The Coaches of Team USA

After winning gold with his "Redeem Team" at the Beijing Games in 2008, Duke's Mike Krzyzewski was expected to hand the reins of Team USA to one of his assistants -- possibly Mike D'Antoni of the New York Knicks. But now it seems Coach K -- and his entire staff -- will return for the 2010 World Championships and the Olympic games London.

A win in London would tie Coach K with the legendary Hank Iba, who won Olympic Gold with Team USA in 1964 and 1968 -- and was robbed of a third when Russia won -- amidst massive controversy -- in 1972.

If you don't recognize some of the names on this list, don't be ashamed. In the early days of Olympic basketball, Team USA largely comprised of players and coaches from the top amateur teams in the country.

College coaches took over the job starting with Cal's Pete Newell in 1960 until 1992, when Chuck Daly, then coach of the Detroit Pistons, led the first squad of professionals -- the first "Dream Team" -- to Gold in Barcelona.

Krzyzewski was the first college coach to lead a team of professionals in the Olympics.

The Coaches of Team USA

	Coach	Team	Finish
1936	James Needles	Universal Pictures	Gold
1948	Omar Browning	Phillips 66ers	Gold
1952	Warren Womble	Peoria Caterpillars	Gold
1956	Gerald Tucker	Phillips 66ers	Gold
1960	Pete Newell	California	Gold
1964	Hank Iba	Oklahoma State	Gold
1968	Hank Iba	Oklahoma State	Gold
1972	Hank Iba	Oklahoma State	Silver
1976	Dean Smith	North Carolina	Gold
1984	Bob Knight	Indiana	Gold
1988	John Thompson	Georgetown	Bronze
1992	Chuck Daly	Detroit Pistons	Gold
1996	Lenny Wilkens	Atlanta Hawks	Gold
2000	Rudy Tomjanovich	Houston Rockets	Gold
2004	Larry Brown	Detroit Pistons	Bronze
2008	Mike Krzyzewski	Duke	Gold

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Winningest Coaches

Jul 28 2011

Mike Krzyzewski has more wins than any other active Division I coach... and he's rapidly climbing up the list of all-time greats. Barring a shocking collapse by his Blue Devils -- who will enter this season as the consensus number one team -- he'll pass Adolph Rupp (876) and Dean Smith (879) on the all-time wins list this season. He's closing in on the all-time wins record of 902, held by his mentor, Bob Knight.

Winningest Active Coaches

1. Mike Krzyzewski - Duke: 868
2. Jim Boeheim - Syracuse: 829
3. Jim Calhoun - Connecticut: 823
4. Bob Huggins - West Virginia: 670
5. Gary Williams - Maryland: 649
6. Homer Drew - Valparaiso: 617
7. Roy Williams - North Carolina: 614
8. Bo Ryan - Wisconsin: 599
9. Mike Montgomery - California: 593
10. Cliff Ellis - Coastal Carolina: 586
11. Larry Hunter - Western Carolina: 581
12. Rick Byrd - Belmont: 579
13. Pat Douglas - UC Irvine: 573
14. Rick Pitino - Louisville: 572
15. Ben Braun - Rice: 570
16. Bobby Cremins - College of Charleston: 541
17. John Beilein - Michigan: 522
18. Stew Morrill - Utah State: 512
19. Rick Barnes - Texas: 496
20. Dave Bike - Sacred Heart: 494

Note: Official NCAA Division I records count victories from any four-year college in the United States, so long as the coach has spent five years at the Division I level. Bo Ryan's record, for example, includes 353 victories from his run as coach of Division III UW-Plateville.

Win totals as of November 9, 2010

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Coaches with Multiple Titles

Apr 5 2011

Winning the 2011 National Championship puts Connecticut's Jim Calhoun in a very exclusive club - only five coaches in Division I Men's Basketball history have won three or more titles.

Calhoun's third title puts him into a tie with the legendary Bobby Knight - only Adolph Rupp, Mike Krzyzewski and John Wooden have more.

