The college basketball hot seat is a never ending pressure cooker, and there’s rarely a better time to look at which coaches are feeling the heat than after the spring signing period kicks off.
Here are our top five coaches who need to turn their impressive 2015 classes into wins, immediately.
Tom Crean, Indiana, 121-111: Hoosiers fans are used to seeing IU sign talented high school prospects, but they’re also used to those talents winning games once on campus. The problem for Crean, is that his teams have only advanced past the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament twice, in seven years. Yes, the beginning of his tenure was especially difficult due to the troubles the program was dealt by the NCAA, but he’s had ample time to get Indiana back to the top of the Big Ten. If he can’t do it with the likes of star freshman Thomas Bryant, and the talent he has returning, he might be on his way out.
Travis Ford, Oklahoma State, 143-91: Few coaches in the country have done less with more than Ford. For all of the talent he’s had, not a single team of his had advanced to the Sweet 16. Signing two more four-star prospects means he still has pull on the recruiting trail, but he’s never been able to turn that talent into a consistent program. This may be one of the hottest seats in college basketball next season.
Leonard Hamilton, Florida State, 280-173: Hamilton has been in Tallahassee for as long as many high school prospects have been playing the game. Even with the lack of pressure to win at a football school like FSU, the Seminoles have only made one Sweet 16 under his guidance. His 2015 class, headlined by five-star shooting guard Dwayne Bacon, will go a long way in deciding whether or not he’ll get another season.
Dave Rice, UNLV, 89-47: Rice belongs with Ford in the conversation of tremendously underachieving coaches. What works against Rice is that conference rival San Diego State has pulled in a slightly lower level of talent from the high school ranks, but seem to have no problem winning games in the Mountain West and beyond. Signing Stephen Zimmerman and Derrick Jones was a boost for the Rebels, but Rice needs to win immediately.
Andy Enfield, USC, 23-41: There’s almost no excuse not to win games at USC, no matter how bare the cupboard was when he arrived. The Trojans have had no problem signing blue-chip prospects, like the two four-star wings they have headlining their 2015 pull, but it’s becoming a much more unsure answer when asking whether Enfield can compete in the Pac-12.
