List Puts Calipari Ahead of Musselman, Oats, but Just No Longer the Case

Kentucky coach may have better overall career, but leap far to catch Arkansas, Alabama head coaches in present day

Author:
Kent Smith
Publish date:
Aug 18, 2023 6:58 PM EDT

In this story:

FRISCO, Texas. – Thank goodness I had just swallowed the bite of my sandwich when I came across a story by On3.com ranking Kentucky's John Calipari in the Top 10 best active coaches in all of college basketball because I might have choked from laughter otherwise.

Explanation as to how Calipari ended up on the list was needed because there was no way someone had him listed as the only SEC coach in the Top 10 when Arkansas' Eric Musselman and Alabama's Nate Oats long since left him behind as a preserved relic of the pre-pandemic world. It turns out the ratings were for overall career, which, there is no arguing that a long time ago Calipari was one of the most dominant coaches out there.

He's technically still a Top 5 coach in the SEC, although that remains in doubt if Chris Beard is able to keep himself out of trouble while serving time in basketball purgatory in Oxford, Mississippi for his wrongdoings. However, for now, Calipari is a distant fifth among conference coaches over the past five seasons.

The top spot goes to Musselman by the slightest hair over Oats. They both lead the remaining Top 5 by a sizable margin with 124 wins, although Musselman didn't have to sacrifice his soul backing a player involved in a mother's murder to get there. However, that's an arbitrary point unworthy of evaluating what's happened on the court. Where Oats falls out of the running for the top spot is in NCAA tournament wins. Over the past half decade, he's only claimed five while Musselman has pocketed an SEC leading eight NCAA Tournament victories.

With those two clearly laying claim to the top of the mountain, the next level down finds Tennessee's Rick Barnes and Auburn's Bruce Pearl. Who is No. 3 and No. 4 is dependent upon what is valued more. Barnes has a one-game edge in overall wins at 118 while Pearl maintains a one-game lead in NCAA tournament wins with six. Simply seeing them as solidly alone on Tier 2 in the SEC is probably the best way to view it.

And there, at the bottom of the mountain, but still technically on it, is a patch of blue grass reserved for the man affectionately known in Kentucky as Coach Cal. Last in wins among the Top 5 at 112, fewest NCAA victories at four, and most losses with 49, he's all by his lonesome on the SEC's Tier 3. He also wears the burden of the group's only single-digit win season and perhaps the second greatest upset in college basketball history as St. Peter's took down the No. 2 seeded Wildcats in the first round in 2022.

So, yes, if a list is being made of best overall career among active college basketball coaches, then Calipari has probably earned the respect. However, if we're talking best right now among active coaches, it's not even close. It's a long climb just to catch Musselman and Oats, much less the remaining eight elite coaches across all of college basketball.