There is still another few days of college basketball left, but without an ACC Team in the Final 4, we can go ahead and take a look back at the season and give the ACC basketball coaches some grades.
Remember the post-season is like a Final – some coaches pulled up their grade and some are going to take a hit.
If coaches get the same grade, my ranking breaks the tie.
Coaching grades and rankings : 1-4 | 5-8 | 13-15
9) Jim Boeheim, Syracuse – B-
Jim Boeheim is the first coach on the list to lift his final grade due to his team’s finish. Boeheim was headed to a C or worse grade before an improbable run to the Sweet 16. Syracuse finished the regular season losing 7 of their last 12 games, and were 8-10 in the ACC. They did not look like a NCAA team, and many people felt they did not belong in the field. Offensively this team was an absolute mess. Then the Hall of Famer does what he does best – and that’s make Syracuse a real headache in the NCAA tournament. With outstanding defense, Syracuse won 3 NCAA tournament games including a shocker over Michigan State. The tournament didn’t erase a pedestrian regular season, but it sure did help.
11) David Padgett, Louisville – C+
Louisville didn’t make the NCAAs. They didn’t finish well in the NIT. They didn’t have any top 25 wins, and they suffered an epic collapse blowing a 5 point lead with 11 seconds against Virginia. There weren’t a lot of highlights for Louisville’s David Padgett. Padgett will be a good coach, and he did credible job winning 22 games despite facing a tumultuous year at Louisville. He was in a no win situation dealing with the Cardinals NCAA issues this year. Padgett wasn’t retained at Louisville – making the way for Chris Mack to be hired.
12) Jim Christian, Boston College – C+
There were certainly highlights in Jim Christian’s 4th year. He beat Duke at home, and there were wins over NCAA teams Florida State, Miami, and Syracuse. There was even a nice run in the ACC tournament. That said the Eagles still lost 16 games, and with as good a backcourt as there was in the ACC, BC couldn’t win a single game in the NIT. With the backcourt Christian had, he should have been able to lead Boston College to a 20+ win season. It wasn’t a terrible year, but you felt like the Eagles left something out there.
13) Mike Brey, Notre Dame – C
Mike Brey is an excellent coach, but this year was not his best effort. Early in the year Notre Dame looked like a top 10 team, but then injuries took hold of the Irish. Bonzi Colson missed several weeks, and Matt Farrell missed time as well. That can be forgiven, but the Irish still took a loss to Ball State with them. I expected a deep NIT run when they returned. That would have raised Brey’s grade, but Notre Dame was bounced at home in the 2nd round. Colson’s injury was big, but other coaches handled their injuries better than Brey.