Here's a rundown of all the coaches that have cut down the nets more than once.

bold type = active

Coach	Titles	Years
John Wooden	10	1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975
Adolph Rupp	4	1948, 1949, 1951, 1958
Mike Krzyzewski	4	1991, 1992, 2001, 2010
Bob Knight	3	1976, 1981, 1987
Jim Calhoun	3	1999, 2004, 2011
Dean Smith	2	1982, 1993
Roy Williams	2	2005, 2009
Denny Crum	2	1980, 1986
Billy Donovan	2	2006, 2007
Ed Jucker	2	1961, 1962
Henry Iba	2	1945, 1946
Phil Woolpert	2	1955, 1956
Branch McCracken	2	1940, 1953

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Winningest Women's Coaches

Bob Knight retired from coaching with 902 wins -- the most by any men's Division I basketball coach in history. He'd need at least three -- possibly four -- more runs to the Final Four to catch Pat Summitt's win total -- and Summitt is still going strong. Here's a look at the biggest winners in women's college basketball history.

1. Pat Summitt - 1000 (active)

Getty Images / Al Messerschmidt

On February 5th, 2009, Pat Summitt became the first college basketball coach in Division I -- men's or women's -- to boast 1000 career victories. Her next target may be championships -- with eight, she's just two behind legendary UCLA coach John Wooden.

ESPN.com: Summitt Wins 1000

2. Jody Conradt - 900

Jody Conradt's career spanned 38 seasons -- 31 one of them as head coach at Texas. Her record in Austin was 783–245, and included an undefeated team that won the national championship in 1986. She retired in 2007.

3. C. Vivian Stringer - 815 (active)

To the casual fan, C. Vivian Stringer is probably best known as one of the protagonists in the controversy of Don Imus' unfortunate remarks and eventual firing. That's a shame, because she's one of the top coaches in the history of the women's game, racking up over 800 wins in stints at Cheyney, Iowa, and Rutgers.

4. Sylvia Hatchell - 801 (active)

Hatchell is the only women's basketball coach to win championships at the AIAW (small college), NAIA and NCAA Division I levels. She won the 1994 NCAA title as coach of the Tar Heels -- and her Carolina team is a threat to win another championship in 2009.

5. Tara VanDerveer - 739 (active)

The coach of the reigning champions, VanDerveer has won three NCAA titles (1990, 1992, 2008) during her tenure at Stanford.

6. Kay Yow - 737

Kay Yow is one of the most successful coaches in the history of women's college basketball, with over 700 career wins and a gold medal from the 1988 Seoul Olympics on her resume. But her contributions to society went far beyond the basketball court -- diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987, Yow became a major force in fundraising efforts, and served on the board of the V Foundation. She passed away on January 24, 2009 at the age of 66.

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Winningest Women's Coaches

Bob Knight retired from coaching with 902 wins -- the most by any men's Division I basketball coach in history. He'd need at least three -- possibly four -- more runs to the Final Four to catch Pat Summitt's win total -- and Summitt is still going strong. Here's a look at the biggest winners in women's college basketball history.

1. Pat Summitt - 1000 (active)

Getty Images / Al Messerschmidt

On February 5th, 2009, Pat Summitt became the first college basketball coach in Division I -- men's or women's -- to boast 1000 career victories. Her next target may be championships -- with eight, she's just two behind legendary UCLA coach John Wooden.

ESPN.com: Summitt Wins 1000

2. Jody Conradt - 900

Jody Conradt's career spanned 38 seasons -- 31 one of them as head coach at Texas. Her record in Austin was 783–245, and included an undefeated team that won the national championship in 1986. She retired in 2007.

3. C. Vivian Stringer - 815 (active)

To the casual fan, C. Vivian Stringer is probably best known as one of the protagonists in the controversy of Don Imus' unfortunate remarks and eventual firing. That's a shame, because she's one of the top coaches in the history of the women's game, racking up over 800 wins in stints at Cheyney, Iowa, and Rutgers.

4. Sylvia Hatchell - 801 (active)

Hatchell is the only women's basketball coach to win championships at the AIAW (small college), NAIA and NCAA Division I levels. She won the 1994 NCAA title as coach of the Tar Heels -- and her Carolina team is a threat to win another championship in 2009.

5. Tara VanDerveer - 739 (active)

The coach of the reigning champions, VanDerveer has won three NCAA titles (1990, 1992, 2008) during her tenure at Stanford.

6. Kay Yow - 737

Kay Yow is one of the most successful coaches in the history of women's college basketball, with over 700 career wins and a gold medal from the 1988 Seoul Olympics on her resume. But her contributions to society went far beyond the basketball court -- diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987, Yow became a major force in fundraising efforts, and served on the board of the V Foundation. She passed away on January 24, 2009 at the age of 66.

