Ranking coaches at their alma maters: Matt Painter a slam dunk at Purdue; Kenny Payne flopped at Louisville

When new Kentucky coach Mark Pope stepped off a bus inside Rupp Arena last month holding the 1996 national championship trophy he helped win as a Wildcats player, an arena packed with UK fans went wild celebrating his return. of a champion. It was a frenetic moment of nostalgia and hope that the past and present will collide to bring more triumphs with Pope as coach at his alma mater.

For one thing, Pope has yet to win an NCAA Tournament game in nine seasons coaching at Utah Valley and BYU. While his career record of 187-108 is solid, his resume pales in comparison to national title winners like Billy Donovan, Dan Hurley and Scott Drew, who have been linked to UK debuts at some level.

But on the other hand, Pope knows firsthand what it takes to reach the pinnacle of college basketball wearing a Wildcats uniform. Kentucky went 62-7 during Pope’s two seasons under Rick Pitino, earned two No. 1 berths in the NCAA tournament and won the trophy Pope carried as he got off the bus.

Pope averaged 7.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 20.3 minutes per game for the 1995-96 starting lineup, earning him a place in the lore of a proud program.

“Guys, it’s the greatest honor I’ll ever have in my professional career to be able to come back here and do this with you,” Pope said. “The difference between Kentucky and every other program in the country is this isn’t my team. It’s not even our team. It’s our team.”

Time will tell if the passionate reunion between Kentucky and Pope will produce the results UK fans are hoping for. They don’t have to look far to find an example of how a happy reunion can go wrong. Kenny Payne won a national championship as a player at Louisville in 1986 but failed as a coach, posting a 12-52 mark in two seasons from 2022-24.

Recent history shows that coaches who return to schools where they played produce a mix of results that range from the horrendous to the triumphant. Here’s a breakdown of big hits, big misses, and a look at some of those who fell somewhere in between.

Ranked coaches are either active now or were hired by their former school within the last 15 years.

Big hits

1. Matt Painter, Purdue (2005-present)

Painter spent one season as the college head coach at Southern Illinois before returning to Purdue to be the Boilermakers’ head coach-in-waiting in 2004. After a season working under Gene Keady, his former coach, Painter took the head job. Now, 19 years later, his stardom has never been greater. The Boilermakers are coming off back-to-back Big Ten titles and just reached the Final Four for the first time since 1980.

2. Fred Hoiberg, Iowa State (2010-15)

With no college coaching experience, Hoiberg took the Iowa State job just a few years after retiring as a player. He produced impressive results for a program that posted four consecutive losing records before his arrival. After going 16-16 in Year 1, Hoiberg led ISU to four consecutive NCAA tournaments before being hired as coach of the Chicago Bulls.

3. Hubert Davis, North Carolina (2021-present)

Davis is doing a good job over three seasons as he faces the unenviable task of replacing Roy Williams. He started by leading the Tar Heels to the Final Four in 2021-22. Although the 2022-23 season was a huge failure, UNC bounced back by winning the ACC regular season title and reaching the Sweet 16 as a No. 1 seed in 2023-24. Next year’s team is shaping up very well as UNC is ranked third in the rankings Gary Parrish’s Top 25 and 1.

4. Jamie Dixon, TCU (2016-present)

TCU has been to just two NCAA Tournaments since expansion in 1985 before Dixon took over in 2017. The former Horned Frogs guard guided his alma mater to four Big Dance appearances and six 20-win seasons in eight years. TCU was a Big 12 punching bag before Dixon arrived. It has now made three consecutive NCAA Tournaments for the first time in program history.

5. Jon Scheyer, Duke (2022-present)

Elevated to replace Mike Krzyzewski at just 34 years old, Scheyer kept the Duke standard high in his first two years by winning the ACC Tournament in his first season and reaching the Elite Eight in his second. Scheyer has another big challenge ahead as he builds his 2024-25 roster around No. 1-ranked freshman Cooper Flagg. His legacy is pretty much undetermined at this point, but he’s been doing well so far.

