaukee to join Marquette. Known as a lights out recruiter who can also dice it up with X’s and O’s, Johnson should see his profile continue to rise as Marquette looks like make a move next season in the Big East.
4.) Mike Hopkins, Assistant Coach, Syracuse Orange
Hopkins has long been thought of as Jim Boeheim’s successor at Syracuse, and with Boeheim announcing his impending retirement, there’s not too much reason to doubt that Hopkins will stay put in Upstate New York. However, Hopkins was linked to the Marquette opening last year, and hired an agent during the process of those rumors. Add in the sanctions that Syracuse will be going through during Boeheim’s final seasons, there are people questioning whether or not Hopkins would want to begin his head coaching career in that fashion.
5.) Dwayne Stephens, Associate Head Coach, Michigan State Spartans
Stephens has enjoyed plenty of success at his alma mater with Tom Izzo, and his resume is as good as any assistant in the country. While helping develop MSU’s long line of productive big men, his influence was perhaps best exemplified during the two seasons that the Spartans have led the country in rebounding. With his 2012 promotion to associate head coach, and the season that MSU could enjoy next year, it seems like only a matter of time before Stephens gets his own program.