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Winningest NBA Coaches of All Time

Just last season, five of the top seven names on the NBA's all-time coaching wins list were active. But Don Nelson wasn't retained by the Warriors' new ownership group, and Larry Brown parted ways with the Charlotte Bobcats just before Christmas, 2010. That leaves Utah's Jerry Sloan as the active leader, followed by the Lakers' Phil Jackson and Denver's George Karl.

1. Don Nelson - 1335

Getty Images / Hannah Foslien

An NBA lifer, Nelson piled up over 1300 wins as coach of the Bucks, Warriors, Mavericks and Knicks. His teams were known for their high-powered and often unconventional offenses, often relying on a "point forward" to initiate plays. Nellie was named NBA Coach of the Year three times: in 1983, 1985 and 1992.

2. Lenny Wilkens - 1332

One of a select few to reach the Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and coach, Wilkens racked up his 1332 wins as head coach in Seattle, Portland, Cleveland, Atlanta, Toronto and New York. He led the Sonics to an NBA Title in 1979 and was honored as NBA Coach of the YEar in 1994.

3. Pat Riley - 1210

Riley has been at the heart of some of the most legendary teams of the last four decades -- Magic Johnson's "Showtime" Lakers, the "No Layup Rule" Patrick Ewing/Charles Oakley Knicks and Miami's Shaquille O'Neal/Dwyane Wade championship squad. He has five NBA titles on his resume - four with the Lakers and a fifth with the Heat - and could be positioned to add to that total as Miami's team president and architect of the LeBron James/Dwyane Wade/Chris Bosh roster. Riley was inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach in 2008.

4. Jerry Sloan - ACTIVE

c Tara Fappiano

The longest-tenured coach in the NBA, Sloan has been running the Utah Jazz since the 1988-89 season. He's also a very compelling argument against the validity of the NBA Coach of the Year award -- how can that award truly honor coaching greatness if Sloan has never won? Though Sloan has never won an NBA title, he has reached the NBA Finals twice -- in 1997 and 1998 -- and was voted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009. Sloan also coached the Chicago Bulls -- the team where he spent most of his stellar playing career -- for three seasons in the early 80s.

5. Phil Jackson - ACTIVE

Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

The man who called the shots for Michael Jordan's Bulls and Kobe Bryant's Lakers has over 1,100 (and counting) wins on his resume, to go with his eleven NBA championships. Remarkably, the Zen Master has won NBA Coach of the Year Honors just once -- in 1996. He was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.

6. Larry Brown - 1098

Getty Images / Streeter Lecka

One of coaching's most notorious vagabonds, Brown's win total would be significantly higher if we included his stints in the ABA and NCAA. A tough leader who stressed defense and unselfish play, Brown called plays for the ABA's Carolina Cougars and Denver Nuggets and the NBA's Nuggets, Nets, Spurs, Clippers, Pacers, Sixers, Pistons, Knicks and Bobcats. And don't forget the UCLA Bruins and Kansas Jayhawks, the team he led to an NCAA Title in 1988.

He won an Eastern Conference championship with Allen Iverson and the Sixers in 2001 and was named NBA Coach of the Year, then led the Chauncey Billups/Rip Hamilton/Ben Wallace Pistons to an NBA Title in 2004.

He remains the only coach to win a title in both the NBA and NCAA.

7. George Karl - ACTIVE

On December 10, 2010, George Karl became just the seventh coach in NBA history with 1,000 wins -- amassing that total with the Cavaliers, Warriors, Sonics, Bucks and his current team, the Denver Nuggets.

8. Bill Fitch - 944

A two-time NBA Coach of the Year, Fitch won an NBA title in 1981 with Larry Bird's Celtics in 1981 and brought the Houston Rockets to the Finals in 1986. He also spent time running the Cavaliers, Nets and Clippers. He retired as the NBA's all-time leader in coaching wins... and losses. (He was passed - in both categories - by Lenny Wilkens.)

9. Red Auerbach - 938

A name synonymous with the Boston Celtics dynasties of the 50s and 60s, Arnold Jacob "Red" Auerbach led the C's to nine NBA championships as a coach. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1969.

He also served one year as head coach of the Tri-Cities Blackhawks -- the team now known as the Atlanta Hawks.

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Winningest Coaches of All Time

These are the giants of the game... their names are painted on stadiums and engraved on plaques in Springfield. Bob Knight. Dean Smith. Adolph Rupp.

