Fifteen men’s college basketball coaches were named Friday to the Naismith Men’s College Coach of the Year Late Season Watch List.
The list includes big names like Kentucky’s John Calipari, Auburn’s Bruce Pearl, Baylor’s Scott Drew and Gonzaga’s Mark Few along with several coaches at the helm of their programs for the first year, including Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd, Texas Tech’s Mark Adams and Marquette’s Shaka Smart.
Providence’s Ed Cooley, whose team is ranked No. 8 nationally and is a projected 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, after being picked seventh in the Big East, also made the list.
Here’s the full list:
Mark Adams (Texas Tech)
Ed Cooley (Providence)
Scott Drew (Baylor)
Mark Few (Gonzaga)
Steve Forbes (Wake Forest)
Greg Gard (Wisconsin)
Jeff Linder (Wyoming)
Tommy Lloyd (Arizona)
Bob McKillop (Davidson),
Matt McMahon (Murray State)
Bruce Pearl (Auburn)
Kelvin Sampson (Houston)
Shaka Smart (Marquette)
Brad Underwood (Illinois)
Calipari is already one of just two coaches to win the Naismith Men’s Coach of the Year three times, tied with Duke’s Mike Kzryzewski (1989, 1992, 1999) for the most Naismith honors. Calipari is looking to become the first four-time winner of the award. He last won it in 2015 and holds the distinction of having won the honor at three schools, also Memphis in 2008 and Massachusetts in 1996. In addition, he has been a finalist in 1994, 1995, 2010 and 2012.
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