Naismith Awards announces Men’s College Coach of the Year watch list
By SAM LANCE
Fifteen coaches around college basketball were named to the Naismith Men’s College Coach of the Year watch list on Friday. Here are the coaches that made the cut:
- Greg Gard — Wisconsin
- Dennis Gates — Missouri
- Todd Golden — Florida
- Penny Hardaway — Memphis
- Tom Izzo — Michigan State
- Pat Kelsey — Louisville
- Dusty May — Michigan
- Grant McCasland — Texas Tech
- Ben McCollum — Drake
- Matt Painter — Purdue
- Bruce Pearl — Auburn
- Rick Pitino — St. John’s
- Richard Pitino — New Mexico
- Kelvin Sampson — Houston
- Jon Scheyer — Duke
Naismith Coach of the Year Watch list including both Pitinos pic.twitter.com/1iGdydrRz2
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) February 21, 2025
Some of the most notable stories on this list include Gates, Kelsey and McCollum. Let’s start with Missouri, who’s ranked in the top-15 after a winless SEC conference slate last season. The Tigers are 20-6 with three top-5 wins, led by Gates.
Kelsey has taken the Louisville program out of the mud. The Cardinals are 20-6 and tied for second place in the ACC with Clemson. He’s won eight more games in his first season this year than the two seasons under Kenny Payne combined.
Finishing with McCollum, he’s in his first season at Drake after coming from the Division II ranks. All he did was win there, and it’s more of the same as his Bulldogs sit at 24-3 and in first place of the Missouri Valley conference.
Ten of these coaches — Pearl, Golden, Scheyer, Sampson, McCasland, Rick Pitino, Gard, May, Painter and Izzo — see their programs in the top-15 of the AP Poll.
Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter
Follow ZAGSBLOGHoops on Instagram
The post Naismith Awards announces Men’s College Coach of the Year watch list appeared first on Zagsblog.