It seems almost sacrilegious to include the names of current coaches on a list with these guys... but the fact is, Duke's Mike Krzyzewski is second all-time, and needs just two wins to tie and three wins to pass his mentor, Bob Knight, as Division I's all-time wins leader.

Meanwhile, Jim Boeheim moved into fifth place on the all-time list with Syracuse's second win of the 2010-11 season, and Connecticut's Jim Calhoun is right behind.

1. Bob Knight - 902

Getty Images / Ronald Martinez

"The General" amassed 661 of his 902 wins, and all three national titles during his legendary -- and controversial -- stint at Indiana. This season he'll be working the sidelines once again: behind a microphone, as an analyst for ESPN.

2. Mike Krzyzewski - ACTIVE

Getty Images / Streeter Lecka

Of his 800-plus career victories, all but the first 73 have come as head coach of the Duke Blue Devils. Like his mentor, Bob Knight, Coach K got his start at West Point. Coach K opened the 2010-11 season with the consensus number one team in the nation -- and 900 career wins on his resume. Barring a shocking early-season upset, he'll pass his mentor, Bob Knight, three games into the 2011-12 season.

3. Dean Smith - 879

Getty Images / Kevin C. Cox

Smith earned every one of his 879 career victories leading his beloved Tar Heels. North Carolina's campus arena is named in his honor -- officially it's the Smith Center, but fans know it as the "Dean Dome." Smith has one of the most successful "coaching trees" in the world of basketball -- his roster of ex-players and assistants includes current UNC coach Roy Williams and Larry Brown of the Charlotte Bobcats.

4. Adolph Rupp - 876

Adolph Rupp learned the game from Dr. James Naismith himself at the University of Kansas, then made Kentucky into one of the sports' most venerated programs. He won 876 games and four national titles with the Wildcats between 1930 and 1972, when he hit the university's mandatory retirement age of 70. (Can you imagine a college basketball coach being forced out due to an official university retirement policy today?)

5. Jim Boeheim - ACTIVE

Getty Images / Jim McIsaac

Boeheim has been associated with Syracuse Basketball since the last days of the Kennedy administration -- as a player, assistant, and head coach. His teams have posted winning records in every one of his 31 seasons -- and reached the postseason every year but one (when the '93 team was banned from postseason play due to recruiting violations). He passed his long-time Big East rival, Jim Calhoun, last season and passed Jim Phelan with Syracuse's second win of 2010-11.

6. Jim Calhoun - ACTIVE

Getty Images / Karl Walter

On the Mount Rushmore of New England sports heroes, Jim Calhoun's face is right up there with Larry Bird, Tom Brady, David Ortiz and Bobby Orr. Rising up through the ranks of Massachusetts high school leagues, he built Northeastern from a Division II afterthought to a NCAA Tournament team, then took a Big East doormat in rural Connecticut and turned the Huskies into a national power. Calhoun opens the 2010-11 season with 823 wins.

7. Jim Phelan - 830

Phelan is easily the least-recognizable coach on this list, having spent his entire coaching career at Mount St. Mary's. Phelan led the Mountaineers to 830 wins over 49 seasons before retiring in 2003. If you want to get technical, the bulk of his wins came in Division II, where the Mount played hoops before 1988. But the official NCAA record book counts the victories of any coach that spent more 10 or more years in Division I in the Division I record book, and who are we to argue?

8. Eddie Sutton - 804

Getty Images / Otto Greule Jr.

Compared to the other coaches on this list, who amassed their win totals at one or two schools, Sutton was a real vagabond -- with stints at Creighton, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Oklahoma State -- and a brief appearance as interim head coach at San Francisco, which helped him get over the 800-win plateau for his career. Sutton also had the most serious run-ins with the NCAA; on his watch in the late eighties, the University of Kentucky was hit with a wide range of violations and very nearly received the "death penalty."

9. Lefty Driesell - 786

Getty Images / Brian Bahr

Driesell was coach when Davidson had its first run of significant basketball success in the late 1960s. He then took over at Maryland, the job for which he's best known. His tenure in College Park was successful but ended badly; Driesell was forced to resign as a result of the controversy surrounding the sudden death of Maryland star Len Bias and related allegations of rampant drug use within the program. After leaving the Terrapins, Driesell had successful runs at James Madison and Georgia Southern before retiring in January, 2003 at age 71.

