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Andy Katz | sifoeeprocess.com | October 6, 2022

The men's college basketball coaches best at developing talent, ranked by Andy Katz

Top 10 developmental coaches in men's college basketball

Men's college basketball is right around the corner. The first games are Nov. 7 and some of the nation's top prospects are looking to take the next step in their careers.

With great players typically comes a great coach who helped them along the way. Here are the Division I men's basketball coaches that are the best at developing talent right now:

1. John Calipari, Kentucky: While the Wildcats consistently get top recruiting classes, they churn out multiple draft picks every season without fail. The players, even the most heralded ones, get better!

2. Bill Self, Kansas: Self hasn't traditionally had a slew of one-and-done players. His past Big 12 Player of the Year winners and candidates have all developed into elite players and NBA prospects.

3. Tom Izzo, Michigan State: Few teams improve as much as the Spartans do during the season. Izzo continues to maximize the talent in East Lansing.

PRESEASON: North Carolina is No. 1 in Andy Katz's Power 36 rankings

4. Mark Few, Gonzaga: The Zags are now getting one-and-done talent, but churning out NBA prospects for other positions wasn't the norm a decade ago. It's happening with regularity now.

5. Kelvin Sampson, Houston: The Cougars are continuously overlooked in national polling and yet the Cougars are in the thick of the title chase deep into March. Houston players trend up every season.

6. Matt Painter, Purdue: The big-man factory is a work of art at Purdue. Boiler bigs develop into legit All-Big Ten and at times All-American candidates.

REPLACING COACH K: How Duke's new head coach Jon Scheyer is already impacting the program

7. Scott Drew, Baylor: Drew continues to find similar types of talent, and molds the defensive-minded players into NBA-level talent, regardless of their lack of hype coming to Waco.

8. Dana Altman, Oregon: The Ducks always get better throughout the year. They are consistently a threat in the Pac-12 and then in June, find a way to usually have a legit candidate or two for the NBA Draft.

9. Fran McCaffery, Iowa: McCaffery just has to show Luka Garza and Keegan Murray as Exhibits A and B to prove how much his players improve over the course of a season or career.

MORE RANKINGS: Andy Katz's top 25 returning players

10. Tony Bennett, Virginia: UVA has a system, but the fundamentally sound Cavaliers are ready-made to play more mistake-free ball in the NBA.

Honorable mentions: Bob Huggins, West Virginia; Jim Boeheim, Syracuse; Randy Bennett, Saint Mary's; Andy Enfield, USC; Leonard Hamilton, Florida State; Eric Musselman, Arkansas; Bruce Pearl, Auburn.

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Division I
Men's Basketball Championship
April 4 & 6, 2026
Lucas Oil Stadium | Indianapolis, IN