College basketball's identity is tied closely to its coaches. These are among the game's most important names of the coming decades.
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a bit more recent - from the beginning of this season
we will see #3 - at least once a year when Loyola- Chicago joins the A-10 next year
Kim English, George Mason
There’s no doubt that English is a riser in the industry. A head coach in the Atlantic 10 at just 33 years old, English’s
meteoric rise from NBA draft pick to budding coaching star in less than a decade is surprising only to those who’ve never spent time around him. He hasn’t coached a game at George Mason yet, but early returns are very promising: English landed top-100 wing Justyn Fernandez as the crown jewel of a talented 2022 recruiting class that should serve as the backbone for years of success in Fairfax. With a talented transfer crop in tow to surround big man Josh Oduro, success in Year 1 seems quite possible.
Drew Valentine, Loyola Chicago
No, Valentine hasn’t coached a single game yet. But he was an essential part of leading Loyola to unprecedented success while Porter Moser was in charge, and he should take to the head chair seamlessly. He’s the youngest head coach in Division I college basketball and taking over a program with high expectations, but Valentine is cut from the same cloth as Moser in terms of his ability to create culture and is sharp when it comes to X’s and O’s. He’s also a tremendous recruiter who has helped Loyola get involved with high-end talent in future classes. It didn’t take long sitting in on practice in Rogers Park this fall for it to become clear to me that Valentine is a star in this business.
Ten more to watch:
- Carmen Maciariello, Siena
former asst coach at GWU under Maurice Joseph