10. Lute Olson - 780

Getty Images / Jonathan Daniel

Olson is best known as the coach that made the Arizona Wildcats a fixture in the NCAA Tournament for a quarter century -- and the champions in 1997. Unfortunately, his tenure with the Wildcats didn't end as planned... he intended to return for the 2008-09 season after taking a year-long sabbatical, but health issues prevented him from following through with the plan. He retired very suddenly in October, 2008, and days later it was revealed that he'd suffered a stroke during his time away from the program.

11. Lou Henson - 780

Henson's career is bookended by two stints as head coach at his alma mater, New Mexico State. Henson got his start there in 1966, and led the Aggies to the Final Four in 1970. In 1975 he moved to Illinois, taking over when Gene Bartow left to replace John Wooden at UCLA. He coached the Illini through 21 seasons and 12 NCAA Tournament appearances and the 1989 Final Four before retiring in 1996. When New Mexico State coach Neil McCarthy was forced to resign two days before the 1997 season was to begin, Henson returned to the Aggies as interim coach for a salary of just $1 a month. That "interim" job actually lasted until 2004, when a diagnosis of non-Hodgkins Lymphoma forced him to leave the team. He formally retired in 2005.

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Winningest Coaches

Jul 28 2011

Mike Krzyzewski has more wins than any other active Division I coach... and he's rapidly climbing up the list of all-time greats. Barring a shocking collapse by his Blue Devils -- who will enter this season as the consensus number one team -- he'll pass Adolph Rupp (876) and Dean Smith (879) on the all-time wins list this season. He's closing in on the all-time wins record of 902, held by his mentor, Bob Knight.

Winningest Active Coaches

1. Mike Krzyzewski - Duke: 868
2. Jim Boeheim - Syracuse: 829
3. Jim Calhoun - Connecticut: 823
4. Bob Huggins - West Virginia: 670
5. Gary Williams - Maryland: 649
6. Homer Drew - Valparaiso: 617
7. Roy Williams - North Carolina: 614
8. Bo Ryan - Wisconsin: 599
9. Mike Montgomery - California: 593
10. Cliff Ellis - Coastal Carolina: 586
11. Larry Hunter - Western Carolina: 581
12. Rick Byrd - Belmont: 579
13. Pat Douglas - UC Irvine: 573
14. Rick Pitino - Louisville: 572
15. Ben Braun - Rice: 570
16. Bobby Cremins - College of Charleston: 541
17. John Beilein - Michigan: 522
18. Stew Morrill - Utah State: 512
19. Rick Barnes - Texas: 496
20. Dave Bike - Sacred Heart: 494

Note: Official NCAA Division I records count victories from any four-year college in the United States, so long as the coach has spent five years at the Division I level. Bo Ryan's record, for example, includes 353 victories from his run as coach of Division III UW-Plateville.

Win totals as of November 9, 2010

View the original article here

Winningest Coaches of All Time

These are the giants of the game... their names are painted on stadiums and engraved on plaques in Springfield. Bob Knight. Dean Smith. Adolph Rupp.

It seems almost sacrilegious to include the names of current coaches on a list with these guys... but the fact is, Duke's Mike Krzyzewski is fourth all-time, and -- barring a catastrophe -- will pass Rupp and Smith this season. At his current pace, he's likely to pass his mentor, Bob Knight, during the 2011-12 season.

Meanwhile, Jim Boeheim moved into fifth place on the all-time list with Syracuse's second win of the 2010-11 season, and Connecticut's Jim Calhoun will move into sixth soon.

1. Bob Knight - 902

Getty Images / Ronald Martinez

"The General" amassed 661 of his 902 wins, and all three national titles during his legendary -- and controversial -- stint at Indiana. This season he'll be working the sidelines once again: behind a microphone, as an analyst for ESPN.

2. Mike Krzyzewski - ACTIVE

Getty Images / Streeter Lecka

Of his 800-plus career victories, all but the first 73 have come as head coach of the Duke Blue Devils. Like his mentor, Bob Knight, Coach K got his start at West Point. Coach K opened the 2010-11 season with the consensus number one team in the nation -- and 868 career wins on his resume. He's already passed Rupp and Smith this season, and if the Devils play as well as expected, could be in position to win #903 during the 2011 NCAA Tournament.