Big mistakes

1. Kenny Payne, Louisville (2022-24)

After years as an assistant at Oregon, Kentucky and the New York Knicks, Payne landed the head coaching job at his alma mater in 2022. His tenure has been an unmitigated disaster. The Cardinals lost an exhibition game to Division II Lenoir-Rhyne before Payne’s tenure officially began, and things never improved. He was fired after going 12-52 in two seasons.

2. Kim Anderson, Missouri (2014-17)

Unlike many other apprehensions, Anderson entered with significant experience running a college program. His Central Missouri team won the 2014 Division II national title, and that achievement catapulted Anderson to No. 1 at Mizzou. But the Tigers never won more than 10 games in his three seasons, and Anderson’s tenure ended with an 8-46 mark in SEC play.

3.Eddie Jordan, Rutgers (2013-16)

Jordan starred for Rutgers’ 1976 Final Four team and had a fruitful experience NBA player and coaching career. But he was unable to replicate that success at Rutgers. Facing the daunting task of navigating the Scarlet Knights from the Big East to the Big Ten, Jordan posted a 7-25 mark (1-17 Big Ten) in his third and final season.

4.Patrick Ewing, Georgetown (2017-23)

Ewing’s tenure started out respectably, with the Hoyas finishing 19-14 (9-9 Big East) with an NIT appearance in his second season. Then, in Year 4, he led the Hoyas to an impressive Big East Tournament title run that resulted in a surprise appearance in the NCAA tournament. But the bottom fell out during his final two seasons, when Georgetown went 13-50 overall and 2-37 in the Big East, which led to a change after the 2022-23 season.

5. Chris Mullin, St.

A three-time Big East Player of the Year during his time in college, Mullin got the St. John’s job in 2015 and steadily improved, culminating in an appearance in the 2019 NCAA Tournament. But overall it was a struggle. The Red Storm never posted a winning record in the Big East during Mullin’s four seasons, as they finished just 20-52 in conference games.

Messy backpack

These prominent coaches who have been hired by the schools they played for are a mix of success and frustration.

Mike Woodson, Indiana (2021-present)

Neither of Woodson’s two most recent predecessors at Indiana did anything worth mentioning in their first three seasons, and when Archie Miller was fired in 2021, it had been five years since the Hoosiers reached the NCAA tournament. Woodson came in and immediately led IU to back-to-back NCAA tournaments. Although IU regressed to 19-14 and missed the Big Dance in 2024, Woodson has a strong transfer class entering. This one could still go either way.

Juwan Howard, Michigan (2019-24)

Howard led Michigan to the Elite Eight at No. 1 in his second season and took the Wolverines back to the Sweet 16 the following season. He ended on fire after an 8-24 season and plenty of drama. But his rollercoaster five-year tenure presented some high points that should be recognized.

Penny Hardaway, Memphis (2018-present)

Memphis won more than 20 games in all six of Hardaway’s seasons, which is impressive for someone who came into the job with no coaching experience beyond high school. But the Tigers have yet to reach the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament. Given the big play Hardaway talked about early in his tenure, the lack of postseason pop is disappointing.

Shaheen Holloway, Seton Hall (2022-present)

Holloway just led Seton Hall to a 25-win season and NIT title after the Pirates were left on the wrong side of the NCAA Tournament bubble with a 13-7 Big East record. Normally, this type of season would be a harbinger of great things to come. But the portal hit Seton Hall hard, leaving Holloway undocumented as he enters Year 3 on the job.

Kevin Ollie, UConn (2012-18)

UConn won the 2014 national championship in Ollie’s second season as coach. Eventually, amid diminishing legal returns and allegations of NCAA violations, he was fired for cause. Ollie’s six-year career has featured the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.

Keeping score

Notable Recent Coaches on Their Alma Mates