3. Dean Smith - 879

Getty Images / Kevin C. Cox

Smith earned every one of his 879 career victories leading his beloved Tar Heels. North Carolina's campus arena is named in his honor -- officially it's the Smith Center, but fans know it as the "Dean Dome." Smith has one of the most successful "coaching trees" in the world of basketball -- his roster of ex-players and assistants includes current UNC coach Roy Williams and Larry Brown of the Charlotte Bobcats.

4. Adolph Rupp - 876

Adolph Rupp learned the game from Dr. James Naismith himself at the University of Kansas, then made Kentucky into one of the sports' most venerated programs. He won 876 games and four national titles with the Wildcats between 1930 and 1972, when he hit the university's mandatory retirement age of 70. (Can you imagine a college basketball coach being forced out due to an official university retirement policy today?)

5. Jim Boeheim - ACTIVE

Getty Images / Jim McIsaac

Boeheim has been associated with Syracuse Basketball since the last days of the Kennedy administration -- as a player, assistant, and head coach. His teams have posted winning records in every one of his 31 seasons -- and reached the postseason every year but one (when the '93 team was banned from postseason play due to recruiting violations). He passed his long-time Big East rival, Jim Calhoun, last season and passed Jim Phelan with Syracuse's second win of 2010-11.

6. Jim Calhoun - ACTIVE

Getty Images / Karl Walter

On the Mount Rushmore of New England sports heroes, Jim Calhoun's face is right up there with Larry Bird, Tom Brady, David Ortiz and Bobby Orr. Rising up through the ranks of Massachusetts high school leagues, he built Northeastern from a Division II afterthought to a NCAA Tournament team, then took a Big East doormat in rural Connecticut and turned the Huskies into a national power. Calhoun opens the 2010-11 season with 823 wins.

7. Jim Phelan - 830

Phelan is easily the least-recognizable coach on this list, having spent his entire coaching career at Mount St. Mary's. Phelan led the Mountaineers to 830 wins over 49 seasons before retiring in 2003. If you want to get technical, the bulk of his wins came in Division II, where the Mount played hoops before 1988. But the official NCAA record book counts the victories of any coach that spent more 10 or more years in Division I in the Division I record book, and who are we to argue?

8. Eddie Sutton - 804

Getty Images / Otto Greule Jr.

Compared to the other coaches on this list, who amassed their win totals at one or two schools, Sutton was a real vagabond -- with stints at Creighton, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Oklahoma State -- and a brief appearance as interim head coach at San Francisco, which helped him get over the 800-win plateau for his career. Sutton also had the most serious run-ins with the NCAA; on his watch in the late eighties, the University of Kentucky was hit with a wide range of violations and very nearly received the "death penalty."

9. Lefty Driesell - 786

Getty Images / Brian Bahr

Driesell was coach when Davidson had its first run of significant basketball success in the late 1960s. He then took over at Maryland, the job for which he's best known. His tenure in College Park was successful but ended badly; Driesell was forced to resign as a result of the controversy surrounding the sudden death of Maryland star Len Bias and related allegations of rampant drug use within the program. After leaving the Terrapins, Driesell had successful runs at James Madison and Georgia Southern before retiring in January, 2003 at age 71.

10. Lute Olson - 780

Getty Images / Jonathan Daniel

Olson is best known as the coach that made the Arizona Wildcats a fixture in the NCAA Tournament for a quarter century -- and the champions in 1997. Unfortunately, his tenure with the Wildcats didn't end as planned... he intended to return for the 2008-09 season after taking a year-long sabbatical, but health issues prevented him from following through with the plan. He retired very suddenly in October, 2008, and days later it was revealed that he'd suffered a stroke during his time away from the program.

11. Lou Henson - 780

Henson's career is bookended by two stints as head coach at his alma mater, New Mexico State. Henson got his start there in 1966, and led the Aggies to the Final Four in 1970. In 1975 he moved to Illinois, taking over when Gene Bartow left to replace John Wooden at UCLA. He coached the Illini through 21 seasons and 12 NCAA Tournament appearances and the 1989 Final Four before retiring in 1996. When New Mexico State coach Neil McCarthy was forced to resign two days before the 1997 season was to begin, Henson returned to the Aggies as interim coach for a salary of just $1 a month. That "interim" job actually lasted until 2004, when a diagnosis of non-Hodgkins Lymphoma forced him to leave the team. He formally retired in 2005.

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